Joe Fingler led the Fairport Wrestling team at the 20^th Clayton Barnard Tournament in Hilton. Fingler placed second at 171 lb. and scored one of the biggest upsets when he beat the top seed Lucas Flint who went to the state tournament last year. Kyle Tellex (140) finished third, Phil Accorso (103) placed fourth, Aaron Rowe (125) finished fifth, Brian Bowen (135) and Ian Ammons (145) took sixth for the Red Raiders.

Fingler was the fourth seed and opened the tournament with a dominating win against Jason Sweeney (Kendall). He scored the first takedown and put Sweeney on his back twice in the opening period before he put the match away with a pin at 3:24. In the second round Fingler met Jason Molley (Shaker) and again scored an impressive win. He scored two takedowns in the first period and built a 9-1 lead with a reversal and near-fall in the second. He scored another takedown and near-fall in the third for a 13-1 superior decision.

In the semifinals Fingler took on the top seed Flint (Pavilion) who went to the state tournament at 152 a year ago. Flint came out and tried to outmuscle Fingler but he countered masterfully through a scoreless first period. In the second period Flint tried to turn Fingler but Fingler switched and reversed Flint and nearly put him on his back to take a 2-0 lead. In the third period Fingler again was able to reverse Flint to stretch his lead to 5-1. Flint escaped but Fingler closed the match with a takedown with 30 seconds left to secure a big 7-1 upset decision.

In the finals Fingler took on the number two seed Scott Baxter (Spencerport) and wrestled hard but fell short and finished a well deserved second place.

Tellex was the third seed in his weight class and took on Korey Larson (Niagara-Wheatfield) in the opening round. He built a 5-0 lead in the first two periods with a pair of takedowns before he closed the match with a pin at 4:58. In the quarterfinals Tellex battled Josh Parkhurst (Kendall) in a tight match. After a scoreless first period Tellex escaped then scored a single-leg takedown with just ten seconds left in the period and held on for a close 3-1 decision.

In the semifinals Tellex battled evenly the entire match but gave up a takedown with just 14 seconds left in the match to drop a tough 3-1 decision.

In the consolation semifinals Tellex came back strong against Mike Bloch (Shaker). He scored four takedowns and a near-fall and put the match away scoring seven points in the third period to earn a 12-2 decision.

In the consolation finals Tellex built a 5-1 lead with a pair of takedowns in the second period against Mike Cheng (RH) and secured a 7-1 decision with another takedown in the third period to finish in third place.

Accorso took on Craig Bigham (Tonawanda) in the first round. He took a 3-0 lead into the third period and scored a reversal and takedown to score a 6-1 decision.

In the quarterfinals Accorso took on David Wade (Greece Arcadia) in a very exciting match. Wade beat him in the finals of the Athena Tournament this year and took control in the opening period building a 6-3 lead but Accorso fought back. He escaped in the second period then shot with just eight seconds left in the period to score a takedown and tie the match. In the third period Wade escaped to regain the lead but was called for stalling with just twenty seconds left to tie the match again. In overtime, Accorso proved to be the stronger wrestler. He shot for a single leg takedown and won the match in just twenty seconds.

In the semifinals he took on the second seed and couldn’t overcome his strength and fell. In the consolation semifinals Accorso took a 4-0 lead against Jason D’Angelo (Corinth) in the first period scoring a takedown and near-fall. He stretched the lead to 6-0 with a reversal in the second period and put D’Angelo on his back for a near-fall to earn a 9-2 decision. In the consolation finals he wrestled hard but dropped a tough 3-0 decision and finished fourth.

Rowe wrestled well against Tom Buzard (Kendall) in the consolation round. With the match tied into the third period he scored a takedown and three near-falls for a strong finish in a 10-4 decision. He dropped a hard fought 2-0 decision in the consolation semifinals but came back against Josh Lange (Niagara-Wheatfield). Trailing 1-0 in the third period Rowe escaped to tie the match the shot and scored the only takedown to earn fifth place with a 3-2 decision.

Bowen wrestled well in his opening match against Chad Mohr (Elizabethtown). He scored four takedowns and a near-fall in a 12-4 major decision. In the consolation round he finished strong against Justin Ensminger (Tonawanda). With the match tied at 2 in the third period Bowen escaped, then scored two takedowns and a near-fall for a 9-3 decision. He dropped a hard fought 1-0 decision in the consolation final and finished sixth.

Ammons opened with an impressive win against Kyle Schmelzie (Niagara-Wheatfield). He scored five takedowns in an 11-3 major decision. In the consolation round he fought to get off his back against Steve Miller (Kendall) in the third period and reversed him and put Miller on his back and stuck the pin at 4:50. In his next match Ammons scored another pin against Mike Ide (Sweet Home) at 4:45. In the consolation quarterfinals he took a 6-1 lead into the third period and again fought off a near-fall and held on for a 7-6 decision.

Mike Fuqua (112), Matt Cunningham (130), and Justin Gavin (160) each earned a win in the tournament. Cunningham pinned Ken Holmes (Lyndonville) in :50 seconds.