Host Ken-West turns out to be Ken-Ton Tourney champ

It’s the last big event before the postseason and it wasn’t without its drama.

It took a recount of the final score before Kenmore West ended up coming away as the team champions of the 27th Ken-Ton Invitational that was held Jan. 26 at Kenmore West.

Originally West Seneca West was declared champs after scoring 137.5 points. But after factoring in the scores from 195 and 285 round robin matches, it was discovered that the Blue Devils actually scored 144 points, not 130 as originally thought.

Ken-West senior Jon Szurczynski picked up the key win in the 285 championship for the Blue Devils. Szurcznyski, Aaron Barraclough (Ken-East) and Mike Saxman of Byron-Bergen were all 3-1, but Szurcznyski got the win via quicker pin counts in head-to-head matches.

As of press time, Ken-West was in the process of notifying West Seneca West of the scoring update.

Jamestown came in third with 105 points, followed by Tonawanda (103.5) in fourth. The smallest school in the top eight, the Warriors hung tough in the top three for most of the day.

Tonawanda’s Steven Warthling was 3-0 and won the 220 pound championship when he pinned Tim Garlock of Batavia.

The Warriors also had strong efforts from Tim Barnard (145), who set the THS record for most pins in a career with 74, and his brother Collin Barnard (160) both scored third place finishes for Tonawanda.

Ken-West coach Bill Hineman said he was proud of how his Blue Devils battled in every class, with the lightweights being especially successful.

Anthony Argentieri (106 pounds), Ron Duguay (113), Paul Bavisotto (120) all took second place in their classes, while co-captain Mark Stucke was in second place at 152 and Frankie Fragale of Ken-West took third at 99.

“I think our lightweights battled real hard today,” Hineman said. “Overall, I think we’re right on par with everyone that’s here.”

One of Argentieri’s most interesting match-ups came when he defeated teammate Christian Baumann in the semifinals. Bauman took fourth place as did fellow Blue Devil James Grasso.

The Rodriquez-Spencer brothers of Cheektowaga figured into the finals of two of the marque match-ups of the day.

Renaldo Rodriquez-Spencer took on Cody McGregor of Tonawanda in the finals of the 132 pound class and took the majority decision with a 15-6 final.

Preston Smith (4-0) of Kenmore East continues his amazing run as he topped Miquel Rodriquez-Spencer 4-3 in the 160 finals.

The Kenmore East Bulldogs hung tough, too, as Aaron Barraclough (285), Sam Koford (195) and Kurt McGowan (145) all did their share to help Ken-East finish in sixth place of the 18-team event.

Korford was a perfect 5-0 to win the 195-pound division. Austin Vendetta and Brandon Jamison both had fourth place finishes for East.

The tournament field also included Orchard Park, Clarence, Frontier, Cheektowaga, Kendall, Byron-Bergen, Iroquois, Maryvale, Springville, Batavia and Holland.

“All in all we see some good things and we see some things that just didn’t happen,” Ken-East coach Joe Korniczky said.

St. Joe’s, with just six wrestlers, also made an impressive showing collecting 61 team points. Co-captain Travis Berube led the way as he won the 138-pound division and Angel Leon was third at 126.