Maier sparks Spencerport at Teike/Bernabi wrestling tournament
James Johnson . Staff writer . December 30, 2011
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SHAWN DOWD staff photographer

Warsaw's Tim Schaefer, left, gets rolled over and taken down by Connor Sutton of LaSalle during their 160-pound match on Thursday.

SPENCERPORT - At this time last year Steve Maier was undefeated after winning the 145-pound weight class at Spencerport's Teike/Bernabi Wrestling Tournament.

The Rangers then went to the U-E Duals, just outside of Binghamton.

"I ended up wrestling Dylan Polacio, who ended up taking third at states," Maier said. "He's tough."

Maier may be far from soft himself.

Later last season, Maier tore the meniscus in his left knee during the Monroe County Championships. He still wrestled and managed to earn a wild-card berth to the state championships after a second-place finish at Section V's qualifier.

"His knee was locking into place," Spencerport coach Tony D'Ambra said. "Once he had a couple months of soccer (after a surgery), he started coming to open mats and getting ready for the season.

"Yep, he's back. Today was a good sign. He had a tough match in the semifinals, wrestled hard in the final, a good five minutes and pinned the kid. He imposed his will on the kid practically."

Maier was ahead of Johnson City freshman Greg Kleinsmith 7-2 when the Spencerport senior ended the 152-pound final of the Teike/Bernabi Tournament on Thursday night.

Maier, who earned his 100th varsity win during last season's state championships, improved his record to 20-0.

"I really can't worry about my knee any more," Maier said. "It's all good.

"We went to the Attica Tournament and in the final I needed to start thinking about setting up things. It was my first big test. Then we went to the Jamestown Tournament, and that's always a tough tournament."

Maier said that his set-ups for takedowns were sloppy at the start of the season, in part because he was sidelined during the summer. He fine-tuned everything with the help of Spencerport coaches.

Maier, Spencerport's captain, can channel his concern into the fate of his team. The Rangers (4-0) are ranked No. 5 in the state among large schools.

Top-ranked Shenendehowa won Spencerport's tournament for the second time in three years however, and the final team scores had the Plainsmen and Rangers 1-2, 265 points to 181.5.

"The kids who we need to win those one-point matches are losing those 3-2 matches," Maier said. "We need for kids to step up, we need to be tough kids. It's what we've been taught to do all the way up through the program.

"Our No. 1 goal is to get that No. 1 (state) ranking at the end of the year."

The Rangers wrestle Victor at Spencerport on Wednesday, then it's off to the U-E Duals on Jan. 7 and 8 which traditionally has had a large impact on the state rankings.

Brockport and Shenendehowa also will be there.

"That's really going to be a big one," Maier said. "Everyone is working hard in the room.

"We just need to perform at these big meets, that's all. I know we can do it."

JAMESJ@DemocratandChronicle.com