Spencerport places third at Teike-Bernabi Tournament
James Johnson . Staff writer . December 28, 2012
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ADRIAN KRAUS staff photographer

Spencerport's Trent Egenlauf, left, defeats Shenendehowa's Justin Noble with a pin in the 182-pound final at the Teike-Bernabi Wrestling Tournament on Friday. Section II power Shenendehowa won the event and Spencerport finished third.

SPENCERPORT — Trent Egenlauf knows it.

So do Austin Coleman, Collin Pittman and Jon Haas.

This is the point when Spencerport’s wrestling season takes on an uphill tilt, and there’s plenty of snow to shovel ahead.

Section V’s top team entered the muscle portion of its schedule during the Teike-Bernabi Wrestling Tournament, which concluded Friday night. “Then, we’re right into the U-E Duals,” Spencerport junior 182-pounder Egenlauf said. “We have duals against Hilton and Brockport coming up. “They all just fall right into the other.”

No team at the tournament could rise to the level of Shenendehowa. The state’s No. 2 ranked team at the end of 2011-12 season walked into Spencerport and repeated as tournament champions. The snowfall on Wednesday led to an unscheduled change in format.

When five teams called to drop out of the tournament, that left nine in the field. The first day consisted of round-robin matches that counted toward team scores.

The action on Friday was the Teike-Bernabi’s usual bracket format. Spencerport coach Dan Glover said that some wrestlers were in up to 10 matches over the two days.

“We wanted to keep the tradition of a bracket format — it’s the 47th year,” Glover said. “At the same time, we wanted to make sure it was worthwhile for the teams that traveled.”

Shenendehowa’s 404 points pulled the Plainsmen away from Clarence of Section VI (325.5) — which is 8-0 in dual meets under coach and Rush-Henrietta graduate Jason Chase — and third-place Spencerport (289.5), last year’s runner-up.

Three of Shenendehowa’s seven finalists won their weight classes. The Plainsmen, who brought a lineup of 16 to Spencerport, probably will be one of the teams to beat at the U-E Duals Jan. 5-6, which shape the state rankings.

“They are loaded and their studs are so good,” Chase said.

The Rangers also are headed to the U-E duals at Union-Endicott High School, just west of Binghamton.

They have a new coach, a starting lineup that includes two seniors and the same expectations, which seem to rank somewhere between king of the mountain and the upper stratosphere.

“There’s definitely high expectations from coaches, fans, parents and wrestlers,” Egenlauf said. “They expect Spencerport to be one of the best.

“It’s more of a motivation, than anything else. I love it. Pressure helps me excel and be better. If there is no one pushing me, what would make me better? I’m grateful for it.” How are the new faces and former Spencerport assistant Dan Glover responding to all of the pushing so far? A 10-1 record in dual meets is great in most places. “We’ve wrestled well, considering,” Glover said. “There is lots of room to grow, lots of room in terms of improvement this season.”

Glover emphasized the words this season.

“We have a young team but if everyone wrestles tough, like we have, especially at this tournament, we’ll do good there (at U-E),” said Pittman, Spencerport’s 195-pounder. “Everyone thought that since we have a young team, that this is the year that Spencerport falls.

“I don’t see Spencerport falling to anyone in Section V or anyone in the state. We all know what our job is.”

The Rangers face Greece at Spencerport on Jan. 9 before they wrestle in the Clayton Barnard Memorial Tournament at Hilton Jan. 11-12. They go back to Hilton on Jan. 16 to face one of their top challengers in Section V.

Brockport is another, and the Blue Devils host Spencerport Jan 24. Spencerport’s duals against Hilton and Brockport are sandwiched around the Monroe County Championships at Webster Schroeder, Jan. 18-19.

“This is a good start, to know that you are on the path,” Spencerport 285-pounder Coleman said. “We finished second to Shenendehowa here last year.

“We turned around and still had a third-place finish in the state (rankings) after losing to Shenendehowa in the U-E finals last year. Did we want to win this? Yes, we care. Can we pull through it? Absolutely.”

Haas at 106, Egenlauf and Coleman each won their weight classes. Pittman, the other finalist from Spencerport, lost 9-7 to Johnson City’s Reggie Williams, a state runner-up in 2012. A late flurry by Pittman, a junior, nearly extended the match.

“I took a hard loss on Thursday,” Pittman said. “I came here today in the semifinals and beat that kid.

“I came into today with a strong mind and gameplan, and almost pulled it out to how I wanted it to be.”