“I’m happy with the way the team performed this season,” says Head Coach David Wilcox, “also individually .. I’m very proud of the work they are putting in .. success isn’t by chance.”

The Warriors cruised through their dual meet schedule, falling only to Towanda .. on criteria .. and having a pair of lopsided wins over Troy (45-18) and Athens (44-29) overturned on a rules violation.

Williamson finished 4th out of 35 teams at the Southern Tier Wrestling Official Association Holiday Classic, 3rd out of 22 teams at the Geesaman Invitational, 11th out of 38 teams at the Southern Tier Memorial, went 6-0 at the Battle on the Border Duals, 3-0 at the Tioga County Duals and beat Canton in the first round of the District IV duals before falling to eventual 3rd-place finisher Montoursville and 4th-place winner Wyalusing.

The Warriors placed 4th at the North Section Championships while crowning three champs in sophomore Zander Wilson (114), senior Hunter Simonds (127) and senior Luke Sottolano (285) and qualified seven wrestlers for Districts. In addition to their champs, Williamson advanced sophomore Walker Hyde (3rd, 121), sophomore Kohen Vandelinder (3rd, 139), sophomore Steven Olson (4th, 189) and junior Riley Rall (4th, 215).

Olson (31-11), Vandelinder (22-13), Rall (20-17) and Hyde (8-4) saw their seasons come to an end at Districts, while Sottolano and Wilson won District IV titles and Simonds placed 5th to give the Warriors three wrestlers at the North East Region Championships. Simonds just missed qualifying for States by finishing 5th while Sottolano and Wilson continued their run of titles in the postseason.

Simonds, who will attend West Point, went 39-12 and collected his 100th win during the season to finish his Williamson career 118-50.

“Hunter had an excellent season,” says Wilcox, “So proud of him on and off the mat .. West Point is lucky to have him.”

Wilson, in his second trip to Hershey, placed 7th at States and finished the season 41-6, while running his two-year varsity record to 84-9.

“Zander had an amazing season!” says Wilcox, I’m looking forward to seeing him reach his full potential .. it’ll be record breaking for our school.”

Sottolano gave Williamson their second State medalist in the same season for the first time ever, also placing 7th.

“Lukey Sottolano led the NTL in every single category imaginable,” says Wilcox, “A senior that just ended his career with 129 victories, went 45-4 on the season .. three loses by one point, one loss by three points. Lukey didn’t give up a back point all season and had 22 pins. Sectional champ, District champ, Regional champ and 7th at States .. the kid that beat him at States in double overtime was the runner up .. there isn’t a kid in the NTL that even comes close.”

In addition to their multiple postseason successes, the Warriors had a number of wrestlers collect wins and valuable experience during the dual meet season.

Senior Anthony Baker (160, 20-7), juniors Ryder Dacheux (145, 7-19) and Harlow Little (189/215, 12-10), sophomores Jayden Bovee (152, 2-11) and Kolton Putt (133, 11-15) and freshmen Xander Stafford (121, 21-11) and Memphis Brockway (160, 7-18) all helped fill out the Warriors’ lineup at points during the year.

“I’m very proud of the boys,” says Wilcox, “We always set goals .. both as a team and individually. They’re very competitive .. as they need to be. If you were to ask them, I’m sure more than a couple would say they came up short of their goals. That’s what it’s about though .. pushing yourself to a level that might be unachievable while also whole-heartedly believing you can achieve it."

Williamson’s offseason is already underway.

“We’re already preparing for next season,” says Wilcox, “lifting and working on technique .. we’re attending multiple individual/team tournaments between now and the start of next season. Wrestling isn’t a part-time sport if you want to see success. We’re looking forward to our future, with a lot of talent moving up along with others getting healthy. State championships .. that’s our goals. Keep watching Williamson wrestling .. we’re just getting started!”