Vernon Verona Sherrill’s wrestling team returned to Whitesboro on Dec. 18-19 for the Tri-Valley Tournament, just a week removed from winning the Ed Wadas Dual Meet in that same gymnasium. Here, with a larger field and tougher competition, the Red Devils still held up well, taking seventh place out of 21 teams with 111 points. In a close battle at the top, Queensbury (Section II) held off Webster Schroeder (Section V) by two points, 172.5 to 170.5. Though no VVS wrestler reached the finals, three of them got third-place finishes through winning consolation matches, and each of them went 4-1 for the meet. Dylan Kavanaugh, at 112 pounds, held off Dan Haughton (Dolgeville) 4-2, while Dan Walts (130 pounds) did the same in a 7-4 decision over Corey Burnett (Bainbridge-Guilford-Afton), and Nick Mieczkowski (189 pounds) held off Corcoran’s Karvin Cox 7-3. Kyle Reader was unbeaten through the 215-pound semifinals, but lost twice and had to settle for fourth place and a 3-2 mark, while Brian Ervin earned fifth place at 285 pounds when Cazenovia’s Clancy Kemp took an injury default. Nathan Walts was sixth at 140 pounds, with Kasey Proper (96 pounds) also taking sixth place. Elsewhere on the team side, Canastota took 15th place, with 57 points, with Chittenango in 16th place (49 points) and Oneida (44 points) in 17th place. Morrisville-Eaton earned 31.5 points. Schuyler Jayson nearly gave the Raiders a victory at 140 pounds. He beat Walts 9-3 in the semifinals, and had a close call in the title match against Jimmy Carucci (New Hartford) before taking a 7-5 defeat. Canastota teammates Tyler Sirota (145 pounds) and Sam Stagnitta (215 pounds) both had sixth-place efforts. Chittenango’s John Regan made a run at the 135-pound title. He pinned Josh Knapp (Rome Free Academy) early in the third period of the semifinal round, but lost the final to James Lommis (Mexico), who prevailed with a second-period pin. Also for the Bears, Wes Blanding (130 pounds) edged Ballston Spa’s Cody Staulters 5-4 for fifth place. Oneida’s Jon Holbrooks earned his team’s best finish, getting to fourth at 285 pounds with a 3-2 mark, and while Matt Fisher (135 pounds) also went 3-2, he was unable to place. M-E’s Dalton Villnave worked his way to fifth place at 189 pounds with a 4-2 mark, closing out with a pin of Taylor Lalone (South Jefferson) at the end of the first period. In action on Tuesday, Canastota fell to Sherburne-Earlville 39-24, while M-E ran into Ilion and took a 69-6 loss to the Golden Bombers, the Warriors’ lone victory coming when Villnave beat Brett Leon with a second-period injury default. M-E’s Mike Vreeland, at 145 pounds, lost to Paul Greenfield in a 9-6 decision. Canastota saw the Marauders win each of the matches in the four lowest weight classes, though Dakota Tucker, at 130 pounds, put the Raiders on the board with a 6-2 decision over James Bennett. Jayson took 3:02 to pin Darrick Farris, while Jeremy Brodfuehrer, at 160 pounds, earned a pin over Derrick Gager in 2:33. Both Stagnitti (at 285 pounds) and Sam Farfaglia (171 pounds) earned decisions, while Travis Conklin claimed a 215-pound forfeit.