Other than practices and the Larry Brown JV Tournament that it hosts on Saturday at the Baker High School Gym, the Baldwinsville wrestling is resting in the first week of 2012, anticipating a Jan. 11 first-place showdown with Cicero-North Syracuse. The rest was well-earned, because in the last days of 2011 the Bees were quite busy, meeting 10 different opponents last Thursday and Friday during the annual Mountain Duals at Dolgeville. Overall, the Bees stood up quite well, going 7-3 to tie a pair of Section II schools, Burnt Hills/Ballston Lake and Amsterdam, for third place. Indian River and General Brown shared top honors, both going 10-0. B’ville lost a tight 40-35 decision to Amsterdam, a contest in doubt until the final bout, when James Eustice, putting up a brave effort at 152 pounds, fell to James Marquez 3-2. Before that, Anthony Rafkis (160 pounds), Joe Nasoni (182 pounds), Kevin Paul (106 pounds), Jabr Bengabr (120 pounds) and Chad McArdell (126 pounds) all gained pins, with Jake Norton, at 138 pounds, edging Dale Orengo 7-6 and Pat Nasoni (195 pounds) routing Ken Garcia 14-0. Also, the Bees fell to General Brown 44-19, the second time in less than two weeks the Lions had topped B’ville, having done so by a 45-27 margin on Dec. 17 at GB’s Dual Meet in Dexter. Norton and Connor Ross (132 pounds) managed pins, while Joe Nasoni beat Cotton Erb 7-2 and Tim Sposato (113 pounds) took a forfeit. Then the winning started, as B’ville blasted Rome Free Academy 60-19 as Gunner Stuphen (170 pounds) earned a pin amid a string of forfeits. A closer match with Burnt Hills followed, as the Bees won 39-29, helped by tight wins by Rafkis over Darian Jehle 3-2 and Stuphen over Anthony Papa 2-1. Later on, Paul, Sposato, Bengabr and McArdell won four consecutive matches, three of them major decisions, to clinch the team victory. Before a 75-12 rout of Watervliet, B’ville had to survive a 36-34 battle with Gouverneur. Trailing 34-21, the Bees won the last three matches to pull it out, Norton claiming a forfeit before Steve Petrelli (145 pounds) earned a last-second technical fall over Marty Countryman and James Eustice, in the 152-pound finale, beat Curtis Fuller 12-4. Easier wins followed, as B’ville handled host Dolgeville 38-28, won the first five matches against Averill Park on the way to a 39-24 decision and roughed up Whitesboro 54-28 with seven pins from Rafkis, Sposato, Bengabr, McArdell, Ross, Joe Nasoni and Pat Nasoni. B’ville still had a chance at solo third place, but Indian River denied them 42-28 as Norton, Petrelli and Eustice all lost close decisions late in that battle. McArdell had his team’s lone pin, over Ryan Anderson, while Rafkis, Sposato and Joe Nasoni earned decisions. Ross and Pat Nasoni claimed forfeits.