In its first long road trip of the season, the Cazenovia wrestling team did not find much success against its namesakes. It was Lakers vs. Lakers on Tuesday night when Cazenovia visited Skaneateles, and it was the hosts that got the best of the deal, winning eight consecutive matches in the latter stages to put away Cazenovia, leading to a 49-30 defeat. Before all this, Cazenovia roared out to an 18-0 lead. They started at 182 pounds, where John Nannery and Connor Gray went to overtime, but Nannery’s takedown provided a 6-4 victory. After Hayden Polhamus (195 pounds) and Dan Phillips (195 pounds) picked up forfeits, Brad Lucas battled Cooper Pitman at 285 pounds, and used a series of deft moves to prevail 9-4. Jacob Wells (99 pounds) lost to Christian Daley 9-4, but Cazenovia rebounded at 106 pounds, where Will Shephard took just 1:15 to pin Nevin Rourke. That would prove Cazenovia’s high-water mark, though, as Skaneateles, at 113 pounds, began a decisive streak that did not end until the 170-pound finale, when Mike Nourse pinned Lucas Sherman in less than 90 seconds. During those eight defeats, Cazenovia only once stretched the match out to six minutes as Carter Biviano (120 pounds) lost to Max Collier 13-1. Skaneateles had seven different pins, including Mike Geotzmann’s 53-second fall over Sam Mabie at 152 pounds. Two nights later, Cazenovia was back home at Buckley Gym to take on Whitesboro – and got overwhelmed at the start, though it did recover in the latter stages and salvaged some points against the Warriors in a 55-19 defeat. From the time they opened at 138 pounds, Whitesboro was in top form, recording five consecutive pins before Travis Eberley (170) edged Nourse 4-3, by far the closest match in the early going. Not until 195 did the Lakers get on the board, Brian Silfer doing the honors as he held off Travis Reid 3-2. Two matches later, in the heavyweight division, Lucas beat Joe Madonia by that same margin. Starting at 106 pounds, Cazenovia would get three straight wins. Shephard, at 106, beat Dominic Dellaposta 9-4, with Zack Maxwell (113) shutting out Devin Hook 10-0 before Biviano got a pin over Ben Collis in 1:01, the Lakers’ lone fall of the night. Chittenango, who went 2-3 at its own Dual Meet on Dec. 7, faced Homer on Wednesday night, and produced plenty of points – but not quite enough as it lost to the Trojans 42-37. The Bears led 37-35 with one match to go, putting it all on Diego Holland at 195 pounds as he faced Homer’s Dylan Hotchkiss. But Hotchkiss proved too tough, pinning Holland near the mid-point of the second period to give the Trojans the team title. Long before ths, Justin Cox won the 220-pound opener, pinning Jeremiah Bush at the end of the second period, and Casey Placito (285) followed with a 72-second pin over Reno Gaffney. But the Bears didn’t win again on the mat until 138, when Will Young blanked Zach Egan in a 15-0 technical fall. Cooper Young (106) and Matt Bixby (132) picked up forfeits, but Chittenango also had to forfeit twice, and starting at 145, Homer won three in a row, including Tyler Lewis (160) taking an exciting 15-10 loss to Tyler Lewis. Still, the Bears stayed in it, thanks to Nick Harrington (170) getting a 15-0 technical fall over Nick Kinney and Antonio Cutrie (182) putting his team back in front with an 11-4 win over Mark Currie, leading to the finale between Holland Hotchkiss that, ultimately, went in Homer’s favor. In Saturday’s Herkimer Invitational, the Bears finished seventh out of 15 teams, earning 109 points as Mexico, with 204.5 points, held off Camden (196 points) to finish on top. No Bears wrestler reached the championship round, but Bixby, at 132, earned third place when he beat his own teammate, Fredericks, 7-2 in the consolation bracket final. Young didn’t have to do the same at 138, routing Oneida’s A.J. Vargas 14-2 for his own third-place finish.