By having close to full representation, the Canastota wrestling team overcame early struggles in Wednesday night’s Route 5 showdown with Chittenango and recorded a 35-33 victory over the Bears. Jake Popple opened for the Raiders at 119 pounds and, in what proved to be a pivotal match, held off Brad Phelps 4-3. That became more important as the Bears answered by winning the next four matches. In quick order, Rudy Farsaci (125 pounds) pinned Jordan Pannell in 1:06, Wes Blanding (130 pounds) took 47 seconds to pin Billy Rinauto and John Regan, at 135 pounds, finished off Dakota Tucker in 1:21. But after Zak Jackson (140 pounds) edged past Brandon Durfee 4-3, Canastota would take over, winning the next six matches. Tyler Sirota, at 145 pounds, initiated the streak by routing Nic Bacon 14-2 as Jeremy Brodfuehrer (152 pounds) rolled past Dan Naugle 13-2 and Zach Zupan (160 pounds) took 1:04 to pin Jacob Jayson. When Fred Sherman, at 171 pounds, pinned Brian Perriello in 1:04, the Raiders all but clinched the meet, as Josh Babcock (189 pounds) and Sam Stagnitti (215 pounds) didn’t have to face competition in earning forfeits. Chittenango won the last two matches as Cody Carberry (103 pounds) pinned Zach Hannan in 3:13 and Gunnar Brooks (112 pounds) earned a forfeit. Morrisville-Eaton came close to a victory on Wednesday, only to get denied in a 37-33 defeat to Whitesboro in a battle of Warrior teams. Twice, M-E had to give up forfeits, to Whitesboro’s one, which made a big difference, given the four-point margin. On the mat, Dalton Villnave (189 pounds) had M-E’s fastest pin, taking 2:46 to finish off Joe Sullivan. Alex Wenham (125 pounds) took seven fewer seconds to pin Pat Moran, while Barney Prince (112 pounds) earned a fall over Rob DiDomenico midway through the third period. In a close 135-pound match, Alex Marris earned a 5-4 decision over Dylan Tuttle, and Mike Vreeland (140 pounds) won when Akira Reid got injured. Orin Brouillette (103 pounds) took the lone forfeit. This all led to Saturday’s Center State Conference Tournament at Adirondack, where Canastota would take fifth place with 118.5 points and M-E would get sixth place (105 points). Ilion, with 220 points, beat the host Wildcats (187.5 points) at the top. Twice, the Raiders prevailed. Sirota won at 145 by rolling past Mohawak’s Dustin Bond 18-6 in the championship match, and Zupan took the title at 160 when he beat Adirondack’s Cody Buhler 13-4. Sherman lost the 171-pound final to Ilion’s Jon Treen 11-1. As for the Warriors, they would split two championship matches. Villnave would have an easy time in the 189-pound final, topping Brett Leon (Ilion) 13-3, while Shane Strong lost the 285-pound title match to another Ilion wrestler, Travis Streeter, in a 6-3 decision. Canastota is set to compete in this Saturday’s Section III Class C championship meet at Sherburne-Earlville, while M-E goes to South Jefferson for the Class B meet. Chittenango is part of the Class A tournament at Fulton. All start at 10 a.m.