Dryden wrestling impresses at IACs

Section IV wrestling has long been headlined by the likes of Tioga and Newark Valley, and their dominance continued into this season at the IAC Championships. While it wasn’t a shock that those two teams respectively finished in first and second place, one team that had a surprisingly strong performance was Dryden.

The Lions finished in fifth place with 125.5 points, a marked improvement after last season’s ninth-place performance at IACs and more than doubled the 56 points they had then. One of the main reasons for their success was their younger wrestlers pulling off surprise upsets and advancing deep in the tournament. Head coach Bob Brotherton credited the older wrestlers for helping the younger wrestlers improve and gain the experience they needed to excel in the postseason.

“It was nice seeing my seniors take those young freshmen under their wings and really help mold them,” Brotherton said. “I look at some of my freshmen this year, and I don’t feel like next year we’re going to be falling back much. I feel like we’re going to stay pretty much where we’re at right now.”

While the freshmen wrestlers’ talents were on full display, it was the Lions’ star junior who captured their lone individual championship. Hunter Covington won the 190 weight class, recording a pair of pins en route to taking down Marathon’s Dawsyn Cole in a 7-2 decision. It was a true warrior-like performance for Covington, as he overcame dislocating his knee in the final to come out on top.

“When he wrestles, he just has the tenacity on the mat that some kids just don’t have, especially at that weight class,” Brotherton said. “That’s a pretty big weight class, and he moves more like a 145-pounder than a 190-pounder. I think that really does surprise some of his opponents how quick he is on his feet and his movement.”

Joining Covington in making a championship match were the freshmen duo of Oscar Brotherton and Aedan Lange. Brotherton finished runner-up in the 124 weight class as he fell to Lansing’s Owen Clark in the final. With his father Bob as the head coach and his older brother Bobby previously wrestling for Dryden and qualifying for states in 2020, it’s no surprise that Brotherton is another star in the making for the Lions.

“He puts in a ton of work in the weight room as well as offseason wrestling,” Coach Brotherton said. “That’s helped him improve over last year. He continues to stay about the same size, so he’s not growing too much but he is getting stronger, which really helps a young freshman in his class.”

Meanwhile, Lange also recorded a second-place finish at the 101 weight class. Along the way, he pulled off a major upset in the semifinals after defeating Newark Valley’s Andrew Lelik in a 14-1 major decision. It’s performances like those that have both Lange and Brotherton excited for the present and future of Dryden wrestling.

“He’s gonna be one of those young kids coming up this offseason, because he really has enjoyed this year,” Brotherton said. “It’s nice to get these kids to start thinking about their season ending here after the qualifiers or sectionals. They’re already thinking about next season and wanting to improve. When a kid starts doing that, that’s when we know that they’ll do really well in the future.”

The young standouts are shining examples of how the Dryden wrestling program continues to grow. For the 2020-21 season, the Lions only had seven wrestlers on the team. Fast forward three years later, they now have 22 wrestlers on the roster. Brotherton praised his team’s ability to recruit their friends to 

“They talk to their buddies in the hallways and get them to come try out for the team,” Brotherton said. “The school supports us pretty good in the fact that they gave us some open mat time, so we can let kids come in and just try it without any worries of competing, any worries of being taught. They can just come try it and see what it’s like, and I think we’ve flipped a few kids that way. They come in, they get to roll with their friends, and they’re like, ‘Well, this isn’t as bad as it seems’… I think that’s where we’re starting to get more and more kids gradually coming in.”

More postseason action is coming up for the Lions, as they begin sectional qualifier on February 2. While Brotherton hopes for more success, the big picture he has for the team is to keep the right mentality out on the mat.

“It’s not the wins that we really care about so much but their attitude on the mat,” Brotherton said. “What we’re starting to see here at the end of the season and coming to the postseason is that the mentality is really starting to click with the kids. We just don’t want you giving up on the mat. You go out there and you give 100%. When the whistle starts, you wrestle your six minutes as hard as you can.”