N-O grapplers set to begin milestone 50th anniversary season
Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Albion’s Aaron Burnside and his Purple Eagle teammates will visit rival Medina Wednesday to open the milestone 50th season of Niagara-Orleans League wrestling competition. Burnside is shown here wrestling against Lyndonville’s Dustin Joy during season opening non league match.
The Niagara-Orleans League will begin its milestone 50th anniversary wrestling season Wednesday as Medina hosts rival Albion and defending champion Newfane hosts Wilson at 6 p.m. The other opener will have Barker/Roy-Hart at Akron on Thursday.
Newfane went 5-0 in dual match competition last season and then locked up the title by winning the N-O Tournament by a whopping 85 points. Akron went 4-1 during the dual matches and placed second at the All-League tourney while Albion, Medina and Barker/Roy-Hart all went 2-3 during the regular season.
Newfane has captured the title a league record 18 times over the first 49 seasons of N-O competition. Medina has earned the title 14 times followed by Roy-Hart with 9, Albion 4, Starpoint 3 and Akron 2. The Roy-Hart and Akron titles include a co-championship during the 1984-85 season.
Former N-O member Starpoint, which is now in the Erie County League (ECIC), claimed the first three league titles during the 1965-66, 1966-67 and 1968 seasons.
Medina followed up with a school record eight straight championship campaigns from the 1968-69 to 1975-76 seasons. The Mustangs have also had three other short two-year reigns (1979-80 and 1980-81), (1999-2000 and 2000-01) and (2006-07 and 2007-08) seasons.
Newfane holds the league record with nine straight championship seasons from 1990-91 to 1998-99. The Panthers also took three straight from 1976-77 to 1978-79 as well as two in a row during the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons.
Roy-Hart had a big run of five straight title season from 1983-84 to 1987-88. The Rams also took three in a row from 2008-09 to 2010-11.
Albion has claimed the title during the 1982-83, 1988-89, 1989-90 and 2003-04 seasons.
Individually, N-O teams have had six wrestlers earn state championships over the pat 49 years.
Four time state state champion Ryan Needle of Newfane (1999, 2001, 2002, 2003) heads that contingent which also includes a pair of two-time champs in Roy-Hart’s Lou Rosselli (1986 and 1988) and Medina’s JR Roberts (2001 and 2002).
The N-O’s other state champs include Medina’s Eric Vaughn (1995), Barker’s Mike Aris (2005) and Roy-Hart’s Drew Hull (2013).
N-O champions by season
1965-66 : Starpoint
1966-67: Starpoint
1967-68: Starpoint
1968-69: Medina
1969-70: Medina
1970-71: Medina
1971-72: Medina
1972-73: Medina
1973-74: Medina
1974-75: Medina
1975-76: Medina
1976-77: Newfane
1977-78: Newfane
1978-79: Newfane
1979-80: Medina
1980-81: Medina
1981-82: Newfane
1982-83: Albion
1983-84: Roy-Hart
1984-85: Roy-Hart and Akron co-champs
1985-86: Roy-Hart
1986-87: Roy-Hart
1987-88: Roy-Hart
1988-89: Albion
1989-90: Albion
1990-91: Newfane
1991-92: Newfane
1992-93: Newfane
1993-94: Newfane
1994-95: Newfane
1995-96: Newfane
1996-97: Newfane
1997-98: Newfane
1998-99: Newfane
1999-2000: Medina
2000-01: Medina
2001-02: Newfane
2002-03: Newfane
2003-04: Albion
2004-05: Roy-Hart
2005-06: Newfane
2006-07: Medina
2007-08: Medina
2008-09: Roy-Hart
2009-10: Roy-Hart
2010-11: Roy-Hart
2011-12: Newfane
2012-13: Akron
2013-14: Newfane
