LANCASTER — A year ago, the Falconer/Cassadaga Valley wrestling team met with disappointment at the Section VI Division II Team Dual Championship.

On Saturday, the mood was decidedly different.

Dominant from start to finish, the fourth-seeded Golden Cougars secured wins over No. 5 Newfane, 55-29; No. 1 Olean, 48-28; and No. 6 Alden-Akron, 64-11, in the title match to secure a berth in next Saturday’s first-ever New York State Public High School Athletic Association Dual Meet Tournament. The event will be held at SRC Arena at Onondaga Community College.

“Last year we made the finals and we lost on a tie-breaker to Pioneer, 33-32,” Falconer/Cassadaga Valley Drew Wilcox said. “This was a little bit of redemption for us. … Once we got to the final match, I could kind of sense that they were going to get on a roll. They were into it.”

Nick Saeger (138), Jordan Dustin (145), Dylan Ingrao (152), Robbie Penhollow (182) and Corey Keefe (220) all recorded pins in the championship match, but it was Dan Torres’ win at 160 that was the highlight of the afternoon.

“He was losing, 5-0, and was able to come back and ended up winning in overtime,” Wilcox said. “And Bryce Baglia did a fantastic job against Jacob Sarow (at 170). He only lost, 9-6, so he kept it to a regular decision, which was huge for us.”

In the quarterfinals against Newfane, Trenton Colburn recorded a pin at 113 pounds, which gave Falconer/Cassadaga Valley some momentum and then Jimmy Kramer, returning from an injury over the summer, recorded a pin at 132 pounds.

Colburn jump-started the Golden Cougars again against rival Olean in the semifinals with another fall at 113 pounds and they rolled to a 20-point win.

That set the stage for the championship match, which Falconer/Cassadaga Valley dominated and ensured itself a trip to Syracuse next weekend.

“This was one of our goals,” Wilcox. “We wanted to be able to say we were the first Small School to represent Section VI in the (dual meet state) championship.

“We’re excited about it. The cool thing about it is we have about 30 kids on the team. Two-thirds of them aren’t (likely) to get a shot to make the individual state championships (in Albany). This is their shot, and I couldn’t be happier for them.”

The other local team competing at the Section VI Team Dual Championship was Randolph, but the Cardinals suffered two losses, falling to Olean, 59-22, in the quarterfinals, and losing to Newfane, 53-21, in the consolation bracket.

The NYSPHSAA Dual Meet Tournament will begin with opening ceremonies at 8:30 a.m., next Saturday followed by the first round at 9 a.m. Twenty-four teams will participate in the event, which includes 12 from Division I and 12 from Division II. About 600 wrestlers will participate in the event, which will be held at SRC Arena through 2020.

For the last 55 years, the NYSPHSAA has hosted only an individual wrestling state tournament with 480 wrestlers from around the state competing over two days. That event has taken place the last weekend of February, and for 11 of the last 13 years has been hosted at the Times Union Center in Albany.

CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH

Falconer/Cassadaga Valley 64, Akron/Alden 11

120: Hunter Teboe (FCV) d. Cole Kissell, 4-3;

126: Thomas Fischer (ALAK) d. Tony Fiasco, 8-6.

132: Jimmy Kramer (FCV) d. Owen Kissell, 8-0.

138: Nick Saeger (FCV) p. Cristian Humbert, :36.

145: Jordan Dustin (FCV) p. Gage Baumler, 4:39.

152: Dylan Ingrao (FCV) p. Hunter Oldenski, 3:47.

160: Dan Torres (FCV) d. Robbie PeQueen, 11-9.

170: Jacob Sarow (ALAK) d. Bryce Baglia, 9-6.

182: Robbie Penhollow (FCV) p. Brady Jensen, :31.

195: Dillon Hokanson (FCV) win via forfeit.

220: Corey Keefe (FCV) p. Millard Young, :14.

285: Chase Johnson (FCV) p. Bair Jacobs, :54.

99: Brodie Little (FCV) win via forfeit.

106: Brayden Newman (FCV) win via forfeit.

113: Josh Cummings (ALAK) win via forfeit.