Gouverneur Wildcat Sophomore Carter Baer on top of the podium after winning the 138-pound Division II championship at the 2020 New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) Wrestling Championships in Albany. (photo by Dylan Morrison)
by Dick Sterling
The Gouverneur Wildcats have their sixth New York State wrestling champion. Carter Baer, a sophomore and the son of Wildcat Wrestling Coach Joel Baer, upset top seeded Brady Worthing, who entered the state championship match with a record of 45-0, and was the defending New York State champ at 132 pounds, by a 6-4 decision to claim the 138-pound Division II championship at the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) Wrestling Championships, last weekend, in Albany.
Carter joins John Minckler (2004), Josh Denesha (2005-06), David Perrigo (2006-07), Dillon Stowell (2013) and Hunter Ayen (2013) in the elite group of state wrestling champs from Gouverneur.
Carter, who entered the tournament with a season record of 38-3 and a career mark of 134-16, was seeded third and opened the tournament by pinning Edwin Kent, of Eagle Academy, in 1:38. His second match on Friday was against sixth seeded Dylan Price, of Marcellus/Onondaga. Carter won the quarterfinal match with a 5-1 decision.
The Wildcat standout had his work cut out for him on Saturday. His semifinal match was against number two seed Kaleb Burgess, of Palmyra/Macedon, who entered the match with a record of 53-4. Once again, Carter controlled the match and earned a spot in the title match with a 6-1 decision.
In the title match, Baer and Worthing went toe-to-toe in a scoreless first period. Carter worked his way into an escape in the second period to take a 1-0 lead. Later in the period he earned a takedown to stretch his advantage to 3-0. Later in the match, Baer took Worthing to the mat again to extend his lead to 5-0. Worthing then earned a takedown of his own and briefly put Carter to his back to be awarded a two-point near fall cutting the lead to 5-4. Baer earned another escape and then managed to keep his opponent from scoring another point.
Baer completes an outstanding sophomore season with an impressive record of 42-3. Two of his three losses were to Justin McDougald, of Niagara/Wheatfield, by scores of 3-1 and 8-5. McDougald went on to win the 138-pound Division I title. His other loss, a 1-0 decision, was to Gavin Damasco, of Commack, who finished fourth at 138 pounds in Division I. His 138 Career wins leaves him just 62 shy of the 200-win mark with two more years to go.
Carter is the first Section 10 wrestler since 2015 to win a title, and the first Wildcat wrestler since 2013 to earn a championship.
With 127 teams represented in the Division II tournament, the Gouverneur Wildcats finished in 10th place with 47.5 points. Three other Wildcat wrestlers placed in the tournament. Tyler Tupper (170 pounds) and Jacob Shippee (182) pounds, both placed seventh and Joseph Cummings (152) earned an eighth place finish.
Three other Wildcat wrestlers, Zoe Griffith (99 pounds), Trayton Tupper (120) and Vandavian Way (126) also took part in the tournament. Griffith, a seventh grader, Way, an eighth grader and Tupper, a sophomore, will have plenty of opportunity to find their way back to states again.
Congratulations to Carter Baer and the entire GHS wrestling program for another outstanding season. Wildcat fans are already looking forward to the 2020-21 season.