Gelinas, Chinn take the mat for last time vs. Spencerport
Canandaigua seniors were on the last Section V team to defeat the Rangers.

JJOHNSO@DemocratandChronicle.com
Democrat and Chronicle

(February 7, 2004) — Canandaigua seniors Greg Gelinas and Trevor Chinn can brag.
They can say that they were on the last Section V wrestling team to beat Spencerport.

No small feat, but it’s worth noting that it happened at the 2001 Class A sectionals. Canandaigua and Spencerport finished one-two in team scoring.

When it comes to the world of head-to-head dual meets, Spencerport has been unbeatable the last 10 years.

Gelinas and Chinn take another shot at it with their Canandaigua teammates at 7 o’clock tonight at Spencerport, which has won 109 consecutive duals with area teams.

No tickets will be available at the gymnasium, since all 1,000 were sold, including the 250 given to Canandaigua for the nonleague meet.

“This is our last shot,’’ says Gelinas, a two-time sectional class champion who will wrestle at 125 or 130 pounds. “It’s always exciting to wrestle Spencerport because they are the team to beat.

“We’ve wrestled in a lot of big matches, so I’m used to that environment, but it’s definitely loud in there.’’

Canandaigua’s lineup will walk into a gym swirling with noise — the playpen of the No. 1-ranked large-school team in the state.

“You have to wrestle your opponent and not the event,’’ says Chinn, a state champion last year. “It seems like in the past, we would get so hyped.

“Some of the guys would warm-up too early and were dead on the mat because they were so drained.’’

The Braves are ranked sixth and have a strong tradition with 10 sectional titles of their own. Canandaigua was the last Section V team to beat Spencerport in a dual — in February 1994.

“They have a very good team that matches up well against us,’’ says Spencerport coach Bill Jacoutot. “Funny things can happen in a rivalry.

“Some guys you expect to win, don’t. We have to see who has the best reaction to what happens.’’