With more than 70 area wrestlers in three divisions qualifying for district tournaments, it’s safe to say the 2011-12 season was a great one.
Grand Valley senior Matt Zaller placed sixth at 195 pounds in the Division III state tournament and is the Star Beacon Ashtabula County Wrestler of the Year.
He was joined in Columbus by teammates Sean Szitas and Glenn Zaller to form the first trio of Mustangs to compete in Columbus together since Bobby Jones, Darrell Lancaster and Paul Pawlowski did so in 1983.
The Mustangs were runners-up at the Beachwood section and finished 10-2 in dual meets under coach Steve Paratto, who is the Coach of the Year.
Joining Matt Zaller, a senior, and Paratto on the All-Ashtabula County Team are fellow Mustangs Szitas (152 pounds, senior) and Glenn Zaller (170, sophomore).
Fellow state qualifiers, Zach Campbell (Pymatuning Valley, D-III, 132, junior), Alex Cash (Jefferson, D-II, 152, senior) and Chuck Morgan (Lakeside, heavyweight, junior) are also on the team.
Joey Baitt (Jefferson, 120), Travis Dickey (Edgewood, 126), Ricker Maple (Jefferson, 113), Gage Severino (Jefferson, heavyweight) and Alesha Zappitella (Conneaut, 106) join Szitas and Matt Zaller as second-time members of the team.
Garnering first-time honors are Zach Benedict (PV, 132), Kyle Conel (Lakeside, 195), Cody Ellis (PV, 182), Chris Hunt (Geneva, 195), Justin MacCartney (GV, 106) and Jimmy Wilson (Edgewood, 220).
Ettinger is a freelance writer from Ashtabula.
Sports
County squad shows area’s excellence
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Jefferson comes up a run short vs. Chagrin Falls
Whether it was the mistakes of a largely youthful team or just a case of bad timing, the Jefferson Falcons struggled to get hits with runners in scoring position during a Division II district semifinal final against Chagrin Falls.
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Edgewood can’t hold off charge of NDCL
Not many people expected a much out of the Edgewood Warrior baseball team this year.
With a young team featuring only two seniors, Edgewood advanced all the way to the district semifinal contest Monday night before losing an early lead and succumbing to a talented second-seeded Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin team, 8-5. -
A Don McCormack column: Home fires burn for Fitch
Paying another visit to the variety store...
Homecoming
It didn’t take long for Ryan Fitch to find a new “home” as a basketball coach. -
PAC-ing a familiar punch
The Madison and Riverside softball teams are quite familiar with each other at this point in the season after having played each other twice during the regular season.
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High School Baseball Statistics:
DIVISION II
DISTRICT SEMIFINAL
Chargin Falls 3, Jefferson 2
at Cotton Field, Havens Complex -
Scholastic Statistics:
TUESDAY, MAY 21
Baseball
Division II
at Havens Complex, Jefferson
District championship
(1) Chagrin Falls vs. (2) NDCL -
CLEVELAND MARATHON:
Ashtabula County Finishers
Chris Sopko, Roaming Shores, Male, 34, 2:59:14
Jesse Sharp, Ashtabula, Male, 56, 3:23:26
Erik van't Veer, Ashtabula, Male, 44, 3:28:22
Daniel Loose, Ashtabula, Male, 50, 3:44:05
Benjamin Hawes, Dorset, Male, 27, 3:58:47
Shawn Van Buren, Ashtabula, Male, 28, 4:04:58
Sebastian Ornelas, Ashtabula, Male, 34, 4:10:18
Robert Sapatka, Jefferson, Male, 46, 4:21:26
Samual Spain, Geneva, Male, 44, 4:22:34 -
The next level
In a perfect world, Jefferson and Edgewood would prevail in their respective Division II district semifinal baseball contests tonight and square off Tuesday with a district championship on the line.
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On their own
While Jefferson and Edgewood will be keeping an eye on each other as they enter the district-tournament waters tonight in Division II contests at Havens Complex, the area’s other two sectional-championship squads won’t have to worry about distractions.
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A Don McCormack column: Tributes continue to roll in
Paying a visit to the variety store...
Man of honor
I’ve been flooded with messages, emails and telephone calls about the passing of Paul Demshar last Thursday in Jacksonville, Fla. - More Sports Headlines
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