There’s little substitute for experience.
Every one of the area competitors who were at the Ohio State Wrestling Championships a year ago won his opening match Thursday at Value City Arena. Good fortune wasn’t, however, exclusive to those seven young men.
After two rounds of wrestling, 13 of the area’s 15 wrestlers are still alive and stand just one victory from earning All-Ohio honors.
The last area competitor to take the mat in the first round of competition, Lakeside’s Chuck Morgan overcame a broken hand to score a 5-3 win over Toledo St. Francis de Sales’ Sam Burns in the Division I heavyweight bracket.
“I got the takedown in the first period and got some back points,” Morgan said. “Then I tried to hold on and chill because I knew he couldn’t take me down.”
Morgan understands that the win was just the first over several he needs to reach his goal.
“It feels good, but it’s just one step,” he said. “But it’s just one step. I’ve got two more to get to the finals.”
Morgan’s teammate, Kyle Conel, also scored a two-point win, a 9-7 decision over Moose Al-Najjar of North Olmsted at 195 pounds.
“I’ll take it one match at a time,” Conel said. “It feels good to get my hand raised, now I’ve got to think about the next one.”
The Perry grapplers used a bit of inspiration from coach Dave Rowan, who’s been out of action since January. The Pirates combined to win all five of their matches in the Division II tourney.
“They were dialed in,” Pirates assistant coach Chris Bezzeg, filling in for Rowan, said. “They were pretty focused. They did the things they needed to do to be successful. They did the things they’ve done all year long. They executed very well. Four of them have been here before. They know what it’s going to be like.
“Dave talked to them before they warmed up. It’s great to have him down here. It’s nice for Dave. The kids are really excited and he’s really excited to be here.”
Collin Dees scored a 5-1 victory at 113, Aaran Gessic netted a 16-0 technical fall at 132 and Alec Schenk, Evan Nichols and Billy Miller pinned their opponents at 160, 195 and heavyweight, respectively.
The Pirates are in third place as a team.
Also in Division II, Bill Post succumbed, 13-6, in his opening match, but rebounded to pin his second opponent in the first round of consolation wrestling.
“I’m not going to lie, that first match, the first period, I was overwhelmed,” Post said. “There’s never been that many people in the stands at any of our matches. I took it all in the first period. At the start of the second, all of the butterflies were gone and it was time to get to business.
“It felt great to know I pinned a kid who made states. I was overwhelmed with happiness. But that happiness has to die out because I have five more matches (to get to the third-place match).”
Riverside’s Evan Rosborough won his opener 2-0 in overtime at 220 pounds in Division I and Nick Boggs was victorious at 132.
Madison’s Jarrad Lasko (126) and Nick Montgomery (138) each won their first matches in Division I and Glenn Zaller was victorious at 182 pounds in Division III.
Kirtland’s Evan Francis — a Jefferson resident — dropped his opener but battled back to pin his opponent in the consolation bracket at 126 pounds in Division III.
Eliminated after two rounds of wrestling were Sean Szitas of Grand Valley and Jake Denman of Riverside.
Ettinger is a freelance writer from Ashtabula.
Sports
Morgan, Conel, Zaller still perfect at state
13 of 15 area guys still alive in Columbus
- Sports
-
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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
-
