MENTOR — At least after the first round of wrestling in the Division I district tournament Friday at Mentor High School, area competitors were holding their own.
Seven of the 15 wrestlers who entered the tournament won their opening matches. Another round of championship-bracket wrestling was to be held later Friday night.
Wrestling resumes at 9 a.m. today with consolation wrestling. Championship-semifinal wrestling will begin at approximately 11 a.m. The championship and consolation finals are set for 7 p.m. The four wrestlers in the championship and consolation finals will have earned berths at the state tournament next Thursday through Saturday at Value City Arena in Columbus.
Both Riverside and Madison are also in good shape in the team standings after the first round. Riverside had 13.5 points to tie for ninth, while Madison stood 15th with 10 points. Massillon Perry led the team race with 34 points, followed by Twinsburg with 24 and Mentor with 22.
Area wrestlers got off to a rousing start. Madison freshman Nick Montgomery pinned his first opponent at 103 pounds and Riverside’s Cameron Ellis earned a technical fall at that weight. Madison senior Matt Turek followed that with a pin of Riverside’s Ariel Guerrero at 119 pounds.
Other first-round winners included Riverside’s Jon Knott with a pin at 145 pounds, the Beavers’ Nick Stofan with a pin at 152, Madison’s Nick Lasko with a decision at 215 pounds and Riverside’s Jake Rich with a decision at 285.
Losers from the area in the first round in addition to Guerrero were Madison’s Josh Burr and Riverside’s Mitch Diemert (135), Riverside’s Jake Denman (140), Madison’s Jake Montgomery (145), Lakeside’s Shawn Dell (160), Riverside’s Sean Schilling (189) and Riverside’s Rich Russell (215).
— Karl Pearson
