SPORTSINK.COM PHOTO
Garrettsville Garfield's Kevin Stock (182) is one of four G-Men headed this weekend to the OHSAA state wrestling tournament in Columbus. Stock won the Garfield Heights Division III District.
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Last Saturday’s state wrestling finals left reporters with a ton to talk about – that night and in the year to come.
It took a while to process all the information – as always, there’s a laundry list full of “did you see that?” moments.
It’s been a few days since the greatest show on polyethylene foam has taken place.
Three-time state titlists were crowned from the SportsInk.com area. Two-time state champions were as well, while others stepped up with another crown to keep title hopes alive in terms of being a four-time king.
We’ll break down each division and look at some of the highs and lows from the tournament, starting with Division I in terms of area action.
Division I
Team of the tournament: While the easy pick here would be Wadsworth, we’ll give the award to Medina.
The Bees broke a school record by finishing seventh overall with Ryan Hornack, Mike Griffith, Matt Hammer and Teddy Hammer all placing.
Medina has never had more than three state placers and hasn’t finished in the top 10 in the 74 years the event has taken place. Teddy Hammer was also the school’s first state finalist since 1996.
Wrestler of the tournament: We’ll stick with the coaches here and select Twinsburg’s Michael Baker over Copley’s Sam Wheeler or Wadsworth’s Nick Tavanello.
Baker knocked off the No. 1 seed Ian Korb of Cincinnati Elder at 171.
Shocker of the tournament: Kagan Squire’s 2-1 loss in overtime to Cincinnati Moeller’s Joey Ward at 125.
Squire had beaten Ward at the Moeller Duals, Ironman and State Duals coming in. The Wadsworth junior had two close matches with Ward during the season, but counted a major decision win over Ward as well.
Finals match of the tournament: Without question, it was Baker against Korb in the area.
Both competitors traded escapes in the second and third period to set up the extra session. Baker was the aggressor the entire overtime and finally was rewarded when he took Korb down near the edge of the mat with three seconds left.
Statistic of the tournament: There are two in this category. The Northeast Ohio Conference proved strong as Solon (sixth), Medina (seventh), Twinsburg (eighth) and Mayfield (ninth) finished in the top 10. It was the third year in a row the Tigers have finished in that spot.
The other thing to look at is a possible third state title for Tavanello at 215.
Tavanello is shooting to join Lakewood St. Edward’s Matt Koz and Belmont Union Local’s Koel Davia as the only individuals to win three titles at 215 or higher in Ohio history. Only Koz has won three crowns at the same weight of 215.
Area placers
1st: Michael Baker (Twinsburg, 171); Sam Wheeler (Copley, 189); Nick Tavanello (Wadsworth, 215).
2nd: Kagan Squire (Wadsworth, 125); Nate Ball (Wadsworth, 140); Teddy Hammer (Medina, 152); Sheldon Brandenburg (Wadsworth, 160).
Third: Mike Labry (Twinsburg, 125).
Fourth: Ryan Hornack (Medina,103); Del Vinas (Twinsburg, 103); Mark Gupko (Nordonia, 140).
Fifth: Alfredo Gray (Wadsworth, 130); Connor McMahon (Stow, 145).
Sixth: Jon Garrison (Copley, 145).
Seventh: Mike Griffith (Medina, 135), Matt Hammer (Medina, 140).
Division II
Team of the tournament: Crestwood made a strong case with its sixth-place finish, but the nod goes to Walsh Jesuit.
The Warriors were picked to be an afterthought behind St. Paris Graham and Oak Harbor at the beginning of the tournament, but managed a second-place finish ahead of the Rockets by 11½ points as Cory Stainbrook, Johnni DiJulius and Nate Skonieczny reached the finals.
DiJulius and Skonieczny made true on their No. 1 rankings with titles. It was the team’s first runner-up finish since 2004.
Wrestler of the tournament: The easy choice here is DiJulius, but we’re not going to take that road.
Crestwood’s Cody Ryba is the pick after knocking off the projected No. 1, 2 and 3 wrestlers in his 171-pound weight class at Columbus.
The senior capped off an impressive career by beating Oak Harbor’s Jake Cramer in the finals.
Shocker of the tournament: If he’s the wrestler of the tournament, then he also has to be the upset specialist in D-II as well.
Ryba became the Red Devils’ first state champion since 1994 with his 5-4 win over Cramer.
Finals match of the tournament: Skonieczny drew Garrison in the finals at 135 and needed overtime to beat the junior 3-1.
Like the D-I match of the tournament, the two combatants traded escapes in regular time before Skonieczny notched his state title with a takedown in the first overtime.
It was sweet redemption for the junior, who finished third as a sophomore and second as a freshman. Skonieczny lost his finals match in 2009 to Graham’s Zach Niebert 8-6.
Statistic of the tournament: While Graham winning the state title was a foregone conclusion, Northern Ohio dominated the team race.
Of the top 15 teams, 12 came from the two Northern Ohio Districts, including the second through seventh-place schools.
Area placers
1st: Mike Rix (St. Vincent-St. Mary, 103); Johnni DiJulius (Walsh, 130); Nate Skonieczny (Walsh, 135); Cody Ryba (Crestwood, 171).
2nd: Cory Stainbrook (Walsh, 112); T.J. Fox (Field, 140).
3rd: Nic Skonieczny (Walsh, 140); Carlos Lugo (St. Vincent-St. Mary, 285).
4th: Dan Mirman (Highland, 135); John Novak (Walsh, 145); Tyler Bloniak (Highland, 152).
5th: Rusty Lockhart (Coventry, 189).
6th: Ravonne Lawrence (Southeast, 171); Joey Monroe (Crestwood, 189); Ray Stone (St. Vincent-St. Mary, 215).
7th: Adam Horovitz (Crestwood, 145); Cheney Matarrese (Crestwood, 160); Greydon Pavilik (Ravenna, 285).
8th: Ryan Skonieczny (St. Vincent-St. Mary, 125).
Division III
Team of the tournament: Sorry, Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy, you were supposed to challenge for a team title. The surprise team of the tournament was Garrettsville Garfield.
While the G-Men didn’t place that high – 26th – in the D-III race, they did break a school record with the three state placers in Kevin Stock (4th, 171), Josh Lawrence (8th, 145) and Aaron Yonker (8th, 152).
Wrestler of the tournament: Since there were only two individual champions from the area and they both went to the same school, we’ll give the nod to Alex Utley over Nathan Tomasello at 189.
Tomasello is still in line to win four state titles for CVCA, but Utley broke a two-year runner-up jinx by beating West Salem Northwestern’s Kurt Schaefer 6-0 in the finals.
Shocker of the tournament: That the powers that be didn’t fix a glaring error in the 215 bracket.
While only the top three placers are protected in bracketing and the formula was predetermined, CVCA’s Matt Meadows (8th) and New Lebanon Dixie’s Ethan Hayes (1st) were the only returning placers at the weight.
Instead of it being a state finals match like everyone predicted, it happened in the quarterfinals as both were slotted on the same side of the bracket.
Hayes, who eventually won the title again, beat Meadows 6-4.
Finals match of the tournament: The match of the day belonged to Tomasello, who drew Bedford St. Peter Chanel’s Aaron Assad for the second straight week.
Tomasello beat his Firebirds opponent again in a thriller at 103.
Tied at four heading into the third period, the sophomore picked up an early escape and then took Assad down to win 7-4.
Statistic of the tournament: CVCA has never won a state title, but the Royals are closing in.
With its second straight runner-up finish, the squad has finished in the top five for a fifth consecutive year.
In 2009, CVCA was third. In 2008, the Royals were fourth in D-III and in 2007 they were fourth in D-II.
Area placers
1st: Nathan Tomasello (CVCA, 103); Alex Utley (CVCA, 189).
2nd: Shane Brown (Manchester, 140)
3rd: Matt Meadows (CVCA, 215)
4th: Matt Dobben (CVCA, 140); Kevin Stock (Garrettsville Garfield, 171).
6th: Josh Decatur (CVCA, 125)
7th: Kyle Ferguson (Manchester, 171).
8th: Mike Hozan (Black River, 103); Josh Lawrence (Garrettsville Garfield, 145); Aaron Yonker (Garrettsville Garfield, 152); Garrett Linton (Rootstown, 171).