SPORTSINK.COM PHOTO
Seeded second at the Ironman, CVCA senior Matt Meadows (220) reached the semifinals on Saturday afternoon with an 8-4 win over Garrett Linton of Rootstown.
CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio – Three 220-pound wrestlers from our SportsInk.com coverage area made it to the quarterfinals of the Walsh Jesuit Ironman.
The bracket illustrates the elite level of competition at the Ironman, which annually attracts premier talent from across the country.
In fact, viewers from 38 different states were watching the live stream of the Ironman on the Internet.
Just one week earlier, Rootstown senior Garrett Linton dominated opponents at the Aurora Invitational on his way to being named MVP of the tournament.
Linton had pinned his first two Ironman opponents in a combined time of less than 5:00.
But in the quarters, he would meet No. 2 seed Matt Meadows, a CVCA senior, who one week earlier had beaten the top seed – Ty Walz of Lakewood St. Edward – 7-5 in overtime.
At the top of the bracket, Walz was to tangle with hard-charging St. Vincent-St. Mary senior Ray Stone, a 5-4 winner in the second round over Evan Daley of Fort LeBoeuf in Pennsylvania.
The middle four quarterfinalists included nationally ranked contenders in Kyle Snyder of Good Counsel in Maryland, A.J. Vizcarrondo of Wyoming Seminary in Pennsylvania, and Austin Lobsinger of West Valley in California.
Chalmer Frueauf of Cincinnati Moeller, an Ohio state placer was slated to meet Snyder. Vizcarrando and Lobsinger were scheduled to faceoff.
Walz had no problem with Stone, winning 20-7. However, Stone broke a bone in his hand during the match and will be sidelined at least until mid-season, according to St. V-M coach Anthony Gary.
Meadows yielded a 2-point reversal, but otherwise controlled Linton to win 8-4.
“This is a different level of competition,” CVCA coach Don Lorence said. “Matt has made a big jump from where he was last year.”
Through the quarterfinals, Meadows, third at the OHSAA Division III state meet last March, had not been taken down.
“I’ve been working hard this year and it’s paying off,” said Meadows, a linebacker for the Royals’ football team. “On top, I’ve been doing well tilting a lot of people and getting back points.”
Possessing a tree trunk-like lower body, Meadows trains against current and former collegiate wrestlers.
“He’s at a level now, it’s hard to find high school guys who can give him a go,” Lorence said. “He’s being heavily recruited and will be a 197-pounder in college. He has good grades. He’s worked hard for it.”
Vizzcarondo edged Lobsinger 4-3. Snyder won a major decision over Frueauf 13-3.
And so it went on Saturday afternoon at the Ironman or as one observer said years ago, “The place where state champions go to die.”