HARWELLPHOTO.COM

A rematch of the 132-pound Ironman quarterfinal between Wadsworth three-time state placer and two-time finalist Kagan Squire and two-time state placer and returning runner-up Edgar Bright of St. Edward is on the horizon.

No need to wait.

A rematch of the 132-pound Walsh Ironman quarterfinal between Wadsworth three-time state placer and two-time finalist Kagan Squire and two-time state placer and returning runner-up Edgar Bright of St. Edward is on the horizon.

So is the projected Division I state final between Grizzlies heavyweight Nick Tavanello and Eagles big man Greg Kuhar.

All that has to happen Sunday is for No. 1 St. Edward to beat No. 8 Kettering Fairmont and for No. 4 Wadsworth to top No. 5 Maple Heights at the State Duals.

If that happens, the Eagles and Grizzlies would go toe-to-toe for the right to face either second-seeded Cincinnati Moeller, third-seeded Massillon Perry, sixth-seeded Marysville or seventh-seeded Dublin Coffman in the finals.

“There will be matchups galore all over the place,” Wadsworth coach John Gramuglia said. “It’s just a matter of finding them. There have been some great duals here. This is perfect for us. It creates that district/first round of state atmosphere.”

And it won’t just be limited to the Wadsworth/St. Edward match as six state champions and 23 state placers litter the field.

Heck, in the Eagles’ lineup alone there are seven projected state champions by wrestling guru Josh Lowe.

“It’s fantastic,” Gramuglia said. “We get the opportunity to have it as our first home event.

“The prestige of having those quality teams – especially with St. Ed’s – is awesome. You have the top teams. It’s always fun.”

Wrestling kicks off at noon in the Wadsworth gymnasium with the semis slated for a 2 p.m. start and the finals to follow two hours after.

More State Duals

Walsh Jesuit will travel to St. Paris Graham on Sunday in the Division II State Duals.

The Warriors are on a collision course with the 11-time defending champion Falcons in the semifinals.

The first round pits No. 1 Graham against No. 8 Perry with No. 6 Wauseon taking fourth-seeded Walsh. No. 3 Olentangy squares off with No. 5 Padua, and No. 2 Urichsville Claymont has No. 7 New Richmond in the first round.

The bracket was altered from the normal No. 4 vs. No. 5 first round pairing because the Warriors and Bruins are both members of the North Coast League.

The Division II field has six returning state champions including Walsh’s Nate Skonieczny (138) and 11 state placers. It would be 12 placers, but Nic Skonieczny is still nursing a football injury that has kept him out of the Warriors’ lineup.

The Lowe down

Lowe is projecting a state title from Medina’s Matt Hammer at 138 pounds in Division I with runner-up finishes coming from Stow’s Conner McMahon (160), Twinsburg’s Mike Baker (182) and Tavanello.

He has placings coming from Squire (3rd), Barberton’s Cobey Fehr (4th, 126), Twinsburg’s Mike Labry (4th, 138), Medina’s Ryan Hornack (5th, 113) and Highland’s Lazar Vilimonovic (8th, 160).

In Division II, he predicts state titles for Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy’s Nathan Tomasello (113) and Nate Skonieczny and has CVCA’s Matt Meadows beating St. Vincent-St. Mary’s Ray Stone in the finals at 220.

He also sees Ryan Bennett (5th, 106), Matt Dobben (5th, 145) and Josh Decatur (6th, 132) placing for CVCA with Cory Stainbrook (3rd, 120), Mike Kostandaras (3rd, 126) and Dominic Scarberry (4th, 160) placing for Walsh.

Joining Stone on the podium for the Fighting Irish are Ryan Skonieczny (4th, 132), Mike Rix (5th, 120) and Aaron Adkins (5th, 182).

Field’s T.J. Fox (3rd, 145) and Southeast’s Tylor Brokaw (7th, 170) round out the D-II list.

In Division III, Lowe foresees Garrettsville Garfield’s Aaron Yonker winning a title at 160 with teammate Kevin Stock finishing second at 182.

He also has Rootstown’s Garrett Linton (3rd, 220) and Manchester’s Kyle Ferguson (4th, 120) on the podium.

For a complete list of the top 16 in each weight class, click here.

J.C. Gorman

Manchester and Black River return to the J.C. Gorman after sixth- and 16th-place finishes a year ago.

Ferguson is back to defend his title, while John Morrison finished fifth at 119.

The only returning placer for the Pirates is 113-pounder Mike Hozan, who finished second.