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Black Tiger senior Colin Taylor (138) leads Cuyahoga Falls into the annual Northeast Ohio Conference wrestling tournament Friday and Saturday at Garfield Heights. Taylor is a returning state qualifier.
The state tournament run starts in two weeks, but for Northeast Ohio Conference wrestlers it actually begins Friday and Saturday.
As strange as that sounds, two area league coaches think this weekend’s NOC Tournament at Garfield Heights is a step above the sectionals at which they'll compete on Feb. 17.
Twinsburg, which finished second last year at the NOCT and first the year before, sees a tournament lined with 39 ranked wrestlers and knows if the Tigers stay healthy, they’ll look back on this weekend as a stepping stone for things to come.
“It’s got to be the toughest league tournament in the state,” Twinsburg coach Dave Mariola Sr. said. “If you look at some of the teams that are ranked, you have Solon, you have Mentor, Medina is always tough and Elyria is always tough.
“If you look at how state assumptions in the (Brakeman) report are supposed to go you have five teams out of 18 teams (with Twinsburg included) that are very good. Then you add the individuals from other schools. You look through the whole thing and you don’t have an easy way.”
With retuning state champ Michael Baker at 182 pounds and three-time placer Mike Labry at 138, the Tigers should once again be in the running with Elyria.
But Mariola believes the NOCT should be credited for Baker’s upset win at state last year over Cincinnati Elder’s Ian Korb.
“Your sectional is going to be easier than the NOC,” Mariola said. “This was a springboard for Michael last year. You’ll see so many different styles that you don’t normally see and you’ll see them here. It helps prepare you.”
It did for Medina as well in 2011 as the Bees’ seventh-place showing at state was the first time the school finished in the top 10.
With four state placers a year ago, Medina – which has won the last three River Division crowns – looked at the NOCT and saw much of the same thing.
“It’s a pretty tough tournament,” Bees coach Chad Gilmore said. “You’ll have good matches from Day 1. I like that we have a week off before sectionals. For us personally, it’s a great tournament to get back into tournament mode. It escalates from there.
“Most sectionals, you’re going to have maybe four tough kids in on a good weight class, maybe the fact our conference has six or more quality kids, is a testament to it.”
Fans don’t have to look past 138 to see that that weight class is loaded from top to bottom.
Labry (5th), Medina’s Matt Hammer (6th), Mentor’s Jordan Victor (9th), Cuyahoga Falls’ Colin Taylor (10th) and Solon’s Anthony Restifo (21st) are all packed in what should be the best competition of the weekend.
“It’s definitely a grind,” Gilmore said. “If you’re winning your conference tournament, it’s definitely a confidence boost to end the regular season.
“I think Teddy Hammer (a state runner-up last year), knew he was in the mix last year, but to get over that hump and be crowned NOC champ gave him that extra boost.”
Every year I’m shuffling
Remember, the Lorain Division I District and Firestone Division II District get to take a break this year with things headed out west this season.
The district lineup looks like this: Division I: Ashland, Mentor, Fairfield, Hilliard Darby. Division II: Alliance, Claymont, Goshen, Marion Harding. Division III: Garfield Heights, Heath, Kettering Fairmont, Owens Community College.
State rankings report
Wrestling prognosticator Josh Lowe of Intermatwrestle.com has filed his tournament projections and there are a slew of state champions and finalists expected by the nine-year veteran.
In Division I, Lowe has Wadsworth’s Nick Tavanello (285) winning a state title among area wrestlers with Cobey Fehr (Barberton, 126), Connor McMahon (Stow, 160) and Baker finishing second. He also sees state crowns coming from Solon NOC representatives Brandon Thompson (113) and Anthony Collica (145) with Elyria’s Armando Torres finishing second at 106.
In Division II, Lowe sees a state title out of Nathan Tomasello (Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy, 113), Nate Skonieczny (Walsh Jesuit, 138) and Matt Meadows (CVCA, 220) with Cory Stainbrook (Walsh, 120), Mike Kostandaras (Walsh, 126) and Nic Skonieczny (Walsh, 132) logging runner-up finishes.
In Division III, he’s high on projected state champion Aaron Yonker (Garrettsville Garfield, 160) with teammate Kevin Stock (182) finishing second. Lowe also sees a title for Keystone Patriot Athletic Conference representative William Spangler at 126.
For a complete list of Lowe’s rankings, CLICK HERE:
Trio staying put
Well, for now anyways. While they’re all certified to drop, Highland’s Colin Rininger (152), Lazar Vilimonovic (160) and Adam Kluk (170) are expected to stay where they are at according to coach Paul Casey.
Kluk, who has dropped from 182 to 170, was toying with the idea of falling to 160, but Casey said, the three will stay where they are right now.
“If they are (dropping), they haven’t told me,” Casey said. “That would be a surprise to me.”