PHOTO BY DAVE WILSON
Mike Labry is in position to be the first wrestler to win three Northeast Ohio Conference championships. Labry is into Saturday's semifinal round of the NOC tournament at 138 pounds.
GARFIELD HEIGHTS, Ohio – A former Medina County soccer coach once said people don’t remember conference championships, they remember state titles.
That coach never talked to a wrestler because matheads around the state will tell you, some of their fondest memories happened in league matches.
Such is the case for those competing Friday and Saturday in the Northeast Ohio Conference Tournament.
For Twinsburg, which won the tournament in 2010 and finished second to Elyria last season, it was a chance to right a wrong and get back on top.
After Friday's first round of action, the Tigers are outpacing Solon by three points and the Pioneers by 6½ points.
They’ll send Mike Labry (138 pounds), Tyrone McGuinea (145), Alex Keller (160), Michael Baker (182), Myles Campbell (195) and Willie Williams (285) to the semifinals on Saturday.
Solon has five in the round of four, while Elyria has six.
So believe it when Labry, who has a chance to become the first three-time NOC champion, tells you, this one means a lot.
“To win conference three times would be nice,” He said. “To win as a team is big, too. Winning here – or doing well – gives you a feel for what might happen down at state. We’ve had a couple (three) losses in dual meets this year, so winning here would be big.”
But it’s not just all about the Tigers, who have never finished worse than fourth in the five-year history of the event.
Medina’s seniors are on a quest to become the first class in school history to win four straight conference wrestling titles.
The last three years, the Bees have been in the driver’s seat en route to their River Division titles.
This year, Medina has to play a little bit of catch-up as it finished tied for third with Stow-Munroe Falls in the dual meet portion of the season. North Royalton and Hudson finished tied for first.
As the teams head into Saturday's all-important semifinal round, the Bulldogs and Explorers sit ahead of them.
But not by much as Stow holds an 8½-point advantage after Day 1, while Hudson is eight points ahead.
That’s nothing as the big-point round comes in the semifinals with Matt Hammer (138), Ryan Hornack (113) and Zach Getto (120) available to lead the rally for the Bees.
“(Saturday) morning is huge,” Hornack said. “We have to have kids in the consolation step up and get wins. If they’re out, it’s up to me, Matt and Zach to get it done. It’s the most important day of the season for us so far.”
Stow counters with Dylan Hartwig (120), Connor McMahon (160) and Gage Finigan (195) in the semis.
Hudson sends Marc Trommer (220) and Peter Mougey (285) into the round of four.
“The semifinals are the test,” Twinsburg coach Dave Mariola said. “We have to be ready.”
GARFIELD HEIGHTS– Results Friday from the fifth annual Northeast Ohio Conference Tournament at Garfield Heights High School.
Team standings: 1. Twinsburg 75; 2. Solon 72; 3. Elyria 68.5; 4. Mentor 58.5; 5. Parma 50.5; 6. Stow 49.5; 7. Hudson 49; 8. Garfield Height 45; 9. Medina 41; 10. North Royalton 39.5; 1. Brunswick 38; 12. Strongsville 35.5; 13. Cuyahoga Falls 30.5; 14. Normandy 30; 15. Mayfield 26; 16. Lakewood 24.5; 17. Brush 14. 18. Valley Forge 6.
Semifinal pairings
106: Torres (Ely) vs. (Damico (Str); Thomas (Bru) vs. Kramer (Ment); 113: Thompson (Sol) vs. Bartenelli (NR); Desanto (Ment) vs. Hornack (Med); 120: Getto (Med) vs. Duran (Sol); Hartwig (Sto) Canon (Ely); 126: Levitsky (Par) vs. Bishop (May); Williams (Brus) vs. Trunzo (NR); 132: Abdel-Salem (Lak) vs. Morgan (NR); Egnor (Ely) vs. Victor (Ment); 138: Labry (Twi) vs. Restifo (Sol) vs. Taylor (CF) vs. Hammer (Med); 145: Collica (Sol) vs. Celinski (Gar); McGuinea (Twi) vs. Feckley (Lak); 152: Price (Ely) vs. Henry (Ment); Smith (Brus) vs. Banko (GH); 160: McMahon (Sto) vs. Keller (Twi); Kresevic (Sol) vs. Lebrun (Str); 170: Glasko (Norm) vs. Hughes (Bru); Murray (May) vs. Kamczcy (Ely); 182: Baker (Twi) vs. Doyle (Brun); Halaska (Par) vs. Shepard (GH); 195: Campbell (Twi) vs. Jones (Ely); Lykins (Par) vs. Finegan (Sto); 220: Asriyan (Str) vs. Trommer (Hud); Garner (Sto) vs. Ware (CF); 285: Reagan (Brun) vs. Mougey (Hud); Sullens (Ment) vs. Williams (Twi).