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Copley junior Sam Wheeler upset Cody Lamberg of Kenmore in the 171-pound Dies championship final, and his father was on hand Saturday to help celebrate.
AKRON – Copley junior Sam Wheeler narrowly missed qualifying for the OHSAA state tournament in 2009.
This season, the muscular 171-pounder is on a mission, and his Dies Memorial championship Saturday should be a signal to all future competitors.
“I just want to be a state placer this year, and I guess I can accomplish that now since I beat one,” said Wheeler after his stunning upset of two-time Dies champion Cody Lamberg of Kenmore.
“I was feeling it. I knew all I had to do was finish my shots,” Wheeler said. “I can get the leg on anybody. I had to finish.”
Indeed.
Trailing 6-3, and seemingly winded late in the match, Wheeler rallied for an 8-6 win and improved to 35-0. “I just wrestled my match,” he said.
Lamberg, who placed fourth at the Division I state meet a year ago, took his first loss and is 23-1.
Another upset came at 152 when No. 1 seed and defending Dies champion Waquiem Comar of Twinsburg fell 6-5 to Chaz McGrain of Olmsted Falls.
Although Comar placed second, Twinsburg did have champions in Del Vinas (112) and Mike Laby (119).
Coventry made a strong showing as well with champions Jesse Gunter (103) and Randy Henline (135). Fifth the last two years at the Division II state meet, Henline held off Highland junior Dan Mirman 3-0.
The Comets, under coach Keith Shinn, placed third in the team standings.
Maybe the biggest surprise of the meet was Cuyahoga Falls. The Black Tigers were sixth last year and eighth after the first day this year, but rallied to grab second place behind repeat team champion Brecksville-Broadview Heights.
Saturday night was bittersweet for Cuyahoga Falls as all three Black Tigers in the finals lost. Canfield junior Robby Reed blanked Falls sophomore Scott Hysell 4-0. Manchester junior Shane Brown topped Falls sophomore Collin Taylor at 130.
At 160, senior Tyler Tesny, now 29-1, dropped his first match of the season 4-2 to still undefeated Adam Lamancusa of West Branch (24-0).
A third champion from the Northeast Ohio Conference is Nordonia’s Mike Benson (145). Benson defeated Zach Noernberg of Cuyahoga Heights 8-5 in the final.
Champions from Medina County included Brunswick’s Jacob Stephens (140) and Buckeye’s Zach Maxworthy (189).
Unseeded Norton heavyweight Mike Rutherford upset No. 1 seed Kyle Kelly of Manchester in the quarterfinals and pinned Twinsburg’s Brandon Bucknell in the semifinals.
Rutherford lost a 3-2 decision to Billy Vaughan of Brecksville in the final.
“Kids who haven’t wrestled him before are going to be really surprised,” Norton coach Eugene Leonard said. “He has such good hips that you think you are taking him down and he just rolls right through.”
One of the best bouts of the night was the battle of third place at 140 when Coventry’s Colton May rallied to nip Zach Bickel of Woodridge 4-3 in extra time.
2010 DIES MEMORIAL FINALS
103- Jesse Gunter (Coventry) major decision Sonny Shump (Barberton), 15-1
112- Del Vinas (Twinsburg) dec. Joey Mooris (Canton South), 5-3
119- Mike Labry (Twinsburg) injury default Mitch Baran (Brecksville), 3-1
125- Robby Reed (Canfield) dec. Scott Hysell (Cuyahoga Falls), 4-0
130- Shane Brown (Manchester) dec. Collin Taylor (Cuyahoga Falls), 3-1
135- Randy Henline (Coventry) dec. Dan Mirman (Highland), 3-0
140- Jacob Stephens (Brunswick) pinned Jimmy Mallos (Cuy. Heights), 2:32
145- Mike Benseon(Nordonia) dec. Zach Noernberg (Cuy. Heights), 8-5
152- Chaz McGrain (Olmsted Falls) dec. Waquiem Comar (Twinsburg), 6-5
160- Adam Lamancusa (West Branch) dec. Tyler Tesny (Cuyahoga Falls), 4-2
171- Sam Wheeler (Copley) dec. Cody Lamberg (Kenmore), 8-6
189- Zach Maxworthy (Buckeye) dec. Nathan Brown (Ellet), 9-1
215- Justin Schafrath (Chippewa) dec. Spencer Willet (Brecksville) 3-1
285- Billy Vaughan (Brecksville) dec. Mike Rutherford (Norton), 3-2
THIRD PLACE FINISHERS
103- Kyle Ferguson (Manchester), 112- Coby Fehr (Barberton), 135- Connor McMahon (Cuyahoga Falls), 140- Colton May (Coventry), 152- Rusty Lockhart (Coventry), 189- Anthony Pennington (Southeast), 215- Caleb Curtis (Brunswick), 285- Brandon Kravec (Garfield Heights).
FOURTH PLACE FINISHERS
119- J.R Weizbiski (Cuyahoga Falls), 125- Josh Kapper (Manchester), 130- Mark Gupko (Nordonia), 140- Zach Bickel (Woodridge), 145- Dylan King (Cuyahoga Falls), 171- Zach Peterson (Revere), 215- Cody Carrow (Buckeye).
2010 DIES MEMORIAL TOP 10 TEAM SCORES
249.0 / Brecksville-Broadview Heights
181.0 / Cuyahoga Falls
175.5 / Coventry
164.5 / Twinsburg
156.0 / Cuyahoga Heights
155.5 / West Branch
130.5 / Highland
127.0 / Barberton
121.5 / Buckeye
119.0 / Manchester