Buckeye wrestling wins State Duals title; Brecksville, Rootstown second, Wadsworth third
Make no mistake. Finishing in the top three in the Division I State Duals is an accomplishment.
It’s also a bitter pill at the same time.
Brecksville finished second for the third consecutive season behind five-time reigning champion St. Edward in a 35-21 loss Saturday.
Wadsworth was third for the second season in a row with a 44-21 win over Dublin Coffman in the consolation final.
That said, the Grizzlies lost 41-14 to the Bees in the semifinals in consecutive seasons.
Wadsworth, Brecksville Wrestling:Bees, Grizzlies flex muscles at Suburban League Championships
“We walk out with a sour taste, and I think that says something,” Brecksville coach Todd Haverdill said. “The last couple years they just put it on us and we’re just like, ‘Hey, they’re better than us.’ Today, there were some matches that were tight and a couple could go the other way. We got a real interesting finish, so I'm really proud of their effort. But we didn’t come here to take a second.”
The Bees tied things with the host Eagles at 15 with six matches to go but fell behind down the stretch.
Brock Herman (144 pounds) and Max Vanadia (215) were the only three-time winners. David Zambounis (150) went 2-0.
“I mean, Ed’s is really good,” Herman said. “They’re the top team. They’re always going to be the top team coming in here, so you can’t be upset with second place. Come the (individual) state tournament, we’ll be ready.”
Brecksville beat Cincinnati LaSalle 64-8 and Wadsworth beat Olentangy Liberty 33-22 in the opener to set up the semifinal between the Bees and Grizzlies that ended much like the duo’s first meeting in January (35-15).
“A lot has to happen before state,” Wadsworth 132-pounder Jaxon Joy said. “We have to get healthy. Nothing is going to be easy. We have to win those close matches.”
The good news for Wadsworth is that injured AJ Jardine and Jake Keirn should be back by sectional.
Add to that, Joy, Kade Mellon (126), Chris Earnest (157), Coen Grim (190) and Aaron Ries (285) each went 3-0 so there were positives.
“This weekend was huge for us because teams like Liberty, Coffman and Springboro we won’t see until March,” Grimm said. “It's really crucial to wrestle them now, so in March we can be ready.”
Buckeye wins Division II duals in dramatic fashion
It was shades of 2020 all over again when Buckeye won the Junior High Duals.
This time it came at the big school level with the Bucks beating St. Paris Graham 35-32 to end a two-year reign by the Falcons.
It also came in dramatic fashion with Buckeye trailing by three heading into heavyweight. That last match lasted 30 seconds with Todd Allen (285) pinning Kaden Barnes to clinch it.
Blake Bartos (106), Colyn Limbert (113), Austin McKee (126), Kaden King (157), Dillon Badiu (175), Eddie Neitenbach (190) and Mark Stanton (215) also won for Buckeye.
The Bucks beat West Holmes 64-6 and Louisville 65-11 to reach the final.
“This is a huge win but it’s just one goal that we have for the season,” Bucks coach Mike Tecco said. “They are ready to take the next step towards our goal in March. This win has them pumped up and excited to get on to the next goal. These guys won a youth state title, a junior high state title and now a high school state title, and they want one more.”
Louisville finished fourth. The Leopards beat St. Vincent-St. Mary 39-34 to open things up but fell to the Bucks in the semis. Wauseon stopped them 33-24 in the consolation final.
Dylan Rhoads (132/138) and Dominic Hoffarth (150) each won three times for the Leopards.
STVM was sixth with a loss to Louisville, a 46-27 win over West Holmes and 37-34 loss to Indian Valley.
Bryce Skinner (126), Rylan Hurley (144), Bryson Getz (215) and Andy Vanscoy (285) went 3-0 for the Fighting Irish.
Rootstown just misses winning Division III
A year ago, the Rovers didn't have the chance to compete in the duals tournament due to not having enough district qualifiers from the prior season.
They felt they were good enough then.
And they were determined to prove it this season.
They surely did, both last week in Rootstown, where the Rovers plowed their way through their district competition, and Saturday in Versailles, when they came a point shy of bringing home a state title.
Rootstown's title match against top-seeded Archbold Saturday was back and forth the entire way.
Senior Lane McKenzie staged a wild comeback after he spent most of his 215-pound match on the mat, with two massive takedowns in the third period for a 9-7 victory that put the Rovers ahead by five (33-28).
The Blue Streaks needed a pin, and that's exactly what they got, with senior Carson Dominique pinning freshman Jackson Heckert late in the first period to wrap up a 34-33 victory.
The entire title match swung back and forth wildly.
After Archbold won the first two matches for a quick 10-0 lead, Rootstown's Will McEwuen (120), Bryce Edwards (126) and Nick Malek (132) won three straight. Back came the Blue Streaks with three consecutive wins. Then the Rovers answered with three straight.
It was an epic close to a state dual meet in which Rootstown dominated its opener 53-19 against Perry before edging Barnesville in the semifinals.
In that opener, the Pirates actually led 13-12 before the Rovers racked up eight straight victories, starting with back-to-back-to-back pins by Tyler Paulus (138), Dylan Wise (144) and Brian Youngblood (150).
Rootstown also had to rally against Barnesville after four straight wins put the Shamrocks up three (21-18). Again, the Rovers' middleweights delivered, with Tristen McKibben, Cody Coontz, Sylas Reiheld and Lane McKenzie winning four straight, three by pin, to deliver a much-needed 21 points, enough to punch their ticket to the championship match.
Jonah Rosenblum contributed to this story.
Contact Brad Bournival at bbournival@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @bbournival.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Greater Akron area wrestling teams strong at State Duals tournaments
