Recordpub.com - Area High School Wrestling Report

For the last few years, Crestwood has shown the potential to be a tournament-winning squad, but the Red Devils’ form on the big stage has been maddeningly inconsistent.

A runner-up finish at Aurora and a fifth-place finish at Hudson earlier in December seemed to continue that trend.

On Dec. 28 and 29, however, it finally clicked for the Red Devils.

After finishing 11th last season, Crestwood overcame a 28-team field at the Kenston Invitational Tournament to win with 192 points — nine better than runner-up Willoughby South.

Crestwood coach Dave Wrobel said his squad finally seems to be wrestling up to its potential.

“It was a nice tournament for us,” Wrobel said. “To come out in first place is something we can really build on. Everything is starting to come together. You don’t want to peak too early, but it’s good to see our kids taking the next step.”

Crestwood finished with three weight-class champions in 140-pounder Adam Horovitz, 152-pounder Cheney Matarrese and 160-pounder Cody Ryba.

Crestwood nearly had four champions, but senior 103-pounder Paige Nemec ran into a familiar foe in the finals — Streetsboro’s Cory Stainbrook.

Stainbrook pinned Nemec in 1:35 to claim the 103-pound title at Kenston for the second straight year. He led Streetsboro to a 13th-place finish.

Ravenna also wrestled at Kenston and came back with a respectable eighth-place finish. Senior 160-pounder Scott Carpenter came the closest to winning a title, but he lost 3-1 to Ryba in the final.

•••

Aurora banging with state’s elite — Meanwhile, over at the 49th annual Brecksville Invitational Holiday Tournament, Aurora managed a 10th-place finish at one of the most prestigious tournaments in Ohio.

Ty Mitch was his usual dominant self, scoring a 20-4 technical fall over Jackson-Milton’s Tim Wiseman to claim the title at 119 pounds. For the third time this year, Mitch was named a tournament’s most valuable wrestler for his efforts.

Aurora also found themselves a nice Christmas present recently — an invitation to wrestle with the state’s best. Aurora has been invited to participate in the Division II Ohio Duals after University School chose to drop out.

The Ohio Duals usually invite the top eight teams in each division to participate, based on the teams’ finish at the previous year’s state meet.

The Division II duals will be Jan. 10 at St. Paris Graham.

Bliss noted he “would love” to have his team get a chance to wrestle Graham. The nine-time defending Division II state champions are thought by some to be the best high school wrestling team in the country.

As the saying goes, “To be the man, you’ve got to beat the man.”

•••

Big matches coming this week — With the holidays now history, it’s time to get down to business in the Portage Trail Conference races — and the races in both divisions are as open as they have been in years.

A hint of clarity may emerge after the dual meets on Thursday.

The big one this week in the Metro Division will take place at — of all places — Springfield. The undermanned Spartans won’t have a hand in the race, but they will play host to a four-team double-dual meet. The marquee matches feature Coventry and Crestwood (each 3-1 in the division) getting their shots at undefeated Southeast.

“We’re pegging this as a rivalry week,” Wrobel said. “It’s been nearly 20 years since Crestwood has knocked off Southeast.”

Ravenna will be watching this one closely as the Ravens will face Field and Norton at Norton on Thursday.

If Southeast and Ravenna both sweep, mark your calendars for the Ravens-Pirates dual meet Jan. 28 as it will decide the dual-meet crown in the Metro Division.

In the County Division, a tri-meet Thursday at Garfield with Streetsboro and Rootstown could separate the contenders from the pretenders in this year’s race.

Meanwhile, Waterloo staked its claim with a convincing victory over Garfield before Christmas. The Vikings control their own destiny in the title race. Suddenly, the Feb. 4 home dual meet with Streetsboro looks like a very interesting contest.

Happy New Year and let’s get ready to rumble.