Recordpub.com - Nemec repeats Ohio State Girls Wrestling state title

Special to the Record-Courier

The Ohio State Girls Wrestling Tournament, which was held in Mantua this past weekend, turned out to be the site of the second-largest Ohio state girls wrestling championship in history.

The event featured two former national champions in Paige Nemec and Kerstin Harmon.

Nemec proved her dominance once again at the weekend event by pinning her way to a first-place finish in the 108-pound weight class.

Meanwhile, Harmon, who is from Bellefontaine, repeated herself as a three-time state champion.

Harmon came to the tournament with a 15-0 record in the 2009-10 season. Harmon was a 2009 national girls champion and placed fourth nationally in 2008.

The tournament was hosted by the Northeast Ohio Girls Wrestling Club. Club president, Dean Olson, was awarded the tournament in 2009 by the USGWA because of his accomplishments with the Northeast Ohio Girls Wrestling Club, which is noted as the largest and most successful girls wrestling club in Ohio.

In 2009, the Northeast Ohio Girls Wrestling Team and other girl wrestlers from Ohio placed second at the USGWA Tournament in Yipsilanti, Mich., losing out to the state of Michigan.

Girls are allowed to be multi-state champions and can compete in any state championship within the United States.

This year, girls from Michigan, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Indiana and New York came to compete at the Ohio State Girls Wrestling Tournament. Many will go on to compete at the USGWA Girls National Wrestling Tournament in Yipsilanti, Mich. on April 3-4.

108-pound weight class

1st — Paige Nemec (Mantua)

2nd — Sarah Guerrier (Austintown)

3rd — Dominique Baker (Mogadore)

112-pound weight class

1st — Brittney Kulenovic (Markleysburg, PA)

2nd — Brittany Dunklee (Gwinn)

3rd — Heather Pahoresky (Mantua)

4th — Casey Kowalewsky (Columbus)

120-pound weight class

1st — Alesha Zappitella (Conneaut)

2nd — Atiyyah Herron (North Royalton)

3rd — Sarah Allen (Huber Heights)

4th — Mary Deshon (Dayton)

124-pound weight class

1st — Andrea Bankey (North Baltimore)

2nd — Dominique Cook (Cleveland)

3rd — Darby Newman (Bellefontaine)

4th — Harmony Thompson (Kingsville)

128-pound weight class

1st — Kerstin Harmon (Bellefontaine)

2nd — Amanda Levanskevich (Mantua)

3rd — Breanna Fusaro (Piqua)

139-pound weight class

1st — Demi Strub (Guilford)

2nd — Hanna Hall (Doylestown)

3rd — Olivia Lower (Dayton)

146-pound weight class

1st — Alexandria Thomas (Canal Winchester)

2nd — Erin English (North Royalton)

3rd — Willow Hennessee (Springfield)

Heavyweight

1st — Mandy Dennis (Roseville)

2nd — Sara English (North Royalton)