Track to ring: Lape is winner

Boardman's Rick Lape won the 1,600 run, then won his first boxing match.
By GREG GULAS
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
STRUTHERS -- Rick Lape is used to athletic multi-tasking.
Thursday afternoon, the Boardman High junior won the 1600-meter run and placed third in the 3200 to help the Spartans' track and field team to a win over Mooney.
Later, he traded in his track shoes for boxing gloves and proceeded to hammer out a unanimous decision over Joe Liguori of Poland in his first boxing match at the 19th K.O. Drugs tournament at the Struthers Field House.
"I run seven days a week to keep in shape for our track season, so I felt like I came into the tourney both in shape and with plenty of stamina," said Lape. "My twin brother, Jake, and Geno Clayton, both of whom are in the tourney, and Mike Lesko, would spar twice a week, doing so over the past several weeks to keep up the workout. It was still a learning experience for me tonight, however.
"This was my first ever fight and it surprised me how tough it is in the ring," said Lape. "It's much harder than I thought so over the next two weeks and before my next fight, I'll continue to run, lift a little and hopefully learn to keep my head up.
"I still have a lot to learn, but it is a challenge that I readily accept."
Lorimer triumphs
Another Spartan, freshman Chris Lorimer, also scored a unanimous decision for his first amateur win, that coming in the opening match of the night against Danny Bosak of Liberty in the Underclass Division.
"Boxing is fun and keeps me in shape. I've been training pretty hard and concentrating on my foot work, sparring with my boxing team at the Downtown Boxing Club," Lorimer said.
"With next week off I now have two weeks to prepare for my next bout, so I'll just stick to the same regimen and keep training the same way.
Brookfield's Dave Nehlen, a sophomore, scored a second-round TKO over Ethan Mintus of Mathews in a cruiserweight bout.
"I was really nervous, never having thrown a punch in the ring before. As the bout progressed, I noticed that he kept his hands down so I wanted to work his face area," he said.
"I wasn't tired, but feel like I need to pick up the pace and kick it up a notch next time out if I expect to win.
Sahli wins female bout
In the only Female Division bout, hometown favorite Stephanie Sahli, a senior at Struthers, scored a unanimous decision in a lightweight match over Victoria Magyar of Canfield.
Sahli, the reigning Tri-County Female Division lightweight champion, ran her amateur record to 5-0 with her opening round victory.
She did all that after playing a tournament softball game in the afternoon against West Branch.
"It felt really good to do so well before the hometown fans. I must admit, however, that I was a little tired after having already played a softball game," she said.
"Over the last two months I've only had a chance to train at most twice a week due to softball. I'll take a bit of a break and then get back to training this weekend," she added.
The fights will continue next Thursday night at the Struthers Field House with over 35 bouts slated. The first fight is scheduled for 7 p.m.