West Branch wrestlers earn another sectional triumph

Warriors J.P. Hoopes, Nick Hoopes, Jeff Karlen and Josh Learn won titles.
By ERIC HAMILTON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
BELOIT -- The Akron Kenmore wrestling fans repeatedly accused West Branch competitors of stalling when the schools went head-to-head in three finals matches at the Division II sectional tournament Saturday at West Branch High School.
But when it was all said and done, the only thing the Warriors were guilty of was winning their second straight sectional team championship on their home mats.
Trailing Kenmore by nearly 10 points going into Saturday's second day of competition, West Branch knew it had to have a great day in order to successfully defend its team title.
The Warriors proved their mettle in a big way, advancing 12 wrestlers to districts, including four individual champions, and running away with the 2007 team championship with 245.5 points. Kenmore finished second with 223 points.
Wrestlers finishing in the top four of their respective weigh classes moved on to the Akron Firestone district next weekend.
Title winners
Winning titles for West Branch were J.P. Hoopes (103), Nick Hoopes (125), Jeff Karlen (189) and Josh Learn (160).
Noticeably absent from that list was West Branch heavyweight Nathan Sharp, the defending state champion who suffered his first loss of the season, falling to rival Matt Walker of Alliance by a score of 3-2. Sharp's record now stands at 34-1 on the season.
"Kenmore has a great team and it won't break my heart when they move to Division I next year," West Branch coach Mike Helm said. "We just had a great weekend and hopefully we can keep it going next week at districts."
Canfield more than held its own, sending seven competitors to district competition. Aron Brenner was the biggest standout, knocking off top seed Manuel Cintron of Alliance in the finals to win the 145-pound weight class.
Other Cardinals
Joining Brenner at Firestone will be Braylin Bellino (third, 103 pounds), Adam Bannon (fourth, 112), Brad Benedict (third, 130), Ryan Bresson (fourth, 152), Nick Rowland (fourth, 171), Cody Hartman (third, 215).
"We wrestled better today than we did yesterday," Canfield coach Dean Conley said. "When we got back last night we talked for 30 minutes in the room and challenged the kids. I'm proud of how they responded today.
"Coming in, I thought I'd be happy with getting six guys out. We got seven, so I'm pretty happy with that. The best thing is that we have a bunch of young kids that really stepped it up."
Hubbard's representatives will be Adam Mierzwa (second, 152), Rob Lias (second, 189) and Chris Anderson (second, 215).
Liberty will be led by 140-pound champion Jon Krause. Dominick DeMarco (fourth, 125) and Nico Francis (fourth, 135) also punched their tickets to district competition.
Salem will send three grapplers to Firestone, including Patrick Simpson, who finished second at 103 pounds. Joining him next week will be Joe Hamilton (second, 160) and Greg Lambert (fourth, 285).
Girard will have a pair of wrestlers fighting for a state tournament berth next week. Leading the contingent is Tony Cardiero (third, 119) and Kevin Walsh (fourth, 145).
Poland's Ben Pearce advanced to his second straight district tournament by earned the 135-pound championship with a 4-0 win over West Branch's Eliot Citino.
District competition will begin next Friday evening and continue on Saturday at Firestone High School. The top four placers in each class will earn a trip to the state tournament in Columbus March 1-3.