Joe Skaggs prepares to encounter district's best

Jackson-Milton teammates give the 145-pound junior a rigorous workout during practice sessions.
By MARK W. MILLER
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
NORTH JACKSON -- Joe Skaggs, Jackson-Milton High's 145-pound wrestler, has been warned by assistant coach Kevin Snyder that he is a target.
Skaggs, a junior, finished second in the Division III state tournament last year and is ranked fourth at his weight class by the Brakeman Report.
So far, Skaggs hasn't allowed that pressure get to him; he swept through last weekend's sectional at Rootstown, defeating Pat Rado of Peninsula Woodridge 19-3 (a technical fall) in the championship match.
Friday at Maple Heights, Skaggs will open the district tournament against Nick Zele (4-10) of Kirtland, a freshman. He's expecting much tougher competition later in the weekend.
Likely matches
"There's a kid from Beachwood [Mike D'Alessandro] I decisioned early this season at the Solon Tournament and there is a kid from Waynedale [David Stiltner] is who ranked in the state that are good wrestlers," said Skaggs.
D'Alessandro, a junior, is 38-5, and ranked 12th by Brakeman, and Stiltner, also a junior, is 36-6 and ranked No. 10. Both were sectional champions, along with Izzy Hayes (32-7), a senior from Cleveland Central Catholic.
Among those four, however, only Skaggs placed in the state tournament last year. He also won Josh Hephner and EOWL tournament championships during the 2006-07 regular season.
At practice he works out with teammate Matt Mascioli, a junior at 119.
"He was second at [the] sectional and has a chance at going back to state for us," said Skaggs of Mascioli, who was sixth at the state meet last year. "He's quick and pushes me."
Skaggs also works out with junior Ben Dierkes (135) who was fourth last weekend and a 2006 state alternate, and sophomore Danny Clawson a 189-pounder.
"Dierkes and I work real hard together," said Skaggs. "Clawson, who is very strong, and I work on upper body strength, head ties and shots on the legs.
"Being second at state last year has been a strong motivation for me to try and get back to Columbus for another shot at the title," said Skaggs.
"Coach [Dave] Tomaino inspires me a lot and his wrestling experience has been a key to my success," he added.
Early indoctrination
Skaggs started wrestling in the first grade and appeared in his first tournament, a pee wee meet, when he was in the second grade.
"I won it," he recalled.
He comes from a wrestling family. An uncle qualified for the state meet.
"My Aunt Sue and Uncle Frank are my biggest supporters," he said.
Tomaino called Skaggs a "risk-taker."
"Joe is real scrappy. He's the kind of a kid you wouldn't want to tangle with. If you were out on the street looking for a fight, you wouldn't want to take him on.
"He is a natural athlete, a hard-nosed kid, a gifted athlete," added Tomaino. "He goes out and puts himself into a position, then traps his opponent and he always seems to find his way out of situations. "An opponent thinks he has him in some kind of a grip and Joe finds a way to slip out of it.
"He's very aggressive and with his style, he makes a lot of people in the wrestling room at practice a lot better."
Drive-by opponents
Skaggs practices with someone different every day, said Tomaino, including Jackson-Milton graduates who stop by to work out with him.
"He has good wrestling hips," said Tomaino, "and when we ask him to do something, he does exactly what we want him to do."
Skaggs and Mascioli are two of Jackson-Milton's six district qualifiers. Also advancing were senior Ryan Clawson (21-7) at 215, juniors Ben Dierkes (14-8) at 135 and Jeff Yaratch (25-11) at 285, and sophomore Santino Pizzuto (22-8) at 112.
Overall, 90 area wrestlers will be in action this weekend at Massillon Perry (Div. I), Akron Firestone (Div. II) and Maple Heights.
miller@vindy.com