Fitch's Jameson has eye on state

The 135 pounder still has a rough road ahead of him in the district meet.
By ERIC HAMILTON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
MASSILLON -- Faced with the prospect of a district bracket that includes four of the top five wrestlers in the state, Fitch High's Tony Jameson just shrugged his shoulders.
"No one can wrestle with me," Jameson said. "They are all tough and have different styles, but I have a strong feeling things will work out for me.
"Losing is not acceptable because I've trained way to hard. Even if I did lose here [at districts], next week is what matters," Jameson said.
"The bracket was the least of my worries because no matter what you have to beat the runner-up to win it. I think I'll meet [Richie] Spicel in the finals just from how he's wrestling," Jameson said. "But I kind of want [Marcel] Clopton because I wasn't happy with the first two matches, even though I won."
The final four in Jameson's 135-pound bracket include a state champion (Brunswick's Spicel), a state runner-up (Shaker Heights' Clopton) and a junior high state champion (St. Ignatius freshman David Habat).
Jameson was just one of several Mahoning Valley competitors earning spots in today's semifinals, thus needing just one more win to advance to next week's Division I state tournament in Columbus.
Other Falcons advancing
Teammates Shawn Ague (103) and Brian Weidenthal (152) also won both matches and are alive in the championship bracket.
Weidenthal will face defending state champion Thomas Straughn of Perry in the semifinals. Ague will face St. Ignatius freshman Jerome Robinson.
Howland will look to continue its streak of state qualifiers with semifinalists Kyle Leek (119) and Greg Ryan (130).
Leek will battle top seed Brad Squire of Wadsworth in the championship bracket. Ryan faces projected state runner-up Adam Haas of Massillon Jackson.
Powell wins twice
Boardman's projected state champion Justin Powell (37-2) moved into the 215-pound semifinals with a pair of easy victories.
The senior will battle undefeated Adam Cogar (44-0) in the semis. The top four seeds in the weight class are still alive in the bracket.
Powell will be joined in the semis by teammates Anthony Wills (140) and Bobby Creatore (145).
Wills meets Kenston's Brett Potts in his semifinal while Creatore must face defending state champion Kevin Hardy of Solon.
In the team race, defending district champion Massillon Perry leads the field with 54 points. St. Ignatius (41), Wadsworth (40), Fitch (39.5), Lake (39) and Brecksville (39) round out the top five.
Boardman is tied with Barberton for seventh with 36 points.
Action begins today at 11 a.m., with the finals set to begin at 7 p.m. The top four wrestlers in each weight class advance to next week's state tournament in Columbus.