Perfect pursuit: 32 still unbeaten at halfway point

Twenty-five fighters won for the second straight time on Wednesday.
By GREG GULAS
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
YOUNGSTOWN -- The K.O. Drugs High School Boxing Tournament has now reached the halfway point with 25 fighters winning for the second straight time and 32 boxers remaining undefeated.
Wednesday at the ITAM Center, in underclass junior lightweight bouts, Steve Kostic of Struthers won a unanimous decision over Joe Guylitto of Mooney, while Conner Young, who is home schooled, won by default over Sergio Cabrera of Sharon.
Keymonnie Harris of Campbell scored a unanimous decision over Jason Egner of Boardman in a welterweight bout while Struthers' Jake Malich won a split decision over Seth Inbodden of Leetonia in the only underclass middleweight bout of the night.
Andrew Irwin of Niles won his second straight match, scoring a second-round TKO over Brian Torres of Struthers in a light heavyweight bout, while cruiserweight Darian Rivera of Campbell moved to 2-0 in the tournament when he scored a split decision over Sam Kilgore of Mathews.
"It really feels good to remain undefeated, but this was a tough bout tonight for me. I ran a lot this past week and trained really hard at the Downtown Sports Gym, so I was more than ready," Rivera said.
Tough fight
Junior lightweight Chris Lorimer, a ninth-grader at Boardman who won the featherweight title last year, moved to 2-0 this year and 6-0 overall in the tournament by scoring a unanimous decision over Shane Middendorf of Sharpsville.
"This fight was tougher than I had originally anticipated. He caught me with a few punches at the outset, but overall I felt like I did what I had to do in order to win," Lorimer said.
Howland's Kai Yancey, a lightweight who scored a third-round TKO over Blaine Bastion of Struthers, felt his preparation was the key to a second straight win.
"I did everything that I possibly could in order to get ready for tonight and that training really paid off for me. I wanted to attack from the get-go, throwing punches-in-bunches," he noted.
Female fight
In the only female division bout on the card, Brookfield's Nickie Bashlas scored a unanimous decision over Amber Kalna of Girard, a fight in which she says she was anxious to take part.
"This was everything that I thought it would be. She gave me a good fight, but my strategy of just going after her at the outset really paid off. I trained for over six months so I felt that I was ready and prepared once I hit the ring," said Bashlas.
Upperclass bouts
In upperclass action, Al Cutrona of Canfield -- last year's lightweight champion -- scored a unanimous decision over Joe Frasco of Chaney in a welterweight bout as he moved to 2-0 this year and 5-0 overall in the tournament.
"I've been ready, but the key was being relaxed and confident tonight. I'll just stick to my training regimen, running several miles daily, working out in the gym and biking so that I am prepared for my next bout," Cutrona said.
Nick Schiavoni of Boardman managed a hard-fought unanimous decision over Fitch's Bobby McFarland in his junior middleweight bout as he moved to 2-0 in the tournament.
"I was more focused today and threw straighter punches, but realize more than anything that I still need to be in better shape. While I am happy to be 2-0, I'll definitely kick it up a notch when I train over the next week or so," Schiavoni said.
The tournament continues next Wednesday with 36 semifinal round fights.