Irish wrestling resurrected

Just how far Ursuline’s program has come so far will be measured this weekend.

By ERIC HAMILTON

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

Just in case no one has noticed, Ursuline wrestling is officially back — again.

After a history of instability, the program has undergone a rebirth of sorts this winter, as Ursuline is again being represented in the wrestling world.

Joe McPeek has taken over the reins of the program after being approached by several Ursuline alums interested in him rebuilding the program.

“I was approached by an Ursuline alum asking if I’d be interested in coaching,” said McPeek. “I think it is a great opportunity and I was impressed with the support of the administration. They’ve given me full control of the scheduling and program.

“The program has been off and on for basically forever. I think Ursuline has the kind of athletes that can allow our wrestling program to be near the top of the pile. Parochial schools really stand out in wrestling and I think we can be successful as well.”

Despite no league affiliation, low numbers and a late start, Ursuline has already achieved some success this season. Wrestling mostly a junior varsity schedule, the Irish have been slowly making strides. Just how far things have come so far will be measured in a big way this weekend.

Ursuline will be among the 25 teams competing in the Joshua Hephner Memorial Tournament Friday and Saturday at Fitch High School. The event, in its 15th year, honors a former Fitch wrestler who was killed in a car accident.

McPeek’s squad, which will bring about eight wrestlers, is anxious to test its mettle against some of the Valley’s top teams, as well as several state-ranked squads.

“All our kids have been successful and have worked really hard,” said McPeek, who was a state qualifier at Columbiana. “This will be our biggest test so far, but we’ve been waiting for this day for a long time.

“Our kids will be competing against their peers; kids they’ve played against in other sports. With this type of competition, it will be tough. But I think our kids feel like they belong and they won’t back down.”

The field this weekend will be a step or two above what Ursuline has seen thus far. The closest the Irish have come was last week’s junior varsity tournament at Nordonia, who included 38 teams, including St. Edward, Walsh Jesuit, Wadsworth, University School and other state powers.

The Irish will face varsity competition this weekend from the likes of Fitch (8th in Division I), Lake (9th in Div. I), Ravenna (10th in Div. II) and Monroeville (3rd in Div. III).

Ursuline’s best hopes of placing in their respective weight classes are with heavyweight Michael Paul Jenkins (17-4), 135-pounder Cody Lapashan (13-6) and 160-pounder Tim Smith (17-5). Jenkins took first at Nordonia and Lapashan was second. He was also the MVP at the Waterloo Duals.

The Hephner format includes pool matches Friday, followed by an eight-man championship bracket Saturday. Each wrestler is guaranteed five matches. The top two in each pool advance to the tournament.

Fitch will be going for its sixth straight Hephner title. Among the local teams vying to knock off the Falcons are Liberty, Hubbard, Girard, Jackson-Milton, Brookfield, Alliance and Warren JFK. Other teams in the field include Shaker Heights, Medina, Southeast, North Royalton, Marlington and Massillon Jackson.

Pool wrestling begins at 4 p.m. Friday. One final pool round will be contested at 10 a.m. Saturday, before the tournament bracket begins. The finals are scheduled for 6 p.m. Saturday.