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Hephner event has personal touch
Newcomers are Marysville, Louisville, Lancaster and Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary.
AUSTINTOWN — Competitive, personal, respectful, appreciation.
These are a few adjectives coaches, wrestlers and fans use each year to describe the atmosphere at the Josh Hephner Memorial tournament, which has been a tradition at Fitch High for the past 15 years.
The event, which honors former Fitch wrestler Josh Hephner and his family, is unique. For those who plan the tournament down to the wrestlers who compete in it, the weekend is as much about Josh as it is about winning.
“It is unlike any other tournament out there,” said Fitch coach Brett Powell. “It’s real personal. People come for the competition, but also because it’s like a family event. It’s a time when you see friends that you only see once a year.”
This year’s 16th edition of the tournament begins Friday at 4 p.m. The event should be the most competitive it has ever been, with several of the state’s top teams and individuals in the field.
The 25-team tournament includes eight teams from the EOWL, including Fitch, Brookfield, Jackson-Milton, Hubbard, Girard, Liberty, Warren JFK and Alliance.
There are four teams — Fitch, Lake, Marysville and Monroeville — that placed among the top 15 teams at last year’s state tournament in their respective divisions.
Marysville, which tied with Fitch for 15th in the Division I state tourney in 2008, is one of four new squads in the Hephner field. The other newcomers are Louisville, Lancaster and Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary.
The Falcons are the defending team champion and the rest of the top five teams from 2008 return — Lake, Ravenna, Marlington and Monroeville.
Individually, the event will showcase several returning state placers, including four state champions.
The fab four from Monroeville head the class. Hunter Stieber, Logan Stieber, Chris Phillips and Cam Tessari each earned Division III state championship in 2008. All four are nationally ranked this season.
Lake brings two state placers in Zach Cline (fifth at 135 pounds) and Scott Mattingly (third at 125).
Marysville, making the trip from the Columbus area, is expected to make a strong run with three state placers. That trio is led by junior Caleb Marsh, who placed fourth at 145 pounds at state in 2008. Nate Weeks took seventh at 215 pounds and teammate Jake McCombs earned the eighth spot at 119 pounds.
Lancaster, located just south of Columbus, will feature state placer Kyle Dilley (fourth at 160). Alliance’s Manuel Cintron finished fifth at 135 pounds and Massillon Jackson’s Mike Hillock brings an eighth-place state finish at 112.
Brookfield’s Tyler Thompson will lead the top field of Valley wrestlers hoping to earn spots on the podium. Thompson finished seventh in the Div. III state tournament at 103 pounds.
Host Fitch has the lineup capable of successfully defending its Hephner team title. Returning state qualifiers Shawn Ague (103), Louis Greco (145) and Chris Miller (215) will contend for titles. Jake Peterson will be in the mix at 140.
Other locals to watch for are Jackson-Milton’s Santino Pizzuto (119), Vinny Pizzuto (103) and Dan Clawson (215); Girard’s Tony Cardiero (130), Dan Gainey (140), Nico Francis (160) and Tallen Birmingham (152); Brookfield’s Dan Miller (145); and Hubbard’s Robbie Lias (215).
“This year is hands-down the most competitive it has been at the Hephner,” said Powell. “The biggest hook is that teams can get the most matches for their points here. You get recognition with the bracket part of it and the blue collar kids get a lot of matches in. “You’re not going to win this tournament with four of five guys. It’s truly a team tournament and you need all 14 guys to be able to win in.”
The tournament format is a hybrid, with wrestlers being divided into pools for round robin competition on the first day. On Day 2, the top wrestlers from each pool advance to an eight-man tournament bracket in each weight class.