Wrestling with adversity: Dillon, Brenner put losses behind them

By Joe Scalzo

The Boardman freshman and Canfield senior placed third and fourth, respectively.

COLUMBUS — Over the past decade, Boardman High wrestling coach Dom Mancini has coached a state champion (Justin Powell in 2007) and a state runner-up (Steve Vallos in 2002 who now plays in the NFL), so he’s not the type of guy who throws out idle praise.

So when he calls Spartan freshman John Dillon a “one-in-a-million kid” and a “once-in-a-lifetime kid” in a 30-second span, you have to take it seriously.

“I can’t compare him to anybody,” Mancini said of Dillon. “He’s special.”

Dillon, who won a state title as an eighth grader, rebounded from his Division I semifinal loss on Friday with two victories at the state meet on Saturday morning to place third at 103 pounds, one of five Valley wrestlers to place that high and the only underclassman. He was also the only area wrestler in Div. I to place so high.

Dillon (16-2) entered this weekend having wrestled just 13 varsity matches. He was ineligible for the first few months of the season and didn’t make his varsity debut until early February.

“It’s been a tough road — John fought through a lot of adversity to get here,” Mancini said. “Battling back and taking third is tough. He wanted to win the tournament.

“Our job as coaches is to refocus kids after things don’t go their way and John responded.”

In a sport that can sometimes resemble two dancing bears (particularly at the higher weight levels), Dillon looks like a cat chasing his prey, always on the offensive, always looking for the kill.

“He lights it up,” said Mancini. “He’s fun to watch.”

That energy is evident before the match, too, and Dillon said there’s no comparison between a junior high state meet and one at the high school level.

“There’s a lot tougher kids here,” said Dillon, who placed second at the district. “I was a little more nervous here. I wasn’t that worried about junior high.

“I like this a lot more. It gets me a lot more pumped up.”

Dillon, who lost to a senior in Friday’s semifinals, admitted it was difficult to accept the defeat at first.

“I just tried to calm myself down,” he said. “My family and coaches were really supportive. I just tried to regroup and do the best I could.

“I was hoping I’d be in the finals, but hopefully I’ll be in the finals next year.”

Three other Valley wrestlers placed in the top eight in Div. I. Canfield senior Aron Brenner was fourth at 152, wrestling his way through the consolation bracket after an opening loss on Thursday.

Fitch junior Shawn Ague (34-10) placed fifth at 112 pounds and senior Louis Greco (44-5) placed seventh as both won their final matches.

Brenner’s older brothers Nick (third in 2000) and Bobby (fourth in 2003) had similar success, but Aron has bragging rights. He’s the first to do it at the Div. I level.

Brenner lost his Thursday match 10-7 — he admits he was nervous, which affected his performance — but gained confidence with a win on Friday morning.

“I just relaxed and got my head back together,” he said. “I came back in my second match [on Friday] and wrestled 100 percent.”

His final match was a 6-4 loss to Madison senior Andrew Gasber, who entered this weekend 40-0 and was the projected state champion in his weight class. Brenner led 3-1 at one point but Gasber rallied for the victory as Brenner bloodied his lip through the match.

Asked what he’d take away from this weekend, Brenner smiled and said, “A lot of pain.”

scalzo@vindy.com