Canfield wrestlers lose to Graham in finals

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Neighbors | Submitted.Canfield wrestling captains PJ Hido (center), Lucas Daprile, and Robby Reed (right) accept the second-place trophy after the Canfield Holiday Duals on Saturday. Also pictured are wrestlers from St. Paris Graham as they accept the first-place trophy.

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Canfield's Robby Reed (back) pins his opponent Saturday during the Canfield Holiday Duals. Reed won all five of his matches, including a victory over an opponent from St. Paris Graham.

Facing the nation’s top team, St. Paris Graham, in the finals of the Canfield Holiday Duals on Saturday, the Cards wrestled well, but ultimately fell 59-15.

Canfield finished second in the tournament, going 4-0 in the pool portion of the tourney, before losing to Graham in the finals.

“This was a great team effort today. Our program is really heading in the right direction,” said Canfield coach Dean Conley. ”The parents, student-athletes and coaches are all excited about the future of Canfield wrestling. Our seniors did an incredible job keeping our team focused throughout the event. It’s tough to get your kids ready for five dual meets in one day, but I credit our seniors for leading the way.”

The Cardinals were dominant in pool wrestling, defeating Tallmadge (72-4), Rootstown (69–12), Revere (65-6), and Akron Manchester (51–24).

The other teams competing in the event were Lakeside, Conneaut, Ravenna Southeast and Hubbard.

Canfield’s Robby Reed (130 pounds) improved to 12-0 on the season by winning all four of his pool matches and then winning his finals bout against Graham.

The only other wrestler to win a match against Graham was Jake Dunbar (125).

Going undefeated in pool matches were Anthony Spencer (103), Korey Frost (112), Alex Benedict (135), Richard Rapone (140), P.J. Hido (152), Eric Mirto (160) and Curtis Burns (215). Also posting multiple wins for the Cards were Robert Gleichert (285), Zach Kay (119), Dunbar (125), Lucas Daprile (145) and Michael Flanagan (189).

“My hats off to St. Paris Graham. It is obvious that they are the national champions for a reason,” said Conley. “Their kids work extremely hard and they are a first-class program. However, I was really proud of our effort against Graham. Our kids got to see first-hand where we need to be and we took a huge step in that direction on Saturday.”