EOWL tourney to honor its past

Eight former standout athletes and coaches will be inducted into the hall of fame on Saturday.

By JOHN BASSETTI

VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF

AUSTINTOWN — This isn’t about Brett Powell, Dave Tomaino, Dom Mancini, Jim Cardiero, Mike Helm, Ben Joltin or Greg Cooper.

But this year’s Eastern Ohio Wrestling League tournament — the 38th — is as much about the past as the present.

Fitch coach Powell, Girard coach Cardiero, Jackson-Milton coach Dave Tomaino, Boardman coach Mancini, West Branch coach Helm, EOWL commissioner Joltin and Cooper, the current Canfield athletic director, have wrestling blood and all continue to serve current athletes in some capacity.

Cooper was an undefeated state champion — 26-0 at 185 in 1973 — and Powell placed sixth at state as a heavyweight in 1978. Ben Joltin was a Liberty High wrestler (1989-92) and youth/junior varsity coach, Cardiero wrestled for Girard High (1983), Tomaino was a state qualifier at heavyweight from Jackson-Milton, Mancini placed at state when at Boardman High and Helm was a state qualifier at heavyweight in 1977.

Another phase of the tournament touching on the past will be the next EOWL Hall of Fame induction.

One of those will be Powell’s high school coach, Bruce Rohrer. The ceremony will take place before Saturday’s finals.

This weekend’s tournament was originally scheduled at Hubbard before an emergency facilities problem forced a switch.

By default, Powell became the tournament director.

Although Fitch is the EOWL tournament site on alternate years, this year’s late notice had Powell scrambling.

“Normally, we have three months’ preparation,” he said of Fitch’s bi-annual involvement. “We get it about every other year. On off years, it moves around to places like Hubbard or Salem.

The EOWL, which has been in existence with various members since 1972, uses the event as a wrap-up before the post season.

“We try to set it up two weeks before sectionals,” Powell said of upcoming tournaments such as the Division I sectional at Fitch, Div. III at Rootstown and Div. II at West Branch.

The EOWL expanded to 18 teams for 2009-10, creating a better-balanced tier system.

“It looks like Beaver Local and West Branch are the strongest horses in the race, although Jackson-Milton has a nice team,” Powell said of this weekend’s favorites for overall laurels. “Everybody brings a piece to the pie, though.”

Weight class-wise, 112 is loaded, Powell said, with Jackson-Milton’s Vinnie Pizzuto, Fitch’s Shawn Ague and Boardman’s John Dillon leading the class that offers quality talent six-deep.

“That weight class jumped out at me when I looked at it,” said Powell, who also singled out 160 with Adam Lamancusa of West Branch.

Although the EOWL includes no reigning state champs, it does boast several state placers and qualifiers from 2008-2009.

Girard’s Nico Francis (152) placed seventh at state in Div. III last year and is 19-1 for 2009-10. Francis, a senior, won at the Leonard Truck & Trailer tournament, the Howland Invitational and was third at the Josh Hephner tournament.

At last year’s EOWL tourney, Francis was runner-up to Canfield’s Aron Brenner, who finished fourth at state.

Cardiero’s other top talent includes Jacob Carpenter (125), Josh Barnes (103), Aaron Hall (140), Alex Saunders (189) and heavyweight Craig Frankford.

Carpenter (22-6) took third at the Riverside Rumble, first at the Leonard and at Howland, and sixth at Hephner, while Barnes (21-5), was runner-up at the Riverside Rumble, Leonard and Howland, and fifth at Hephner.

Of Carpenter, a sophomore, Cardiero said: “He’s going to be a good one.”

Barnes, Hall (16-5) and Saunders (20-4) are juniors, while Frankford, a senior, tips the scales near the maximum 285 limit. Frankford, a football lineman for the Indians, was champion at both Leonard and Howland. His record is 16-5.

Beaver Local has 2009 state qualifiers John McComas (112), Arizona Miller (125), Dylan Ice (152) and Jake Henderson (189).

Ice was third at state, McComas was fifth and Miller sixth.

Miller is a three-time EOWL titlist.

Powell said Fitch is in a rebuilding mode this year and doesn’t consider the Falcons a serious contender for the EOWL crown.

“But we could ruin a few people’s days if things go right,” he said.

The EOWL tournament is another occasion that includes a cross-section of school sizes.

“We rarely cross paths, but, every year, there’s a small school in the county that appears with a really great kid and he’ll win the weight class,” said Powell. “It doesn’t matter if he’s going against Div. I kids or Div. II. The size of the school in this tournament really doesn’t matter. It’s who’s having a great weekend.”

The EOWL just added Grand Valley, Pymatuning Valley and Poland, extending its territory into five counties: Mahoning, Trumbull, Columbiana, Stark and Ashtabula.

“Poland had youth and middle school programs, but they built it up to varsity now.,” Powell said. “They never had the sport before. To add a sport these days is a rarity.”

bassetti@vindy.com