Canfield youth wrestlers advance to state competition

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Neighbors | Submitted.The Canfield youth wrestling club advanced a record seven wrestlers to Sunday's state tournament at Akron Firestone High School. The week prior, the team qualified nineteen competitors to the district tournament.

The Canfield Wrestling Club qualified a record seven wrestlers to the Ohio Youth Wrestling Association (OYWA) state tournament to be held at Akron Firestone High School Sunday. To qualify for state, the wrestlers needed to finish in the top four in their weight class.

The seven state qualifiers are Christian Wayt (52 pounds, third at districts), Dominic Gelonese (70, fourth), Georgio Poullas (95, second), David Labra (110, third), Paul Whitehead (120, third), Jaret Bunch (145, third) and Jacob Esarco (180, district champion).

“The boys worked real hard before the season going to open mat and open tournaments. They continued to improve throughout our league schedule, and it all paid off at the year-end tournaments,” said head coach Dave Crawford. “Our club has a great group of coaches and super support from our parents and that is what ultimately leads to success.”

The club competes in a league with eight other clubs from Alliance, Beaver Local, Boardman, Salem, South Range, United, West Branch and Wellsville.

Each team has wrestlers in the sixth grade and under and they wrestle two matches every week against other wrestlers of similar age, weight and experience.

“Our goal is to provide a positive experience for all the athletes competing and help them develop a knowledge and love for the sport of wrestling,” said Crawford.