Reed wins sectional, Canfield advances six to districts

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Neighbors | Submitted.Robbie Reed decisioned Chad Hupp from West Branch to win the 125-pound Division II sectional wrestling tournament at West Branch last weekend. Reed, along with five other Canfield wrestlers, will compete in the district tournament Saturday at Akron Firestone High School.

Robby Reed won his second sectional title as the Canfield High wrestling team qualified six to this weekend’s Division II Akron Firestone district.

Reed, who is 36-4, qualified to districts for the third time in his high school wrestling career. The 125-pounder placed sixth at the 2009 Division I Massillon Perry district, generally considered the toughest district in the state.

“Robby has wrestled well all year long. His sixth-place at the Perry district last year has driven him to really work hard. I know he has some great expectations for the postseason,” said Canfield head coach Dean Conley.

“I feel the six kids we have going to districts wrestled well,” said Canfield coach Dean Conley.

“However, wrestling is a tough sport to coach. You are happy that some of your kids qualified, but on the the other hand, you feel for those kids that didn’t reach their goals, especially our three seniors. They’ve done everything that we’ve asked them to do.

Joining Reed at Firestone will be Lucas Daprile (140) and Michael Flanagan (189) after they both took third at districts. Ethan Olson (112), Alex Benedict (130) and Eric Mirto (152) also qualified for districts after securing the fourth and final spots.

Senior Leo Daprile is a district alternate after taking fifth at 135 pounds. He finished the season with a 22-9 record.

“I thought Lucas Daprile and Michael Flanagan had great tournaments. One hundred and forty was a tough weight class and for [Daprile] to win in overtime to get third was big for his confidence,” said Conley.

“I need to praise our coaching staffs at all levels; as it has been a great year for Canfield wrestling. I feel that we are really meshing as a program and that everyone involved really understands what is needed for us to grow into a top-flight program.“

The Division II Firestone district tournament concludes today. The top four in each weight class advance to next weekend’s state tournament in Columbus.