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Canfield wrestlers second at Holiday Duals
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Canfield wrestler Jake Dunbar (standing) fights off a single leg takedown from St. Paris Graham's Nate Henkle during their Holiday Duals finals match.
By LUCAS DAPRILE
After posting three convincing dual meet victories, the Canfield varsity wrestling team ran into 11-time defending state champion St. Paris Graham in the finals, as the squad finished second at the annual Holiday Duals tournament last Saturday.
The Cards won three duals in the round robin rounds, beating Tallmadge (55-16), Revere (42-31) and Rootstown (44-32) to advance to the finals. In the title dual against Graham, the young Canfield squad fell 69-4 to the nationally-ranked Falcons.
“The young guys are stepping up — and its not any one kid,” said head coach Dean Conley, whose squad includes just 23 members, the lowest in many years.
Conley also emphasized that while the team is young, many of the wrestlers have a lot of experience because they have been wrestling year-round and participating on offseason workouts.
At the Holiday Duals, the team was led by Korey Frost, who was the only wrestler to go undefeated. He won his finals match against an opponent from Graham.
While St. Paris Graham was easily the most successful team at the tournament, Conley insisted that “every team here has good kids.”
Graham was coming off a third-place finish at the ultra-competitive Ironman Tournament, which included some of the nation’s best teams.
The Falcons coach, Jeff Jordan, said the Holiday Duals was a perfect follow-up to a tough event like Ironman.
“I’m good friends with Dean [Conley] and the staff and they have been to many of my camps,” Jordan said. “It’s the week after Ironman, so it’s a good opportunity for some of our younger guys to get some confidence back.”
Jordan also likes his teams to compete in dual meets to build unity.
“Dual meets bring teams together,” he said.