Middle school wrestlers win first EOWL title
Neighbors | Submitted.The Poland Middle School wrestling team won the school's first-ever EOWL team title last weekend. The Bulldogs placed 12 wrestlers at the event.
Poland's Anthony Audi (standing) prepares to throw his opponent for a takedown during last weekend's middle school EOWL tournament.
The Poland Middle School wrestling team made history Saturday by claiming its first Eastern Ohio Wrestling League tournament team title.
The Bulldogs won the overall and Division II crowns with 234 points. Howland (205) was second, Canfield (195) was third, Beaver Local (179.5) took fourth and Jackson-Milton (141) rounded out the top five.
“Going into the finals, I was on pins and needles. I think I was more nervous than the kids were,” said coach Matt Galchick. “To have 12 out of 13 wrestlers finish in the top six definitely shows how hard we work and how bad we wanted it.”
Leading Poland’s 12 placers were EOWL individual champions Darren Goodin (80 pounds), Matt Zaksek (116), Anthony Audi (122), Johnny Berndt (128) and Anthony Mancini (142). Trey Ellis (134) finished second and Bobby Murcko and Bruno Spotlson (104) each finished third.
Dante Ginnetti (86) and Dylan Garver (110) each took fourth. Anthony Morucci (98) finished fifth and Josh Kulifay (150) was sixth.
The Bulldogs dominated the finals, as they went 5-1 in title bouts, including winning three straight championship matches at 116, 122 and 128 pounds.
“I couldn’t be prouder of these guys. This was one of our major goals of the season. Not just to win the division, but to win the overall team champion is the sweetest feeling. They worked hard every day and left it all on the mat. Now it is on to districts for these guys. It’s time to get back in the room work toward another goal,” said Galchick.
Goodin (25-0) finished the regular season undefeated heading into this weekend’s district tournament. In winning the 128-pound EOWL title, Berndt won every match by pin.
Also competing for the Bulldogs was Dan Cipriano at 172 pounds.
“I would also like to give a big portion of our success to my other coaches — Adam Keck and Bob Nespeca,” said Galchick. “These guys do so much behind the scenes that doesn’t get mentioned a lot in the newspaper. They were a huge contributor to the success we’ve had this season.”