Bluejay wrestlers fare well at Brecksville

Staff report

BRECKSVILLE

Jackson-Milton had one champion and two third-place finishers in the Brecksville wrestling tournament recently, when the Bluejays placed 14th out of 43 teams in the event that included top wrestlers from several states.

“It’s a big deal,” Jackson-Milton coach Dave Tomaino said of the 14th for his state-ranked Div. III team competing in the all-divisions Brecksville event.

Vinnie Pizzuto won the 119-pound championship by beating Wapakoneta’s Jake Beemer, 8-4, in the finals. Pizzuto went 5-0 to bring his record to 14-1. Along the way, Pizzuto avenged his only loss, one suffered at Solon in early December.

“He’s on a roll,” Tomaino said of Pizzuto, who was injured in the Brecksville meet in Dec., 2009.

Johnny Matacic (130) and Tim Wiseman (125) both placed third for Jackson-Milton.

Matacic lost to Mayfield’s Mike Carlone in the semifinals, then beat Brecksville’s Mitch Baran, 6-2, in the finals for third place. Matacic, Ohio’s 130-pound champion in 2010, finished 5-1 for the two-day tourney and is 14-1 overall this season.

After losing in the second round to Eli Garcia of Elyria, Wiseman met Garcia again and won, 4-1, to set up a battle for third. That’s when Wiseman beat No. 1-seeded Brian Spangler of Keystone, 6-4 in overtime. Spangler was last year’s state champ at 103. Wiseman went 7-1 at Brecksville and he is 13-3 to date.

Two other Bluejay wrestler doing well were Alex Tomaino and Tyler Collins. Tomaino posted a 3-2 record at 140, while Collins went 4-2 at 145. Tomaino is now 10-5, while Collins is 9-5.