PMS wrestlers top Brookfield, Jackson-Milton

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Neighbors | Submitted.Poland's Christian Nemeth (standing) takes down Jackson Milton's Brandon Lamb during their Jan. 5 match at 110 pounds. Nemeth rallied from a six-point deficit to win by pin with 1.1 seconds left..

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Poland Middle School wrestler Matt Zaksak (right) won by decision over Jackson-Milton's Tyler Jeffries on Jan. 5.

The Poland Middle school wrestling team got back on track with two victories Jan. 5 against Jackson-Milton and Brookfield.

The Bulldogs opened up the night with 78–3 win over Brookfield. Leading the way were Bobby Murcko, Trey Ellis and the return of state qualifier Johnny Berndt with pins at 92, 134, and 142 pounds, respectively.

Receiving forfeits were Darren Goodin (86), Anthony Morucci (98), Dylan Garver (104), Christian Nemeth (110), Matt Zaksak (116), Anthony Audi (122), Matt Duran (128), Josh Kulifay (150), Anthony Mancini (160), and Evan Brown (172).

“Brookfield was down in their lineup tonight, but they still took the fight to us with the wrestlers they did have. I feel for them because I’ve given up my share of weight classes so far this year. Nonetheless, I am proud of my guys. They went in there and proved that even though we got many points in forfeits, we were still the superior wrestling team.” said coach Matt Galchick.

Poland concluded the night with a 61-21 victory over Jackson-Milton.

In what was one of the most exciting matches of the night, Christian Nemeth rallied from a six-point deficit to win by pin with just 1.1 second on the clock.

“Christian’s match is what wrestling is all about. He just kept fighting and fighting and putting pressure on his opponent. Most kids would have accepted defeated losing by six points with a short amount of time on the clock. But Christian dug deep and pulled out a big win for us. It took the wind out of Jackson–Milton’s sails. I’m very proud of him,” said Galchick.

Other wrestlers who recorded pins were Dante Ginnetti (80), Anthony Audi (122), Anthony Mancini (150) and Evan Brown (172). Johnny Berndt (134) won by major decision, while Darrin Goodin (86), Dylan Garver (104), and Matt Zaksak (116) picked up decisions. Trey Ellis (142) and Josh Kulifay (160) picked up forfeits at their respective weights.

“Overall, tonight was a great night. We still need to improve, but we got the job done. We keep getting better and better and are coming along nicely as a team. It was nice having Johnny (Berndt) and a healthy Anthony Audi back in the lineup. We were down a key wrestler in Bruno Spotleson (who is out due to illness), but our guys stepped up and we were able to perform.”

Wrestling in exhibition matches were Brett Nemeth (80), Nelson Figueroa (110), Matt Duran (122) and Dan Cipriano (172). Nemeth and Figueroa both won their matches.

“I’m proud of my “rookie clan” (Duran, Figueroa and Cipriano). They only have two weeks’ worth of wrestling experience and went out and did excellent. The key for them is getting mat time and to improve a little more each day. Brett Nemeth is coming along nicely. He did great as well.”

The Bulldogs improve to 6-2 on the season and will return to action this weekend at the Austintown Middle School duals.