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Tigers roar back to clinch EOWL
Howland earns back-to-back league titles with 3 winners
By MattHEW Peaslee
AustinTOWN
The wrestling equivalent of Ali-Frazier, Mayweather-De La Hoya and Balboa-Drago took place at the Austintown Fitch High gymnasium on Saturday evening.
The Eastern Ohio Wrestling League 145-pound title was on the line.
Kenny Faulkner of West Branch had a 2-1 advantage over Howland’s Bobby Klose in the final minute of the bout. It had to be stopped four times as both grapplers returned to their sides to clean up blood.
As both were fighting near the outside ring of the mat, Klose swept up, earned two points and held on in the waning seconds for the championship.
“My eye is a bit swollen,” Klose said. “It was tough because we were both going at it head-to-head and we both wanted to win. I dug deep and pulled it off.”
He ran into the stands and was greeted by a throng of Tigers supporters, but the first hug went to his grandma.
“She means the world to me and is always there for me,” Klose said.
The celebration didn’t last long, though.
Klose (26-6) rushed back down to the mat where his teammate, David Brian Whisler, was up against another Warrior, Tyler Pidgeon in the 152-pound class.
Heated yet again, Whisler pulled off the 5-2 decision. And there was Klose — ready for another hug.
Prior to those pair of matches, West Branch led Howland 215-209.5. After, the Tigers regained the lead, 217.5-215 and they held it for the rest of the tournament.
With 229.5 points — Howland won the EOWL Championship and was the top team in Division I.
“We wanted to control what we could control and those kids [Klose and Whisler] controlled those matches,” Howland coach Bill Beasom said. “They wrestled really smart and were aggressive and attacked the entire time.”
Exactly what Beasom wanted to see.
“They had guts,” he said, “especially to overcome the deficit we had.”
Gabe Stark also won for the Tigers at the 138-pound class.
Whisler (22-8) is just a freshman, but has been on the varsity squad all year. Many of the wins were close — like the one against Pidgeon.
“I was trying to stay tough on my feet and settle my shots,” Whisler said. “I knew I could finish because I could see him getting tired throughout the match.”
It was his first tournament in an atmosphere like that and it has motivated him for the future.
“My goal is to be a 4-year EOWL champ and I had to start this year,” Whisler said.
Boardman’s Nick Mancini is on pace for a similar feat.
The junior won his third-straight EOWL title in the 113-pound class. Mancini (26-6) defeated Canfield’s Anthony Spencer in a 9-0 major decision.
“I haven’t doubted myself in many years,” he said. “You got to believe in yourself or you're going to have trouble winning anyway.”
His fellow Spartan, Nico Graziani, beat Max Brooke of South Range in a 10-2 major decision in the 160-pound weight class. Graziani was also selected as tournament MVP, as voted on by the head coaches of all 18 participating teams.
“He’s a great leader and a great wrestler,” Mancini said. “It’s nice having someone like him doing great things. We both push each other and we’re both better because of it.”
West Branch did hold on for second place in the team standings and won the Division II title. Aaron Page and Connor Sharp both placed first for the Warriors at the 170 and 285-pound class, respectively. Poland was the top team in Division III with 77 points and Canfield was third overall with 154.
Josh Henderson of Beaver Local won the 106-pound class and Brookfield’s David Jamieson won the 220-pound class on his 17th birthday.