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Boardman wrestlers keep it all in the family
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Neighbors | Submitted.Boardman's Nico Graziani (right) won the 160-pound EOWL tournament title Feb. 4. A week later, his younger brother, Mario, won the 112-pound championship at the Junior High EOWL tourney. Both were awarded the tournament MVP award. This accomplishment marks the first time that brothers have won the EOWL MVP award in the same year.
Unlike almost any other high school sport, wrestling is about family. It’s very common to see the same last names as you look through the wrestling record books at many of the schools in the Valley.
Boardman is no exception - especially this season.
The tie that binds starts at the top of the program with head coach Dom Mancini. He wrestled for the Spartans in the early 1980s, taking second in the state in 1982. He’s now coaching his son, Nick, who recently won his third straight EOWL championship and last weekend, advanced to the Division I district tournament.
Nick won the 106-pound sectional championship with a 10-3 victory in the finals over Chardon’s Mike Connick. He will now wrestle at districts this weekend seeking his second straight berth to the state tournament.
Nick, a junior, is achieving success like his dad did. A peek at the Boardman record books shows that he had 36 victories last season, one more than his dad won (35) in 1982.
As for his son’s performance at sectionals, Dom gave his analysis.
“Nick wrestled well, but he got frustrated in the finals because his opponent just wrestled not to get pinned,” he said. “He knew he had no chance, so just grabbed Nick’s wrists when Nick was on top and stalled. At the same time,
it’s nice to know that good opponents aren’t even trying to win the match with Nick — they are just trying to survive.
“But we have to work on responding positively to these situations so that Nick doesn’t get frustrated in the future when these situations occur.”
There was another familiar wrestling name in the finals at sectionals. Senior Nico Graziani won the 160-pound championship by beating Stow’s Connor McMahon 6-4 in the title bout. The 2011 state qualifier also moved on to districts in hopes of earning a return trip to Columbus.
“Nico is a rare three-time sectional champ for the Spartans,” said Mancini. “He is just a mean, aggressive wrestler — you can tell by the determination on his face when he wrestles he will not be denied. He beat two of the top-rated wrestlers in the state on Saturday from Solon and Stow. That just shows how tough he really is.”
Wrestling is in Graziani’s blood. His dad, Luke, won a state championship for Columbus St. Francis DeSales in 1985. He was also a state runner-up in 1984.
“His dad works with him and it has been a huge help over the years,” said Mancini.
When Nico graduates after this season, another Graziani will fill his roster spot at Boardman. Eighth-grader Mario is one of the best middle school wrestlers in the Valley and won the OAC district meet last Sunday.
Earlier this month, the brothers each earned Most Valuable Wrestler awards for their performances at the varsity and junior high EOWL tournaments, respectively.
“It’s a tough family all the way around and Nico wants to be a state champion. He won’t be satisfied until he accomplishes that goal,” said Mancini.
The family wrestling roots grow even deeper. Coaches on Mancini’s staff include his brother, Frank, a former Spartan wrestler, and former Boardman head coach Jerry Pasquale (1984-99). Pasquale competed for the Spartans and was the team MVP in 1976.
As an assistant coach, Pasquale was able to help coach his son, Jerry, to two state tournaments. The younger Pasquale finished eighth as a freshman in 2007, then seventh as a senior in 2010.
Mancini and Graziani were only two of Boardman’s four district qualifiers last weekend. Also advancing were Alex Rich (120 pounds) and Joe Cordova (170).
Rich, who had quit the team earlier this season, finished fourth to grab the final district spot. He essentially earned the chance to advance after beating the bracket’s top seed in the quarterfinals with a takedown in overtime.
“Alex Rich was the surprise of the tournament,” said Mancini. “Three weeks ago, he quit the team. Thanks to Coach Pasquale and Coach Foster making a visit to his home, we were able to get him back.
“He comes from a good family that supports him and without that, there is no chance he would have pulled this off. This is definitely the highlight of my season so far. Even if Alex goes two and out at districts, he made his mark and has something he accomplished that can make him an even better person and wrestler if he chooses.”
Cordova advanced to districts while becoming the most improved wrestler on the team this year. He was 3-15 last season wrestling at 215 pounds, but is having success this year at 170.
He beat Kent Roosevelt’s John Spurney 3-1 to finish third and move on to districts.
“We expect big things out of Joe, as he has sacrificed and gone through a lot of pain training with Coach
Raver all summer to get where he is,” said Mancini. “You really can’t ask for anything more out of a kid. He lives the life of a champion and will be one sooner or later.”