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Boardman's GOLDEN GRAZIANI
By MATTHEW PEASLEY
Nico Graziani allowed for some time to celebrate after his 160-pound district title.
But it was basically over once the Boardman High senior stepped off the championship podium at the Division I tournament in Mentor.
“It was a good feeling,” Graziani said, “but the real tournament still had to happen.”
He’s referring to the state championships to be held this weekend at the Jerome Schottenstein Center on the Ohio State University campus.
Graziani competed in Columbus last year at the 152-pound division. He didn’t place, still this year is different than last year.
“I’m going to leave everything out on the mat and wrestle every match like it’s my last, because it really could be,” he said.
Graziani will not be wrestling at the college level, as he is joining his family business next year.
Over the last four seasons, his coach, Dom Mancini, says Graziani has been a fun kid to coach.
“Nico’s always been a hard-nosed kid,” Mancini said. “He’s a rare breed. He goes out there after the guy. It’s a fight for him. Teaching that to these kids today isn’t like when I grew up. Nico has that fighting mentality that isn’t seen that often these days.”
Ask Graziani, himself, what his biggest strength on the mat is and he’ll tell you it’s his strength on the bottom. About those fierce, mean and relentless descriptions, he’ll just laugh — and agree.
“It’s weird because I’ve never wrestled myself,” he said. “But sometimes I can get pretty mean out there. I probably grew into it my sophomore year because I got beat up a lot my freshman year.”
Behind his ferocious demeanor on the mat, Graziani is a helpful teacher. Nick Mancini, also of Boardman, Josh Henderson (Beaver Local), Korey Frost (Canfield), Conner Sharp (West Branch), Max Brooke (South Range) and Howland’s Gabe Stark and Robby Klose also qualified for the state matches.
They all met on Tuesday at Canfield High to prepare for the big stage. Brooke wrestles at 160 pounds, too. So he’s learned from Graziani’s style and technique, while taking his advice to heart.
“Nico’s really helped me improved over the year,” Brooke said. “He’s an excellent wrestler who has really guided through live matches and situations with me.”
Brooke, a senior, knew this last year was going to be his chance to make it all the way. During the sectional tournament, though, he thought that dream was going to be derailed.
“He picked me up and threw me straight down,” Brooke said. “I dislocated my shoulder. I immediately felt pain shoot through my arm and I just thought my year was done.”
With a great deal of stretching and monitoring his shoulder on little rest, Brooke got right back into proving he could recover quickly. And he did with a fourth place finish at the Division III district tournament.
“I worked really hard for this and I pushed myself everyday to get this far,” he said.
Many of the state-bound wrestlers picked up the sport at a young age, some as early as kindergarten. They all agree that they feed off of individual competition.
“I love going out one-on-one and knowing that it’s me proving myself,” Frost said.
Graziani added, “it’s a sport where you get to show off your talent and let people see how tough you are. It’s all about you on the mat. You’re as good as you want to be.”
For Frost, although he’s spent the better part of his life on the mat, his coach Dean Conley feels that this was his year to prove himself.
“I think he’s grown up a lot this past year and he’s realized that he’s one of our best wrestlers — even as a sophomore,” Conley said. “The expectations are now high for him and he’s gaining confidence.”