Canfield duo places at junior high state

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Canfield's David Labra (top) nearly pins opponent Joe Castenir during their fifth-place match at the OAC junior high state tourney. Labra won the bout 5-1.

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Neighbors | Submitted.Five Valley junior high wrestlers placed at the OAC state tournament last weekend. They are, from left, David Labra (Canfield), Anthony Audi (Poland), CJ Frost (Canfield), Mario Graziani (Boardman) and Alex Mackall (Austintown).

Canfield’s David Labra and CJ Frost earned spots on the awards podium during last weekend’s OAC Junior High State Tournament at the Covelli Centre in Youngstown.

Labra (146 pounds) was able to fight his way back to a fifth-place finish after being upset in his first match of the tournament. Losing 6-4 to JT Brown put Labra in the consolation bracket. He had to win six straight matches to secure a spot on the podium, including a pin in a rematch with Brown.

Frost started the tournament with three wins, including two by pin, before falling 10-6 to eventual champion Kyle Lawson (Team Jordan). He rallied to take sixth after losing a tough 2-0 decision in his bid for fifth.

This is the second time these two have placed at Junior High state, Frost was fifth in 2011 and Labra was sixth.

Jacob Esarco was one match from placing in the top eight, going 3-2 on the weekend. Other wrestlers competing for Canfield were Sean Frisbie, Andy Garr, Kyle West, David Crawford, Georgio Poullas, Jaret Bunch and David Hofsess.

Other Valley wrestlers placing at the tournament were Alex Mackall (Austintown), state champion, 108 pounds; Seth Hogue (Brookfield), second, 84; Matthew Cardello (Poland), fourth, 78; Mario Graziani (Boardman), fourth, 114, Matt Steer (West Branch), seventh, 120; and Anthony Audi (Poland), sixth, 138.

The OAC Junior State Tournament brought 846 wrestlers from all over Ohio to compete on 10 mats over two days. This has become one of the premier wrestling events in the state and country, featuring some of the best wrestlers from Ohio and the United States.

The list of former Junior High state champions reads like the ‘who’s who’ in USA Wrestling, including four-time high school state champions David Taylor (Penn State), Logan and Hunter Steiber (Ohio State) and more.

This weekend, more than 1,200 wrestlers for all over Ohio will come to Youngstown to compete in the OAC Grade School State Tournament. This will be wrestlers sixth grade and under.

Wrestling begins at 9 a.m. today and concludes with the finals tomorrow evening.