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Boardman, Fitch combine to send eight wrestlers to district
By Brandon judeh
AUSTINTOWN
Boardman’s wrestlers entered the second day of the Division I sectional tournament Saturday determined to build on Friday’s strong start.
By the looks on the Spartans’ faces, it was apparent they were going to do everything in their power to not let the opportunity pass.
Nick Mancini (113 pounds), the first Spartan to wrestle, showed those expressions were a sign of what was to come.
“I was listening to ‘Lose Yourself’ by Eminem, that’s my favorite song and it always gets me pumped up before a match,” Mancini said.
Mancini didn’t lose himself, or anything for that matter, as he dominated Hudson’s Ben Boysel from start to finish, defeating him, 15-0.
“My goal was to get a quick takedown and I did, anytime I get on top I know I can turn anybody, overall it was a good win,” Mancini said.
With Boardman now behind by 10 points to Kenston, the pressure built during Mario Graziani’s 132-pound match against Hudson’s Nathan Gregory.
His match fit the tension of the afternoon, as he would need to battle back after being down by two points.
“When I was down by two he actually put himself in a pretty good position for me to move in and get some points,” Graziani said. “I was able to pick up points and ended up winning by four.”
Graziani’s strong will helped him pick up the 12-8 decision and also cut Kenstons lead to five points.
While the drama of the Spartans’ saga played out, Austintown Fitch had two wrestlers vying for sectional titles.
Zach Mackall (145) lost a tough match to Twinsburg’s Tyone Mcguinea and 170-pound Camran Rezapourian had what ended up being the longest match of the tournament.
Moments into his match against Solon’s Shaq Morehouse play had to be stopped.
Rezapourian walked over to the scorer’s table, blood gushing out of his nose as trainers attended to him.
“He took a shot and he snapped me right in the nose,” Rezapourian said. “At first I couldn’t feel my nose and suddenly I felt this urge and blood just started pouring out.”
After the Fitch staff stopped the bleeding, Rezapourian went back out and looked determined to win, as his energy level was higher than ever, but seconds later, the bleeding resumed.
“I was moving really well after the first stoppage,” he said. “Unfortunately, it started bleeding again, so they had to plug up both sides of my nose, which is a problem when you are trying to wrestle.”
After five stoppages, Rezapourian lost, but says he hopes to have a rematch with Morehouse in the district tournament.
Joining Mancini and Graziani at the district tournament will be Peter Ryan (126), Joe Cordova (182) and Justin Humphreys (220).
“This was a tough tournament all the way around, we got five guys into districts though and we are happy with that,” Boardman coach Dom Mancini said.
Fitch’s Mike Hafely (138) will accompany Mackall and Rezapourian to next week’s district tournament at Mentor High School.