Canfield advances six wrestlers to district tournament

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Pictured is the group of Canfield wrestlers who placed at the Division II sectional wrestling tournament at West Branch. Those in the top four of their weight class advanced to the district tournament.

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Canfield senior Hayden Smith (top) controls his opponent en route to a Division II sectional title last weekend. He advances to the district tournament this weekend in Alliance.

Canfield senior wrestler Hayden Smith spent most of the past month on the sidelines after losing a wrestle-off that determined the starting lineup. But instead of complaining, he used it as motivation for capturing a sectional championship this past Saturday at the Division II wrestling sectional tournament at West Branch High School.

Back in the lineup, Smith advanced to the finals by edging Hubbard’s Tyler Whitacre 4-2 in overtime. Then in the finals, he dominated, pinning Howland’s Andrew Rolfe at the 4:32 mark to capture the 195-pound crown and a trip to this weekend’s district tournament in Alliance.

Canfield wrestlers held the lead after Friday night’s sectional action, but eventually finished third behind host West Branch and Crestwood. Canfield advanced wrestlers to the finals in five weight classes, but all but Smith fell short. The top four in each weight class advanced to districts.

At 113 pounds, Korey Frost saw his first action of the season after being sidelined with an injury. He rolled into the finals with a 15-3 major decision over Field’s Vince DeJulius, but fell 2-0 in the finals to top-seeded Jake Zemaitis of Crestwood.

Canfield senior John Poullas ran his record to a team-best 41-4 with his second-place finish at 170. Poullas’ overtime pin of Poland’s Michael Audi in the semis propelled him into the finals where he fell to returning state placer Brandon James of Southeast, 8-3.

Junior Stan Socha returned after missing a month with a knee injury and lost a 2-0 decision to top-seeded Kenny Jackson of Crestwood to finish second for the Cards at 182.

Canfield heavyweight Curtis Burns garnered win No. 40y on the way to his final’s match-up with West Branch’s Conner Sharp. In a rematch of the EOWL championship two weeks prior, Sharp again finished on top with a first-period pin of Burns.

Cardinal freshman CJ Frost will accompany his older brother to districts after finishing fourth at 132. The younger Frost narrowly missed a finals berth, falling 10-9 to top-seeded Josh Hiller of Crestwood in the semifinals.

Canfield’s district qualifiers will look to finish in the top four of their weight class in order to advance to the state tournament Feb. 28 through March 2 in Columbus.