Fitch wrestlers place at Top Gun, prepare for Hephner

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2008 HEPHNER MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT.Austintown's Tony Jameson (bottom) faces Jackson Milton's Joe Skaggs in the 145-pound weight class final in the 2008 Josh Hephner Memorial Tournament at Fitch.

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2012 HEPHNER MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT.Girard's Jacob Carpenter tries to take out the leg of Bedford's Jairod James during action from the 2012 Joshua Helphner Memorial Tournament at Fitch.

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2008 HEPHNER MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT.Jackson Milton's Santino Pizzuto in blue wrestles with Monroeville's Cam Tessari 112-pound weight class final at the 2008 Josh Hephner Memorial Tournament at Fitch.

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2012 HEPHNER MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT.Poland's A.J. Shields looks to control the back of Boardman's Peter Ryan during the 2012 Joshua Hephner Memorial Tournament.

The Fitch varsity wrestling team placed three in the top eight of their respective brackets en route to a 29th-place finish at last weekend’s Top Gun wrestling tournament in Alliance. The ultra-competitive tournament featured 44 teams from several states and included several former state placers.

Austintown has historically had great success at Top Gun, especially in the past 10 years. The Falcons finished in the top 10 four times from 2004 to 2009, taking third in 2008.

Last weekend, Fitch tallied 54.5 team points. Claymont captured the team crown with 224.5 points, outdistancing second-place Massillon Perry (196) and CVCA (182.5).

After losing the championship bracket, Fitch’s Camran Rezapourian (170 pounds) reeled off four consecutive victories in the consolation bracket. In the consolation semis, he lost a 12-8 decision to Southeast’s Brandon James. In his final match with fifth place on the line, he fell 8-6 to CVCA’s Tyler Maclellan.

At 145 pounds, Zach Mackall started the tournament on a roll, winning his first four matches and advancing to the championship semifinals. Two of those victories came via pin and the other two were major decisions.

In the semis, he fell 12-2 to Field’s Zack Ladich to move down to the consolation bracket. In the consolation semis, Mackall lost a 5-1 decision to Wapakoneta’s Nate Valentine. In the match to decide fifth place, Mackall lost 6-2 and finished sixth.

In the 285-pound bracket, Fitch’s Tyler Bell won his opening two bouts. He pinned Madison’s Sam Dull in 1:49 and then scored a 3-1 victory over Perry’s Adam Gregorie. In the championship quarters, Bell lost a narrow 3-2 decision to Loudonville’s Austin Cary, who went on to win the championship.

In the consolation bracket, Bell defeated Field’s Nate Smith 7-2, then was pinned by Dover’s Jason Clinker. He later beat Miami Trace’s Hayden Bottorff 3-1 to take seventh place.