Poland’s Cardello second at junior high state

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Neighbors | Submitted.Matt Cardello (left) controls his opponent.

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Neighbors | Submitted.Matt Cardello (top) looks to turn his opponent for back points.

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Neighbors | Submitted.Matt Cardello (right) trips up his opponent in an attempt to score..

Last year, Matthew Cardello was able to compete in both the OAC Grade School State Championships and the OAC Junior High State Championships as a sixth-grader. He placed first and fourth, respectively.

This past weekend, he continued to prove he is one of the best wrestlers in Ohio with a second-place finish in the 96-pound weight class at the Junior High State Meet at the Covelli Centre.

The OAC Junior High State Tournament could be the toughest tournament in Ohio. Unlike the high school state meet which has three separate divisions based upon the size of the schools, the Junior High State meet has one division for all schools. A total of 48 wrestlers in 18 weight classes qualify from eight districts around the state.

Cardello easily won two matches last Saturday — 14-5 and 15-0. On Sunday morning, the winning continued with a 6-1 victory and a 6-4 win over Hunter Kosco, of Burnett Wrestling Club. In the championship match, Cardello came up short to St. Paris Graham’s Tanner Smith, 3-2.

Poland’s youth wrestling club will have three wrestlers competing this weekend at the Covelli Center in the OAC Grade School State Championships. They are Nathan Scheck (85 pounds, Division III), Jacob Blackburn (95, Division IV) and Austin Tusinac (140, Division IV). The Grade School State Championships have 1,312 wrestlers who qualified from all over Ohio competing in 41 age divisions and weight classes.