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Area teams gear up for annual Fitch wrestling event.
By Curtis Pulliam
The Josh Hephner Memorial Tournament has always been special to Dave Tomaino.
“I love this meet,” said the long-time Jackson-Milton head wrestling coach. “I have been there every year since it started.”
Now 22 years later, Tomaino is going to his last one.
As head coach that is.
“I’m retiring after this year,” Tomaino said. “I am hoping to come back next year and help out with the tournament.”
Tomaino says the tournament has an amazing atmosphere.
“For me it’s like going to the Olympics,” Tomaino said. “It is a very relaxing tournament and it means a lot to me and the Hephner family. It’s just a different atmosphere.”
Josh Hephner was a lightweight wrestler for Austintown Fitch in the early 1990’s. He was killed in a car accident in July 1993.
“Josh was a good kid, just a high school kid,” Tomaino said. “He really put his heart into the sport.”
The two-day, 28-team tournament is set for Friday and Saturday at Fitch.
Weigh-ins begin at 11 a.m Friday and the action goes from 1 p.m to 8 p.m.. The wrestling continues Saturday starting at 9 a.m and runs until 2 p.m. After a break, the finals are scheduled to start at 5 p.m.
Fitch head coach Brett Powell is excited for the meet.
“This is the trademark of Fitch wrestling,” he said.
Powell is also looking forward to watch his team take on some of the best teams in the state.
“Everybody brings something to the party,” Powell said. “It is a nice mix of teams and most are ranked from 11-20 in the state. It is a good, close competition.”
Wrestlers to watch for Fitch (4-1) are Andrew Fairbanks(120), Jake Franks (220), Adam Green (153) and Isiah Jackson (160).
Area teams include Boardman, Brookfield, Girard, Grand Valley, Hubbard, Jackson-Milton, Liberty, Poland and Ravenna Southeast.
Poland head coach Tony Stellato thinks it will be a good experience for his team.
“I’m excited for all the matches,” Stellato said. “The mat experience should be good for our kids.”
Other teams involved include Uniontown Lake and Akron St. Vincent-St.Mary.
“It’s one of the best second-half tournaments around,” Powell said.
Jackson-Milton’s Mitch Tikkanen says the tournament is a good test.
“It’s a good indicator of my strengths and weaknesses,” said the senior captain of the Bluejays. “The tournament is more of practice for the sectional tournament.”
Wrestlers will compete in up to eight matches over the two days which is more than the five matches over three days in the state tournament.
Tikkanen says the tournament atmosphere really tests one’s concentration.
“I just tell my team to focus on the here and now,” Tikkanen said. “Instead of focusing on the big picture it makes it a lot easier.”
Tikkanen says the tournament was “overwhelming” as an underclassman but he finished third in the 113-pound weight class at last year’s meet.
“I have my sights on first or second this year,” he said. “Last year I battled my way to third and I feel I didn’t have all the tools.”
He believes he has improved and wants to prove it.
“I just can’t allow the small things to frustrate me,” Tikkanen said. “You just have to focus on you and you wind up doing better.”