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Canfield duo, teammates chasing state titles
Canfield duo, teammates chasing state titles
By Curtis Pulliam
Canfield
Canfield’s Georgio Poullas and C. J. Frost wrestle each other almost every day during the wrestling season.
So it’s no surprise both advanced to the state tournament in Columbus for the second consecutive year.
The tournament begins Thursday and runs through Saturday.
Canfield head coach Dean Conley says the two make each other better.
“I think they realize how valuable they are to one another,” Conley said. “Both are really quiet kids so they’re not real talkative. We have always said that good wrestlers come in pairs.”
The duo let their wrestling do the talking.
Poullas, just a sophomore, dominated the regular season and the tournament to this point. He complied a 44-2 record and defeated John Chell of Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary to capture this year’s Division II district title in the 126-pound weight class.
“I want to achieve my goal and win states this year,” Poullas said. “I knew what I had to do from the first day of the season and all offseason.”
Frost is 31-10 on the year and placed second in the district.
He fell to Brett Bailey (Southeast) in the 132-pound title match in the Alliance district tournament.
Canfield’s Matthew Cardello (31-5, 106 pounds), David Crawford (40-12, 152) and Jacob Esarco (32-2, 220) also have qualified for state.
Frost admitted he was nervous last season.
“Most people haven’t wrestled in a place like that with that many people,” said Frost, a junior. “It is kind of nerve-wracking. But now that I have the experience so that won’t be an issue.”
The amount of support Frost received played into him pressuring himself last March.
“It is kind of scary the amount of support because people want you to do well,” Frost said. “It was hard to be confident.”
But Frost feels this year’s district tournament gave him enough confidence to do well at states.
“Last year I had a bad seed,” Frost said. “This year I have a really good seed and I will have a really good shot at winning.”
Poullas says last year at the the Jerome Schottenstein Center in Columbus was an unique experience.
“It was different,” said Poullas, who placed sixth in the state last season. “It wasn’t a big surprise because I was used to wrestling at bigger tournaments, but it definitely was a different feeling never being there before.”
Poullas said he has participated in tournaments all over the country and knows how to block out the noise on the mat.
“You got to stay focus in your head and know you just have to take it one match at a time,” he said.
Poullas believes his mindset is a big key for him.
“Your attitude is the biggest part of the match,” Poullas said. “If you don’t have a good attitude, you’re most likely not going to go out there and wrestle your best.”
Conley thinks Poullas is among the state’s best wrestlers.
“He has done everything he needed to do to put himself in this position to win it,” Conley said. “Now he has to go out there and wrestle his absolute best.”
Poullas will start with Dover’s Andrew Murphy (38-9) and Frost opens with Shawn Murphy (46-7) of Washington Courthouse.
Both wrestlers’ goal is to be state champion, but Conley knows that is not going to be easy.
“It’s a brutal weekend,” Conley said. “ [Defending] state champions lose and kids that haven’t placed before win.”