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Fitch, Canfield wrestlers finish 2-3
HOWLAND
Third-place Canfield registered four champions, while fourth-place West Branch and fifth-place Beaver Local had two apiece during Saturday’s Eastern Ohio Wrestling League tournament.
Organizers said it was the first EOWL championship tournament at Howland High – new gym or old.
Alliance was team champion with 214.5 points, followed by Austintown Fitch with 210.
Canfield’s championship finals winners were Georgio Poullas (152), David Crawford (170), Dominic Cooper (182) and Jaret Bunch (195). The wins by Crawford, Cooper and Bunch came in successive weight-class matches.
West Branch’s Christian Wayt (106) and Ian Sharp (285) gave the Warriors a pair of champions in the lightest and heaviest of the 14 weight classes, while Beaver Local’s champs were Quinton Bookman (120) and tournament MVP Jason Keyes (145).
Single champs were Alliance’s Reese Wainuskis (113), Jefferson Area’s Joshua Baitt (126), Fitch’s Andrew Fairbanks (132), Conneaut’s Justin Mason (138), Boardman’s Mario Graziani (160) and Brookfield’s Zach Hackett (220).
Keyes (33-5) went 5-0 over the weekend, ending with a 9-5 decision over Canfield’s C.J. Frost.
“I was working my shots and finishing single legs for the most part and capitalizing on scrambling situations,” the 18-year-old Keyes said.
Frost was ahead, 2-1, then Keyes assumed a 3-2 lead before Frost tied it, 3-3. Frost came as close as 6-5 before the Beaver Local wrestler prevailed by four points.
“He was more focused than I was,” said Frost, who was the EOWL’s 138 champion in 2015. “I didn’t wrestle my best match. He’s a good wrestler, but he’s also in my weight class, so a little rivalry may have begun.”
Poullas, a junior, extended his win streak to 26 straight with a 15-7 major decision over Alliance’s Colton Myler. It was Poullas’ third straight EOWL title after winning at 126 as a freshman, then at 132 last year.
“I stay focused and watch what I eat,” Poullas (33-2) said of his regimen. “I always get a good sweat and never go in cold,” he said of his preparation. “Plus, I have a game plan when I step on the mat. The main thing is confidence — it’s all about your mindset.”
Poullas’ two losses came in the Walsh Jesuit Ironman Tournament, one of which he avenged later.
Graziani won his third EOWL crown by beating Fitch’s Adam Green in a repeat of their 2015 EOWL tournament battle at 152. Graziani finished third at 132 as a freshman, then won at 145 two years ago.
“I got an early takedown in the first period and was able to ride it out for a 2-0 lead heading into the second period.,” the Boardman wrestler said. “I chose down and got an early escape and was able to get in on his legs. He was able to fight and had good defense, but my strength was a little better than his defense.”
Crawford, a sophomore, won his first EOWL title with a pin over Fitch’s Isiah Jackson at 3:30.
“I was getting my takedowns and hada solid lead,” said Crawford (27-8).
Cooper, son of former Boardman state runnerup and Tennessee wrestler Tim Cooper, beat Alliance’s Duce Johnson, 10-8, in a wild finish.
“I gave him a stand-up, then took him down on the head with 10 seconds to go,” Dominic Cooper said of tying Johnson, 8-8. “Then I was on top and broke him down and hit the tilt to get two back points to win.”
After the match, Cooper hugged and high-fived his way to the top of the bleachers where Canfield fans, family and friends sat.
Bunch beat Fitch’s Chris Droege, 6-5, for his first EOWL crown after finishing third as a sophomore and junior.
“I had a quick first takedown and two back points,” Bunch, a senior, said of his 4-0 lead. “He took the top and got two back points off a cradle and then I got a warning for stalling. Even though we both got an escape and I maintained the lead.”
Hackett was a 9-2 winner for his first EOWL championship after beating Poland’s Trey Ellis.
“After my first takedown, I was able to score three back points off of it, then I just worked in my moves and tried to score.”
Hackett (15-1) returned to the mat after rehabilitation from a meniscus tear suffered in football.
Sharp pinned Alliance’s Shawn Barnes in 3:58 in a third-time meeting. Sharp beat Barnes in a dual match in 2015, but Barnes beat Sharp in last year’s districts, although both qualified for state. Saturday’s EOWL championship was a first for Sharp, a junior.
By a 7-3 score, Bookman beat Poland’s Dante Ginnetti, who was last year’s EOWL champ at 113.
“I underestimated him a little,” said Ginnetti, 33-3. “I wasn’t wrestling my best and made mistakes that cost me. I can’t get turned by people.”
For his third straight EOWL title, Fairbanks beat Conneaut’s Isaiah Ngraingas, 4-1. The 16-year-old Fairbanks, a junior, previously won as a freshman at 106 and sophomore at 120.
Ngraingas got the first point, then Fairbanks shot out to leads of 2-1 and 3-1. “He got a point for an escape, then, after he got up, I took him down,” Fairbanks said. I got an escape for my third point, then he was running the whole match, so I got a stalling point.”
Wayt, a 16-year-old freshman, improved to 21-7, after beating Jefferson’s Mike Hamski by major decision, 9-1.
“I countered when needed and got a couple of quick back points and sunk an arm bar [taking Hamski over on his back],” said Wayt.
Conneaut’s Mason beat Boardman senior Jimmy Sferra, 12-7.
Before the finals, theses wrestlers were presented EWOL Hall of Fame plaques: Justin Averell (Boardman), Nick Bodnar (Austintown), Bob Brenner (Canfield), Mark Demidovich (Liberty), Tony Jameson (Austintown), Don Lehman (Hubbard), Greg Ryan (Howland), Scott Smider (Jackson-Milton), Dave Tomaino (Jackson-Milton), Carl Patrnchak (Howland) and Joseph Patrnchak (Howland).
The Davidson Memorial Award winner was Paul “Coach” Lewis (Howland).