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Next stop for Columbiana’s Davin: Columbus
By MARTY GITLIN
GARFIELD HEIGHTS
Imagine the horrible feeling that you’ve wasted four years of sweat and toil. That’s how Columbiana senior Tim Davin would have felt if he had failed to qualify for the state tournament.
But the heavyweight has become familiar with a quite different emotion instead. It is one of elation after winning twice Saturday to place third in the Division III district tournament and punch a ticket to Columbus.
His situation was quite precarious after he dropped a 6-3 decision to Grand Valley senior Austin Mathis, but Davin clinched his first state spot by pinning Ashtabula St. John junior Derrick Elrod at 2:48.
A 3-1 defeat of Tuslaw junior Brayden Phillips landed Davin a third seed in Columbus. No wonder he was smiling when the day was done.
“This means that all the work I have put in has finally come to fruition,” Davin said. “I feel like I have been able to show what I’m made of. I would have felt like all the work I put in was wasted if I hadn’t made it.”
The importance of the final match was not lost on Davin despite the fact that he had already qualified.
Placing third allowed him to avoid a top seed in the first round in Columbus. Now he believes he can at least finish among the top four if he performs to the best of his ability.
Davin was no stranger to Phillips when the two strode to the mat. They had wrestled three times previously with Davin winning twice. He was very familiar with his opponent’s strengths and weaknesses.
“I knew that his shot defense is very strong,” Davin said. That body strength motivated Davin to shoot for Phillips’ legs with time running out in the third period. He managed a takedown with 20 seconds left to break a 1-1 tie. Little did Davin know just how important the move proved to be — he thought he was up 1-0 when it happened.
The victory holds added significance in that it was the 100th of Davin’s high school career. That made it special not just for him, but for Columbiana coach Chris Canale as well. After all, Davin was among the first wrestlers he tutored when the school reinstated its wrestling program. And he’s the first state qualifier since then.
“It shows that the program is going in the right direction,” Canale said. “Tim is a special kid. I’ve worked with him since sixth grade. His kind of character is what we look for when it comes to Columbiana wrestling.”
Davin, who has thrived as a two-way lineman in football and is planning a career as a psychiatrist, is not the lone area wrestler to qualify for state in Div. III.
South Range sophomore Kyle Keenan also came through with his back against the wall. He was pinned by Pymatuning Valley freshman Jake Edelman at 3:04 in the semifinals, but clinched a state berth by pinning Mapletown freshman Hunter Frederick. A loss to Akron Manchester freshman Jake White insured that Keenan will take a fourth seed to the state tournament.