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Fitch’s Sutton stuns contender
By Brian Dzenis
COLUMBUS
Wrestlers like Gus Sutton are destined to be cannon fodder in the state tournament.
The Austintown Fitch sophomore barely qualified as a fourth-place finisher out of the North Canton Hoover district. The 120-pounder is in the tournament for the first time and came in ranked in No. 22 in the state.
Across the mat Thursday was Mason’s Colin Schuster. He’s in his third trip to state as a senior, taking third in his last go-around. Sutton was supposed to be an opening day footnote as the No. 1 ranked Schuster marched to a state championship.
But that’s not what happened. Sutton decisively took out the No. 1 seed with a 5-1 victory.
“I was thinking I was projected to lose my match so I might as well leave it all out there,” Sutton said.
Sutton’s pace made Schuster uncomfortable from the start as he failed to score in the first period. Neither did Sutton, but that’s how he likes it.
“I just tried to end the first period without a score,” Sutton said. “I always feel better going into the second period because I know I can get out on bottom.”
Sutton’s first takedown — what he calls a high crotch shot — put Schuster on his back. He got a two-count from the ref, but couldn’t finish the pin. Schuster couldn’t manage anything as Sutton hung on for the win.
“Gus is very athletic. He’s always had the ability, but now he’s believing in himself,” Fitch coach John Burd said. “It’s huge as a sophomore to get this kind of win under his belt.”
The nerve-wracking moment of the tournament for Sutton had nothing to do with his opponent. It was coming out of the tunnel for the first time at the Jerome Schottenstein Center.
“It was scary. I just tried not to look up,” Sutton said. “I looked straight at Coach.”
The Mahoning Valley’s three No. 1-ranked wrestlers made it through the first day without running into any Sutton-esque wrestlers. Canfield sparring partners Georgio Poullas (160) and David Crawford (170) advanced as did West Branch’s Ian Sharp.
Poullas pinned McConnelsville Morgan Wesley Pauley in 1:34 after he lifted his opponent off the ground and brought him back to Earth with a loud thud.
“He’s sometimes stronger and more athletic than he realizes. It was just a lift and return,” said Stephen Pitts, Canfield assistant coach and Poullas’ cornerman. “He ends up putting him on his back and sticking it.
“It’s big team points for us, which is good.”
Cardinal wrestlers Anthony D’Alesio (152), Dominic Cooper (182) and Mason Giordano (285) won their opening matches.
“I expect everybody to go far in this tournament,” Giordano said. “Everyone pushes each other in our room. Everybody is a such a good wrestler. Everyone wrestles with each other and pushes each other. We’re all trying to make each other better.”
Giordano put on a rare show for his weight class, beating Toledo Central Catholic’s Demarko Craig 13-4. Among his peers, the highest scoring match after his scored a combined 9 points.
“We’re gonna have to search the books for a long time to find somebody who’s done that at Canfield,” Canfield head coach Dean Conley said of Giordano’s total. “No one has a motor like he does. I would say he has the greatest motor of anyone on our team regardless of weight class.”
Tyler Stein (195) was the lone Cardinal to lose, watching an 8-3 lead against Miami Trace’s Jared Fenner turn into an 11-10 defeat. He’s still alive in the tournament after pinning Granville’s Alex Eckels.