Sunday, February 24, 2019
Canfield wins
seven sectional
championships
By Brian Dzenis
BELOIT
Canfield dominated its Division II sectional tournament with a smile.
The Cardinals qualified 13 wrestlers for the district Saturday at West Branch and ran away with the team title, scoring 298 points. Runner-up West Branch had 164.5 points.
Canfield’s highly decorated roster kept things light, with some bouncing up and down between bouts and joking with teammates.
“We always have fun with what were doing and we’re enjoying it, but when it’s time to be serious, we’re serious,” D’Alesio said.
All four of the Mahoning Valley’s No. 1-ranked wrestlers — West Branch’s Christian Wayt (120), Canfield’s Anthony D’Alesio (182) and Tyler Stein (220) and Girard’s Jack DelGarbino (285) — won sectional titles with little trouble. D’Alesio stood out as the junior pinned all three of his opponents. It was the first time he’d ever done it in a tournament.
“That was my goal. I wanted to pin everybody at sectionals,” D’Alesio said. “I want to pin everybody at district and state.”
Nick Barber (106), Ethan Fletcher (113), David Reinhart (160), Ben Cutrer (170) and Nick Crawford (195) all reached the top of the podium for the Cardinals.
“Seth Hull (152) wrestled really well. Ron Angelilli (120) and Aiden Burcsak (132) all had losing records during the season and then showed up today,” Canfield coach Stephen Pitts said. “They get to go districts and wrestle another match and I’m happy for those guys. They did a great job.”
Hubbard and Howland each had a first-time sectional title winners in Eagles sophomore Connor Burrus (126) and Tigers freshman Matthew Woomer (138). Both wrestlers had close bouts, with Burrus hanging on to beat Marlington’s Brenden Hamilton, 11-8. Woomer held off a late charge from Canfield’s McCoy Watkins in a 5-4 win.
“I just had to keep my cool. I knew he was going big at the end,” Burrus said. “I just had to be careful.”
If most-improved was an award, Poland would take it. The Bulldogs had a decent showing, sending seven wrestlers — including sectional finalists Daniel Adams (120) and Justice Smith (170) — to the district tournament in Alliance starting Friday. Last year, the Bulldogs had just two advance from sectionals.
Girard’s Alex DelGarbino (132) was removed from the mat on a stretcher during his sectional final. He appeared to suffer a hip injury while competing against Marlington’s Mason McCarty. Alex DelGarbino’s status was unclear Saturday night, coach Jim Cardiero said. The injury compounded what Cardiero considered a disappointing tournament for the Indians.
“I had higher expectations. Jack had a good tournament and the guys who placed wrestled well, but I don’t think we wrestled to our potential today,” Cardiero said. “It was a tough tournament and sometimes the stars aren’t aligned.”
Alex DelGarbino still retains his second-place finish at West Branch, but if he’s determined to be too injured to continue, the fifth-place finisher (West Branch’s Jonah Thomas) would advance to Alliance.
AROUND THE AREA
In Division I, a second-period near fall and an escape in the third gave Boardman’s Mike O’Horo (170) enough to get past Massillon Jackson’s Elijah Underwood, 4-1, for a sectional title. Austintown Fitch’s Gus Sutton (138) and Colin Roberts (113) each picked up sectional titles with major-decision victories.
Elsewhere in D-II, Beaver Local is the only Valley team to have all 14 wrestlers advance to districts. Jaymin Salsberry (106), Skyler Lasure (145) and Beau Smith (170) were the Beavers who took first in Steubenville, as did East Liverpool’s Skyler Wooley (220).
In D-III, Western Reserve had a one-hit wonder. Blue Devils sophomore Seth Phillips (285) was the only athlete on his team to advance from the Rootstown sectional but did so with a title to his name. South Range’s Kyle Keenan (126) beat the host’s Mason Kline, 2-0, in an ultimate tiebreaker for a section title. Fellow Raider Anthony Czap (220) pinned every opponent he faced. Crestview’s William Hardenbrook (170) also pinned every opposing wrestler on Saturday.