Canfield’s depth wins Hephner Memorial Tournament
Cardinals win Josh Hephner Memorial title even without their top-ranked competitors
By Brian Dzenis
AUSTINTOWN
Canfield’s depth took over the Josh Hephner Memorial Wrestling Tournament.
The Cardinals were without No. 1-ranked wrestlers Tyler Stein (220) and Anthony D’Alesio (182), but still took home the team trophy with 286 points. Host Austintown Fitch was the runner up with 256.5 points.
“It shows that some guys really stepped up this weekend,” Canfield 195-pounder Nick Crawford said. “Some guys that don’t usually do as well showed up, scored points and got on the podium.”
Nine of the 10 wrestlers Canfield entered placed. Three of them — Crawford, David Reinhart (160) and Nick Barber (106) each took first place. That trio is no slouch. Crawford is ranked No. 3 in the state and Reinhart and Barber are No. 14 and No. 5 for their respective weight class and division.
D’Alesio was out because he was having his wisdom teeth pulled and the Cardinals elected to rest Stein, coach Stephen Pitts said.
“It was a good tournament for our middle-of-the-road guys to let them know that the work they put in really matters,” Pitts said. “They’ve been to some hammering tournaments and didn’t do so well, but you get here and the road was a little easier so I’m proud of those guys.”
All of the winning side’s first-place matches were high-scoring affairs. Barber bested Copley’s Zane Van Voorhis, 7-0, Reinhart took out Tallmadge’s Richie Eyre, 11-7 and Crawford broke a 6-6 tie in the third period to beat Medina’s Blake Chrisman 9-7.
“I wasn’t really prepared for it. I was a ahead in the first period and he started getting shots on me,” Crawford said. “I didn’t realize the score until I look over and see it’s 6-6. I thought, ‘Oh, man’ and I just had to keep my head in the game.”
Like Canfield, Fitch had three wrestlers in the finals, but senior Gus Sutton (138) was the only one to come out with the victory. He earned MVP honors in the tournament after defeating Rootstown’s Niko Chilson, 3-0, for his third Hephner title.
“I had to push the pace a lot and hand fight more than usual,” Sutton said.
En route to the final, Sutton was 4-0 in pool play and in the bracket, he picked up a 15-0 decision and a 16-0 technical fall.
“[Three titles] is up there [in my list of accomplishments] just because it’s our home tournament,” Sutton said. “It means a lot more to me.”
One of the Mahoning Valley’s Division III teams also got a wrestler to the top of the podium in South Range’s Kyle Keenan (126). The senior is sure to see his stock rise from No. 11 in the state after navigating a bracket in which he was the only D-III wrestler. He defeated Copley’s Canyon Wells 6-2.
“Last year, I took fifth and it was our first year in the tournament for our school,” Keenan said. “I was pretty happy with fifth last year, but I was probably wrestling my best tournament of the year so far. I finally had the confidence that I needed to beat some good kids.”
Keenan is on a quest to become his school’s first state placer after qualifying for state in his first three years of high school. The boost in confidence could be huge.
“He’s going out and doing what he does. He wrestles well when he’s loose and ready to go,” South Range coach Levi Hively said.
“In a couple matches earlier this season, he wrestled a little too cautious and he was giving up takedowns and stuff that he shouldn’t have, but he’s now going like he should be going the whole match.”
Canfield wasn’t the only wrestling team without a starter. Girard heavyweight Jack DelGarbino was held out of the tournament due to illness. His younger brother, Alex DelGarbino (132) made the finals, but lost to Rootstown’s Trent Duval, 12-2, in a major decision. The Indians weren’t completely bereft of points in the heavyweight competition after Connor Moore took fifth wrestling in Jack’s place.
Boardman’s Mike O’Horo took second competing in his first tournament as a 170-pounder after slimming down from 182. He was trailing the third period, 5-3, to Willoughby South’s Justin Hendershot when he scored a takedown to tie the match. He was later called for stalling and that set him back for a 7-6 defeat.