Fallsnewspress.com - Royals wrestlers advance five on to state meet

by Michael Leonard

Sports Editor

When is finishing second at districts and advancing five wrestlers to states a disappointment?

When your program is aiming for a state title like Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy.

"It's tough to accept," said CVCA coach Don Lorence. "You're happy for the five guys that were going and you like second, but it's not the goal for the CVCA wrestling program."

The Royals finished second at the Division III distrct tournament at Maple Heights Feb. 27 with 152 points.

The problem was St. Peter Chanel won the tournament with 210 points and advanced 10 wrestlers to states.

"They had a hot Saturday afternoon," Lorence said. "We'll see if they can carry that over to this weekend."

In terms of who the Royals advanced out of Maple, Lorence said all five are capable of making it to the finals at states. However, he acknowleged the Royals likely would need "a miracle" if it wanted to win the Division III state title.

The Division III state tournament began March 4 at Value City Arena in Columbus.

It was no miracled to see freshman 103-pounder Nate Tomasello winning the title, as he dispatched Keystone's Brian Spangler 5-1 in the final.

Lorence said Tomasello should be among the favorites to win the 103-pounds state title.

"He should be right there," Lorence said. "When he straps its on, he reminds me a lot of Jarrod Kusar. He's strictly business. He's got that burning desire to be the best."

At 135 pounds, senior Zak Vargo avenged his loss to Cuyahoga Heights' Jim Dankle at sectionals. Vargo met Dankle in the final at Maple and pulled out a 6-3 win to take the title.

"The Brakeman Reports said that Vargo on a hot weekend could win the title and I beleive it," Lorence said. "He had a hot weekend at Maple."

Meanwhile, junior 171-pounder Alex Utley didn't have to break a sweat to win his title. After dominating his first three matches, he won the 171-pound title match by default when Rootstown's coaches chose not to send out Garrett Linto to face him.

"Linton was a banged up a little bit and they just decided why risk it when he's already banged up for states," Lorence said.

CVCA had a fourth wrestler reach the finals in senior 145-pounder Brandon Sommers. Sommers lost a 5-3 decision to Cuyahoga Heights' Zach Noernberg, but Lorence said Sommers should still be a player for the state title.

CVCA's final qualfier was sophomore 160-pounder Matt Meadows, who took third place.

"We're definitely looking for him to do more this year at states," Lorence said. "He's a gamer."

At 130 pounds, junior Seth Powers continues to have no luck in the injury department. Lorence said Powers re-injured his torn anterior crucial ligament at the PAC Tournament, but still nearly made it to states. He finished sixth at Maple and will have surgery to repair the knee March 17.

"He came up one point short," Lornece said. "He's got a ton of heart. He did everything he needed to get back."

Freshman 119-pounder Josh Decatur also finished sixth after reaching the semifinals.

"He suffered a tough loss in the semis and he kind of hung his head after that," Lorence said. "We've got to get him mentally ready for these tournaments."

Freshman 130-pounder Matt Dobben finished fifth, while junior 189-pounder Pete Meadows and freshman 140-pounder Nick Havener finished off the podium.

"It's frustrating because we've wrestled so much in the offseason and put so much time in," Lorence said. "It's great for us to get second, but it's not our standard. We've got to stay hungry and work and that's what we'll do. The formula's easy; we just have to outwork everyone."

E-mail: mleonard@recordpub.com

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