Fallsnewspress.com - Bickel reaches state tournament for Woodridge

by Michael Leonard

Sports Editor

Woodridge wrestling coach Mike Massey didn't mince words when he described what it's like to coach at the district wrestling tournament.

"It's got to be the most emotional day of the season, perhaps in any sport," Massey said.

Massey experienced both agony and ecstacy Feb. 27, as his two big guns had very different finishes at the Division II district tournament at Firestone.

Senior 140-pounder Zach Bickel earned his first trip to the state meet as he finished fourth at Firestone.

However, returning All-Ohion Donny Montoney saw his season end in disappointing fashion as he was disqualified in the semifinals.

Massey said both he and his two wrestlers had a very bittersweet feeling after the tournament.

"They're stepbrothers," Massey said of Bickel and Montoney. "I knew Zach said Donny's disqualification was a huge motivation for him. I feel sick for Donny. You never want to see it end that way."

Things went perfectly for the Woodridge duo on day one of the tournament.

Bickel opened with a 2-0 win over Alliance's Dan Henson and scored a tight 1-0 win over Coventry's Colton May. Meanwhile, Montoney pinned his first two opponents at 145 pounds, sticking Conneaut's Myles Kapen in 1:16 and pinning Northwest's Cameron Martin in 3:52.

However, things didn't go so well in semifinals.

First, Bickel faced Lake Catholic's Matt Fee and never got his offense going. He lost 16-4.

Then, disaster struck Montoney in his semifinal vs. Crestwood's Cheney Matarrese.

Montoney was trailing Matarrese late in the third period when he reached back and hit Matarrese in the face.

The referees ruled Montoney had gouged Matarrese's eye. Montoney was called for flagrant misconduct, meaning he was thorwn out of the tournament.

"I was trying to crossface him, but ended up getting him on the nose," Montoney said.

"It was a justified call," Massey said. "He knows he screwed up."

Montoney apologized to everyone involved with the match afterwards, but Bickel said his focus narrowed after the call.

"Donny's disqualification meant there was no way I could lose," Bickel said.

Bickel faced a rematch with Henson in the consolation semifinals, needing a win to make states.

It was close again, but Bickel pulled out a 3-2 win and let loose a huge roar when he won.

"We're both seniors, so I know we both wanted to win badly," Bickel said. "I just had to wrestle my match."

Bickel lost to Walsh Jesuit's John Novak 6-2 in the third-place match.

"His leadership this season has been excellent in a tough year," Massey said of Bickel. "He leads by example and he just works his butt off. He's done everything we've asked of him and states is a nice reward."

E-mail: mleonard@recordpub.com

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