Fallsnewspress.com - Frustrated Falls wrestlers shut out of state meet

by Michael Leonard

Sports Editor

Falls wrestling coach Tim Humbert tried to put a brave face on when reflecting on his team's season.

But, ultimately, he just kept come back to one cold, hard fact.

"To be shut out is unacceptable," Humbert said. "We have to compete. We have to get better."

For the second straight year, Falls wrestling left the Division I district meet -- this year at Ashland -- without a state qualifier. Senior 160-pounder Tyler Tesny was the Black Tigers' lone podium finisher as he took fifth.

The top four qualifiers at Ashland advanced to the Division I state meet.

Falls finished tied with Perrysburg for 17th place at districts with 27 team points.

"We gave a good effort, but I don't think we wrestled as well as we could," Humbert said. " Unfortunately, there's a very small window of opportunity. We made some little mistake in big matches. We have to get to the point where we can win the big matches."

In Falls' defense, the field at Ashland was easily the toughest of the four Division I district meets. St. Edward and Wadsworth ruled the district, winning 13 of the 14 individual championships between them.

St. Edward won the team title with 289.5 points, while Wadsworth was second with 268.5. To put it in perspective, third-place Brecksville finished with 121 points.

Humbert acknowledged his team was navigating a minefield at Ashland, but refused to use it as an excuse.

"It's a tough road; The simple fact of the matter is, any district besides there would not be as tough," Humbert said. "Everyone can't run away from the best teams in the states. It just so happens that we hit some of the best kids in the state early."

Humbert said Falls' short-comings were "not all on the kids" as he noted the coaches needed to do a better job of preparing them for critical matches.

"It's frustrating," Humbert said. "We had a really good year. A lot of wonderful things happened for us this year. But still the ultimate goal is to get kids down to states and we haven't been able to do that. We've got the talent. We just need to break through.

Tesny came the closest to breaking through for Falls this year, but fell one win short.

Tesny opened with a pin in 1:54 over Ashland's JJ Griffith, but then ran right into St. Edward's Nick Sulzer, the defending state runner-up. Tesny lost a 21-6 technical fall.

Tesny rebounded by beating Toledo St. John's Ted Schoen 13-3 and besting Strongsville's Alex Pangrace 11-10 in overtime.

However, Tesny needed to beat Brecksville's Josh Linden to make states, but was pinned in 2:49. Tesny salvaged fifth place by pinning Olmsted Falls' Shane Gareau,

"He lost in his go-to match," Humbert said. "It's just a matter of making small mistakes. He wrestled tough and missed a couple of small opportunities. I guarantee you, there's kids going to states that are not as tough as Tyler Tesny."

At 130 pounds, Collin Taylor was making his second trip to districts, but was eliminated by Elyria's Kodie Egnor, who he pinned at the NOC meet.

"Collin pushed the action to the point of making a mistake," Humbert said. "This probably more than last year is a learning year for Collin. "

In their first trips to districts, junior 125-pounder Scott Hysell, sophomore 135-pounder Conner McMahon and junior 171-pounder Tyler Eastman each finished 1-2.

Although Tesny will be lost to graduation, the other four district qualifiers -- and most of Falls' team -- will be back in the fold next season.

"We have to put our noses to the grindstone," Humbert said. "We're already going through our off-season schedule to get ready."

Humbert said he will be back mat-side for Falls next year, though he's not sure in what position he will be.

"I will be part of the coaching team next year," Humbert said. "Whoever the head coach is next year, we're still looking at it. Obviously, we look to Craig [Wilson] to keep the program going in the right direction."

E-mail: mleonard@recordpub.com

Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3113