Fallsnewspress.com - CVCA wrestling takes second at state meet

by Michael Leonard

Sports Editor

Columbus -- The Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy wrestling team came away with second place at the Division III state tournament.

The Royals finished with 76 points and tied their best finish as a team in school history, joining the 2000 squad as a state runner-up.

However, ask CVCA coach Don Lorence if he's satisfied and the answer is a resounding "No."

"Second place is great but it's not the standard that we have at CVCA," Lorence said. "Seems we've been knocking on the door the last few years. Here we are knocking on it again."

CVCA has finished no worse than fourth since coming back to Division III in 2007, but Lorence made it clear he's frustrated the Royals' first team state title remains elusive.

There were plenty of highlights for the Royals at states as all five CVCA state qualifiers finished with All-Ohio honors.

None finished higher than the youngest member of that contingent.

Freshman 103-pounded Nate Tomasello scored the 13th individual state title in school history.

Tomasello was a dominant force early, as he scored a 20-4 technical fall over Bloom-Carroll's Sean Regoli and a 17-5 win over Dayton Northridge's Robert Carter.

Tomasello had a bit tougher time against Marion Pleasant's Zon Fields, but scored a 7-5 win to reach the finals.

In the finals, Tomasello faced Keystone's Brian Spangler -- for the third straight week. Having defeated Spangler at sectionals and districts, Tomasello said he knew what he had to do.

"He's really good at tying up," Tomasello said. "I knew he was good on his feet."

Although Spangler kept it close by getting two escapes and two late stalling calls, it was Tomasello who got two double-leg takedowns and a go-behind for a 6-4 win.

"I just didn't want to get thrown at the end," Tomasello said, explaining his move to get conservative in the final period. "God gave me all the talent in the world. The coaches made me work for it."

Lorence was beaming as he talked about Tomasello, who became the first CVCA freshman to win a state title since Harry Lester in 1998.

"Hard work equals success," Lorence said. "Nate is there every day pushing himself. There aren't too many days off in this young man's calendar."

As if to prove that point, when Tomasello was asked March 6 when he was going to start working to prepare for next year's state meet, he answered "Tomorrow."

CVCA had a second finalist at states, but once again 171-pounder Alex Utley faced a mammoth challenge.

Utley wasn't challenged much on his way to the finals. He defeated Reading's Kirby Acus 13-3, downed Clear Fork's Brandon O'Neill 3-0 and beat Patrick Henry's Xavier Dye 10-1 to reach the final.

However, Utley ran into a two-time state champion for the second straight year in the final. This time, it was Monroeville's Chris Phillips who provided the opposition.

Phillips had destroyed his first three opponents, but it was clear he was taking Utley seriously.

A single leg takedown and a slam gave Phillips a 5-2 lead before a dispute takedown put Utley down 7-3 in the third period.

"I thought that he popped back up and didn't keep him down," Lorence said.

Utley got an escape and a late stalling call to make it 7-5, but could not find the winning takedown.

"Chris Phillips said that was the best match he had to wrestle the whole tournament," Lorence said. "But Alex didn't go out there to wrestle a good match. He went out there to win."

"I need to work on my penetration a bit more," Utley said. "I had a nice shot on him a couple of times, but couldn't finish. There's not a lot difference in the level between me and Phillips, just a couple of minor adjustments."

Utley said he didn't rule out wanting another shot at Phillips during his senior year.

"I'm not going to win a state title the easy way," Utley said.

Lorence said he felt bad that seniors Zak Vargo and Brandon Sommers didn't get a chance to wrestle for state titles.

Wrestling at 135 pounds, Vargo was knocked out in the semifinals by West Jeffersn's Marco Gualtieri 4-1.

However, he was able to rebound to beat Cincinnati Madeira's Johnny Carpenter 2-0 and then beat Heath's Dom Barlow 3-0 to salvage third place.

Meanwhile, Sommers had to settle for fifth place, which he won by default over Montpelier's Luke Boehm.

CVCA's final participant at states was 160-pounder Matt Meadows, who ended up taking eighth place.

E-mail: mleonard@recordpub.com

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