The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Bay, Firelands wrestlers eighth in Division II
MARENGO >> Sometimes it takes time to take a step back and appreciate how far one has come.
Bay’s Mason Cover found himself in that situation on Day 2 of the Division II state wrestling tournament on March 14.
The senior 220-pounder lost both of his consolation matches at Marengo High School, which placed him eighth in his weight class.
Afterward, Cover (484) voiced his unhappiness with how the day’s events unfolded.
“I’m happy about (placing), but I’m upset with the way I wrestled today,” he said. “I didn’t wrestle two good matches anywhere. I could have done better.”
Then Cover considered his past, which included an 0-for-2 showing in the state tournament as a sophomore and a 2-2 performance at the D-II district last year that kept him out of the state tournament.
His eighth-place medal then got a little shinier, as he considered that perhaps someday a Bay wrestler might be inspired by his perseverance.
“I hope so,” he said. “Overall, if hey look up to someone that helped them and take a lesson from them to get their mind right, then yeah, I’d agree with that 100
percent.”
Offense was tough for Cover to come by on Day 2. He lost a 3-2 decision to Ashland’s Jakob Beverly in the consolation quarterfinals. Then he lost a 3-2 decision to Canton South’s Tyler Williams, giving up a takedown with less than a minute remaining.
Joining Cover as an eighth-place finisher from the area was Firelands sophomore Rueben PinaLorenzana.
Pina-Lorenzana struggled with generating offense, too.
He lost his consolation semifinal to Wauseon’s Collin Twigg, 1-0, in the ultimate tiebreaker, then lost his finals match, 4-1, to Perkins’ Billy Smith in what was a 2-1 match until the final six seconds of the match.
Pina-Lorenzana (53-5) said the tournament run — in which three of his five losses this season came in the past two weeks — primed him for the next two seasons.
“I came here to win it,” he said. “It’s definitely a huge confidence-booster, not making it here last year and them placing eight this year. It showed me what I need to work on to get to the finals.”