The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Perry, Lake Catholic advance in D-II regional
Lake Catholic and Perry advanced to the Division II, Region 11 semifinals with victories at the Perry subregional matches on Jan. 24.
The Cougars defeated Harvey, 74-6. The Pirates beat Cleveland Central Catholic, 50-27.
Lake Catholic claimed points in each of the first 13 weight classes. Hunter Ryan, Conor McCrone, Dakota Ryan, Tyler Renick, Luke McKeon, Kevon Freeman, Cole Hivnor, Matt Valentino and Cade Acitelli all ended their matches with pins. Coach Eric Lakia thought the Cougars’ match went as expected.
“I hope that our guys understand that they can’t take anybody lightly moving forward,” Lakia said. “It’s only going to get tougher.”
Acitelli’s match against Francisco Melendez was the first of the year for the 220-pound senior, also in his first year as a wrestler at Lake Catholic. Acitelli pinned Melendez 2 minutes, 55 seconds into their match.
“To come out and get a win, I’m sure that’s great for his confidence,” Lakia said. “I’m very happy for him and the same thing goes for him, he can’t get complacent. It’s only going to get tougher.”
This is McCrone’s first season competing at 126 pounds. The junior has already reached the state podium, but moved up in weight class from 113 pounds to 126 before this season. McCrone pinned Harvey’s Thomas Sicker in 2:58.
“He wants to be a state champ,” McCrone said. “This is a part of the process to get there. I know he’s embracing it and looking forward to what next week has to offer.”
Harvey heavyweight Alberto Reynoso needed only 31 seconds to pin Lake Catholic’s Kosta Anderson in the final match to put points on the board for Harvey.
The Red Raiders advanced to face Lake Catholic with a 41-36 victory over University. Elijah Rowdy and Ricardo Valadez won matches to lead Harvey’s effort.
Perry coach Dave Rowan tinkered with his lineup, and the Pirates defeated Cleveland Central Catholic, 50-27.
Ninety-five-pound freshman Ryan Berdysz was added to Rowan’s lineup in the 106-pound match. Berdysz lost a 10-7 decision to the Ironmen’s Trent Proctor.
Rowan bumped Jared Keefer up to the 132-pound weight class from 126 pounds, and Keefer earned six points for the Pirates with a pin of Justin Thrash. At 220 pounds, freshman Tommy Jackson moved down from the heavyweight class to earn a 7-3 decision over Bradley Johnson.
Rowan called the matches key for Perry on Jan. 24, and hopes they better balance the Pirates for future matches.
“Basically, it extends our lineup,” Rowan said. “It gives us an opportunity to win some more matches.”
Awaiting Perry on Jan. 31 is a matchup with No. 1 seed Lake Catholic.
“They’re pretty talented,” Rowan said. “We’re a public school that we get what we get, we’re just going to get them ready the best that we can and we’ll fight. We’re not going to back down.”
Lakia looks forward to the atmosphere of a match featuring two local programs, where the Cougars meet the well-coached Pirates.
“His kids are always prepared,” Lakia said. “If we’re not prepared when we wrestle them next week, we might be in for a rude awakening. I’m not planning on that happening, but the guys have got to be ready.”