The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Beavers, Cards to face off in D-I
If Riverside wrestling coach Mike Richner was trying to keep composed during his team’s regional quarterfinal match against Kenston on Jan. 24 in Mentor, he wasn’t having much luck doing it.
With every takedown, every back-point and every pin his Beavers accrued, the third-year Riverside coach greeted it with a fist-pump, a hearty clap or a vertical leap-revealing jump out of his chair.
Richner had every reason to be happy.
Of the 10 matches Riverside wrestled, six ended in pins, paving the way for a lopsided 52-21 win over Kenston that had more than a few fans in Mentor’s gymnasium, where the opening two rounds of Region 11 were held, wondering what happened.
“These guys are buying into things,” Richer said. “Riverside the last couple of years hasn’t been on anyone’s radar. And now they’re seeing success, and it’s contagious.
“I was jumping up and excited, thinking about where we were three years ago when we took this over. I can’t be happier when where we’re at.”
With the win over Kenston, which came on the heels of a 53-21 win over South in the opening match of the night, Riverside (6-0 in duals this year) advances to the regional semifinals on Jan. 31 against Mentor at a to-be-determined location. Mentor defeated Mayfield, 46-31, in another regional quarterfinal on Jan. 24.
“Oh yeah, we’re coming straight for Mentor,” said Riverside senior Alex Farenchak, who went 2-0 in his matches on Jan. 24 to run his record to 24-1. “I hope we continue to wrestle as good as we have been wrestling.
“This is great. This is the most fun I’ve ever had.”
Riverside was buoyed by its freshman class, with Tyler Wittreich (106), Chris Rocha (113), Danny Martich (126) and Tyler Longstaff 9138) going a combined 4-0 with three pins.
Wittreich and Rocha each pinned to start the match, opening a 12-0 lead the Beavers never came close to relinquishing.
“Win,” said Rocha of the mindset he and Wittreich have batting the proverbial leadoff at 106 and 113. “We’re the first ones out there. We have to represent our team.”
It was 22-0 and all but over before Kenston’s Nick Nastasi got his team on the board with a pin at 132. It was one of only three headto-head bouts Kenston mustered against the young Beavers. Kenston’s other win came at heavyweight, where Riverside forfeited.
“They’re a tough team and have good kids,” Kenston coach Ricky Deubel said of Riverside’s program. “But our kids didn’t show up at all. Fight. Actually wrestle. But we didn’t. It felt like every match they won, we gave up bonus points. I’m disappointed.”
In the marquee match of the night, Farenchak posted a 7-3 win over Kenston’s Joe Koplow at 160, a match that could replay itself both at the Western Reserve Conference tournament and in the postseason tourneys.
“I will always be the underdog,” Richner said, downplaying his team’s emergence heading in the regional semifinal against Mentor next week. “Now that we’ve gone this far, our goals are getting higher . ... I hope we can surprise some more people.”
Mentor was nearly as dominating in its 46-31 win over Mayfield in the quarterfinal round. If not for forfeits at 195 and heavyweight, the Cardinals’ final score would have been that much more lopsided.
After Mayfield took a 3-0 lead on Anthony White’s late takedown to win at 106, Mentor won the next six weight classes, including pins by Nick Sabin at 113 and Connor DeBoe at 138.
“Match after match we won,” Sabin said. “We got a pin, another pin... I think it makes the other team less confident going out to the mat.”
Pins by Christian Marinozzi (160) and Dominic Shelley (182) increased the lead even further.
Mayfield’s top performers were Billy Fleming (152) and Josh Appling (170), each of whom won by pin.
“I think we have a good shot of beating Riverside,” Sabin said. “We have to get in a good week of practice and go in with a good mindset.”
Coach Ray LaManna agreed.
“We’ll be ready to go,” he said. “We’re going to leave it all on the mat that night.”
In preliminary action on Jan. 24, Mayfield defeated Madison, 63-9, Kenston defeated Lakeside, 48-29, and Riverside defeated South, 53-21.
The Mentor-Riverside match will begin at 5 p.m. on Jan. 31 at an unnamed site. The lower half of the bracket will pit Brecksville against Solon.
The winners will them meet to decide who will advance to the state dual meet tournament on Sunday, Feb. 11.