Mentor athletes enjoy success on March 1

The Cardinals’ gymnastics team placed fourth at the state meet, and the DeBoe brothers started fast at the Division I district wrestling tournament.

A quartet of area wrestlers are one win away from a state tournament berth after Day 1 of the rugged Division I wrestling tournament at Mentor.

Mentor twins Nate DeBoe (132 pounds) and Connor DeBoe (138) both won their opening matches and advanced to the semifinal round on March 1, as did Madison 170-pounder Brody Arrundale and Riverside 152-pounder Markie McElroy.

A number of other area wrestlers are still alive in the consolation bracket and can still pace as high as third. The top four in each weight class advance to the state tournament.

Action at Mentor resumes at 9 a.m., with semifinals at 12:30 p.m. and placement matches at 6 p.m.

Nate DeBoe (35-7) won by decision and injury default in his first two matches. He is slated to face Scott Richter of St. Edward in the semifinal round.

Connor DeBoe (22-5) won his first two matches by pin and technical fall. He will face Jonah Smith of Findlay in the semis.

McElroy (38-11) garnered a pair of close decisions to advance to the semifinals, where he will face Enrique Munguia of Elyria.

Arrundale (40-11) won by decision and then by pin to set up a semifinal against Elyria’s Jake Evans.

St. Edward has a huge lead, 135-90, over secondplace Elyria in the team standings. Mentor (in seventh with 29.5 points) is the top area team to this point.