High school wrestling tournament capsules

DIVISION I What:

Division I sectional tournament

South

10 a.m., Feb. 29 Brush, Euclid, Lakeside, Madison, Maple Heights, Mayfield, Mentor, North, Riverside, South Top four in each weight class advance to the Mentor District tournament March 6-7

Where: When: Who: On deck: For the record:

With eight of the 10 teams in the sectional coming from The News-Herald area, the amount of qualifiers advancing the following week’ district tournament is going to by sky-high, as usual. The big question is how many of that large number will survive the rugged Mentor District to punch tickets to the state tournament. From a team championship point of view, the sectional champion should come down to Maple Heights and Mayfield. This is the strongest top-tobottom team Mayfield has had in quite some time, and the glory of it all is that the Wildcats are still relatively young . ... Top-ranked wrestlers in the tournament (according to Intermat’s Josh Lowe) are Mayfield’s Vince D’Alessandro (sixth in Ohio at 106), Mayfield’s Dom Gerome (12th at 113), Maple Heights’ Kollin Howard (seventh at 120), Riverside’s Chris Rocha (14th at 120), Mentor’ Nick Sabin (15th at 126), Riverside’s Danny Martich (16th at 152), Lakeside’s Jacob Lagoa (third at 170), Euclid’s Freddie Lisy (15th at 195), Mentor’s Seth

DiCola (13th at 195), Maple Heights’ Chrisean Merritt (13th at 220) and Mayfield’s Marco Tramontano (seventh at 285).

Division I sectional tournament

Kenston

10 a.m., Feb. 29 Austintown-Fitch, Bedford, Boardman, Hudson, Kenston, Nordonia, Kent Roosevelt, Solon, Stow, Twinsburg

Top four in each weight class advance to the Mentor District tournament March 6-7

What: Where: When: Who: On deck: For the record:

The only News-Herald area team at this sectional is the host Kenston Bombers. Nick Nastasi is ranked No. 10in the state D1rankings by Intermat at 145and is looking to get back to the state podium after missing the last two postseason with a shoulder injury. Teammates Maison Benz (138) and Frank DiMarco (132) are other prime candidates to advance to the Mentor District.

DIVISION II What:

Division II sectional wrestling tournament Lake Catholic 10 a.m., Feb. 29 Chardon, Edgewood, Geneva, Harvey, Cleveland JFK, John Hay, Lake Catholic, NDCL, Perry, Shaw, West Geauga

Where: When: Who: On deck:

Top four in each weight class advance to the Alliance District tournament March 6-7.

For the record:

Similar to the Division I section at South, this D2 sectional is going to send a high number of qualifiers on to the Alliance District where, once again, the big question is who will emerge with state bids from the brutally tough field. From a team race point of view, this is a two-horse race between tournament favorite Lake Catholic and darkhorse Geneva. Both will qualify double digits to the district level . ... The highest-ranked wrestlers on a statewide scale in the tournament (according to Intermat’s Josh Lowe) are Lake Catholic’s Brock Herman (fifth at 106), Lake Catholic’s Brendan McCrone (second at 113), Chardon’s Jake Hamulak (fifth at 113), Perry’s Kyle Rowan (second at 120), Lake Catholic’s Ethan Smith (ninth at 132), Perry’s Collin Koenig (seventh at 138), Lake Catholic’s Nick Coreno (eighth at 138), Lake Catholic’s Anthony Trivisonno (10th at 145), Lake Catholic’s Rob Boley (10th at 160), Lake Catholic’ Cole Hivnor (third at 182) and Geneva’s Charlie Taylor (10th at 220).

Division II sectional tournament Beachwood

10 a.m., Feb. 29 Aurora, Beachwood, Akron Buchtel, Chagrin Falls, Akron Copley, Orange, Richfield Revere, Akron SVSM, University, Warrensville Heights, Woodridge

Top four in each weight class advance to the Alliance District tournament March 6-7.

What: Where: When: Who: On deck: For the record:

This is a toughie of a D2district. Aurora is the head-andshoulders favorite here and will likely advance doubledigit qualifiers to the Alliance District. Akron SVSM doesn’t have huge numbers, but has some marquee names that should do well. The only two local teams are Chagrin Falls and University. The top-ranked wrestler among them is University’s Joe Averill (14th in Intermat at 145).

Division II sectional wrestling tournament

Bay High School, 29230 Wolf Road, Bay Village

What: Where: When: Who:

10 a.m., Feb. 29 Bay, Benedictine, Brookside, Medina Buckeye, Lorain Clearview, Cleveland Central Catholic, Oberlin Firelands, Holy Name, LaGrange Keystone, Lincoln West, Padua, Rocky River

Top four in each weight class advance to the Norwalk District tournament March 6-7.

On deck: For the record:

Benedictine is the only local team in this sectional. Bengals to watch include Nicholas Abounader (138) and two-time statequalifier Matthew Stauffer (145).

DIVISION III What:

Division III sectional tournament Berkshire

10 a.m., Feb. 29 Berkshire, Brookfield, Cardinal, Southington, Conneaut, Garrettsville, Grand Valley, Hawken, Jefferson, Kirtland, Liberty, Newbury, Pymatuning Valley, St. John

The top four in each weight class advance to to the Garfield Heights District March 6-7

With Beachwood moving up to Division II this year, the local sectional isn’t there, but rather at Berkshire. The team race could come down to Hawken, which

Where: When: Who: On deck: For the record:

has lower numbers but the most potential champions, and Kirtland, which has a stronger top-to-bottom lineup. Either way, expect a high number of district qualifiers headed to Garfield Heights next week . ... The top-ranked wrestlers on a statewide scale in this tournament (per Intermat’s Josh Lowe) are Hawken’s Patrick Reineke (fifth at 106), Kirtland’s Will Davidson (13th at 106), Berkshire’s James Klingman (14th at 106), Hawken’s Jackson Reineke (fifth at 126), PV’s Jake Edelman (15th at 126), Cardinal’s Jerry Rose (16th at 160), St. John’s Ethan Ducca (first at 182), Berkshire’s Lucas Stoddard (12th at 182), Newbury’s Mitch Sanders (fifth at 195), PV’s Kenny Crouch (14th at 195), St. John’s Ryan Elrod (fourth at 285), Kirtland’s Jeff Kusar (13th at 285) and Hawken’s Will Lindsey (seventh at 285).

Division III sectional tournament

Independence, 6001Archwood Road, Independence

10 a.m., Feb. 29 Black River, Brooklyn, Columbia, Cuyahoga Heights, Fairview, Independence, Lutheran West, Akron Manchester, Mogadore, Oberlin, Trinity, VASJ, Wellington

The top four in each weight class advance to to the Garfield Heights District March 6-7

VASJ is the only local entry in the Independence sectional. Top Vikings look to be Nathan Oriani (145) and Josh Longstreet (195).

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