The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Lake qualifies eight for state tournament
Eight was great last year for the Lake Catholic wrestling team.
It was so great that the Cougars decided to double down on that notion this season.
Led by 113-pound champion Brendan McCrone, Lake Catholic qualified eight wrestlers to next weekend’s Division II state tournament in Columbus, successfully navigating their way through a brutally tough district in Alliance on March 7.
Joining McCrone in Columbus next weekend will be Brock Herman (second at 106), Anthony Trivisonno (second at 145), Nick Coreno (third at 138), Ethan Smith (third at 132), Rob Boley (third at 160), Cole Hivnor (third at 182) and Owen Weaver (fourth at 195).
The eight state qualifiers matches a program record, set in 1992 by Coach Tim Armelli’s team and equaled by last year’s squad.
“Eight is a good number,” said Coach Scott Hivnor, whose team brought 11 to Alliance for the weekend tournament. “We’re really excited about what we’re doing.”
The Lake Eight is part of a 12-man contingent from the News-Herald area that is headed to the Division II state tournament next week. Perry’s Kyle Rowan (second at 120) and Colin Koenig (fourth at 138) made the grade, too, as did Chardon’s Jake Hamulak (second at 113) and Jaret Hall (second at 285).
Geneva’s Charlie Taylor (220) is a state alternate as a fifth-place finisher after being a qualifier a year ago.
“It’s very cool,” said Coreno of his team sending eight to Columbus. “That’s a great number. I’m happy for my teammates. Some have never been there before — Owen Weaver, Ethan Smith. It’s amazing.”
Smith was a JV wrestler a year ago. Yet his 3-1 win over Orange’s TeAndre Allen in the consolation semifinals earned him a trip to the state tournament. He then won his final match to place third.
Weaver was a sixth-place finisher a year ago. But with a 4-2 win over Geneva’s Brandon Thomas in the consolation semifinals, a rematch of last week’s sectional final, Weaver earned a trip to the show.
“I’ve been working for this my whole life,” said Weaver,
still out of breath from his state-clinching win.
Most of the remaining Cougars used prior experience to earn their state bids, such as McCrone, who was still salty from blowing a 4-0 lead to Akron SVSM’s Kenny Crosby in last year’s district and losing, eventually placing fourth.
He majored Crosby, 13-4, in the semifinals this time, then beat Chardon’s Hamulak for the second week in a row, this time by a 7-1 count.
“He’s like that guy I always face,” McCrone said of Crosby. “It was a big win for me. I needed to get that off my chest from last year.”
Herman’s 4-2 semifinal win over Aurora’s Codie Cuerbo exorcised a ghost from the D-II regional duals, when Herman got nothing going offensively and lost 3-1. Herman went on to lose to Copley’s Marlon Yarbrough, 4-2, in the finals to place second.
“I had to get my revenge,” Herman said, “and I did.”
Trivisonno learned from his past, too. A year ago, he was a fourth-place finisher at the Alliance District, making for a rough road in Columbus. But with a cradle of Poland’s Jacob Caudle in the semifinals, Trivisonno clinched a state berth.
He lost, 15-6, to topranked David Cumberledge in the finals, but he was happy nonetheless.
“My confidence is higher. The better seeding (at state) always helps,” he said.
Boley lost a heartbreaker in the semis, giving up a takedown with four seconds left in a 3-1 loss to Alliance’s Brailyn Lightner. But he rebounded for a state-clinching 18-8 major in the consi semis.
“I was kind of down,” Boley said after his loss. “But once I got my feet moving (in the consi semis) I started wrestling like I know how to.”
Cole Hivnor lost his 182-pound semi to the state’s top-ranked D-II 182-pounder Anthony
D’Alesia of Canfield, 2-1, but then crushed two straight opponents to place third heading into the state tournament.
Coreno gutted through four blood timeouts in his semi against Girard’s Alex Delgarbino. He’ll head to Columbus as a three-seed after a consi final win over Perry’s Koenig.
Speaking of Koenig, after losing in the blood round (i.e. the consi semis) the past two years, simply getting past that point was monumental this time around. He punched a ticket to state with a 9-0 major decision of SVSM’s Bryce Skinner, then took fourth to Coreno.
“It’s big. Those two years losing really motivated me out there,” Koenig said. “A big thing this year was calming my nerves and getting my mind right before my matches.” Koenig’s teammate, Rowan, lost a 3-1 decision to Louisville’s Garrett Lautzenheiser in the 120-pound title match. It was a battle
of the top two-ranked 120-pounders in the state D2 rankings.
“I’m closing the gap on him,” said Rowan, who lost to Lautzenheiser, 104, earlier this year. “I need to have a good hard week of practice. I’m sure I will (see him in the state tournament).” Chardon has a pair of two-seeds heading to Columbus. Hamulak, a fourth-place finisher in the D-II state tournament last year, earned his state berth with a 3-0 win over Canfield’s Nick Barber in the semis before losing to McCrone in the 113-pound championship match.
Hall, a fifth-place finisher at the district tourney last year, decisioned Woodridge’s Alistair Larson, 3-1, in the semis to earn his trip to Columbus, then lost by pin in the finals to Hoban’s Jacob Burns.
“Oh, it’s a great feeling,” Hall said. “There’s no better feeling. I’ve been working for this all season — and last season.”