The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Seven area D-I wrestlers on to state
Getting a consolation prize usually involves the contestant at the traveling carnival failing to pop a balloon with a dart but still being handed a worthless prize for his effort and $2.
That isn’t the way it works in Ohio high school wrestling.
The Mentor Division I District meet began badly for area wrestlers March 7. Only Mayfield heavyweight Marco Tramontano of Mayfield won his semifinal match to advance to the championship mat later in the day. Tramontano (45-2), headed to Notre Dame College to play offensive line next fall, lost his championship match to Max Millin of Massillon Perry, 5-3
“I thought I did pretty good,” Tramontano said after catching his breath. “It just came down to who did better that match. It wasn’t me. I don’t know why. But it was a great match.”
Vinnie D’Alessandro of Mayfield at 106 pounds, Dominic Gerome of Mayfield at 113, Nick Sabin of Mentor at 126, Nick Nastasi of Kenston at 145 and La’Ron Parks of Euclid at 220 pounds all lost their semifinal match March 7, but bounced back to win their consolation semifinal to guarantee a top-four final and lock up the state meet next week.
Mentor 152-pounder Lincoln Splete took a detour to get to earn a trip to Columbus.
Splete lost his second match March 6, which meant he had to win three on March 7 just to get to the match to determine third place.
Splete, a junior, beat Danny Martich, his rival from Riverside who beat Splete in the sectional last week, 2-1, in overtime to clinch a spot in the state meet.
“I got pinned (by Martich in the sectional) with about a minute left, so that was a tough loss,” Splete said. “To come back and win means a lot.
“Going to state has been a big goal of mine since I was 5 years old. My dad (Bill Splete) coaches here, and my brother wrestled. So it’s always been in my life.”
Splete (40-8) rode the momentum of his consolation semifinal victory and beat Jacob Walsh of Wadsworth to take third place.
Gerome, a junior, said there was more pressure on him to win his consolation semifinal because there would be no second chance for the loser of the meet. He beat Nick Molchak of Solon, 10-5, to wrestle for third place after losing his semifinal match, 11-9, to Corey Haney of Medina Highland.
“Coming in as the No. 1 seed, I was pretty confident I was going to make it to the finals,” Gerome said. “Haney coming in and beating me put a lot of pressure on me knowing this was my last match to go to state or not. The key to winning was just wrestling like I’ve been wrestling all season.”
Sabin lost, 3-1, in the semifinals and then won his consolation semifinal, 6-4, over Justin Bencie of Maple Heights.
“I got a takedown right at the end of the first period that benefited me in that match,” Sabin said. “If I didn’t get that, it would have been a lot closer. I got on top in the third period and was able to ride it.
“I can’t put into words how excited I am to go back to the state tournament. It’s going to be a different environment down there (in Columbus). You’re going to face a good kid every time, and it gets to you.”
Sabin is making his second trip to the state meet. He finished seventh as a sophomore two years ago.
Mentor assistant coach
Bill Splete, who wrestled at St. Joseph when John Storey coached the Vikings, knows what it’s like to lose in the semifinals and then find redemption by winning the consolation semifinal match.
“I’ve been in their position,” he said. “My junior year, I lost in the semis, so I had to come back. I’ve been in the state finals and lost. I’ve been in the state finals and won (in 1990). Having that disappointment helps you to refocus and get kids back on track.”
Nastasi (40-5) won his third place match by beating Zach Richards, 5-4. Parks (44-3) finished third by winning his match 3-1 in overtime. D’Alessandro (474), Gerome (43-11) and Sabin (37-7) each finished fourth.
Chris Rocha (40-9) of Riverside beat Manny Scordos of Brecksville, 3-1, for fifth place at 120 pounds. Tyler Wittreich (42-10), also of Riverside, beat Josh Futo, 8-2, to finish fifth at 132 pounds. Martich (428) bounced back from his loss to Splete to take fifth at 152 pounds by beating Matt Hamula of Medina, 5-1.
The wrestlers finishing fifth are first alternates and will be on the mat in Columbus if any of the four qualifiers in their weight class are unable to wrestle.
Brecksville and Wadsworth tied for the team championship with 233 points. Mayfield finished ninth with 64 points and Riverside 12th with 46. Mentor finished in a tie with Stow with 43.5 points.