Perry District semifinals feature 13 area wrestlers

Thirteen was not unlucky for area wrestlers at the Perry Division III District Meet on March 3.

Led by four Perry Pirates, 13 grapplers from The News-Herald area will be in the semifinals when the meet resumes on March 4 at Perry High School.

Riley Rowan Perry’s 120-pounder, advanced with a pin at 1:01 in his first match and a narrow 5-3 decisional in his next. A victory in his semifinal match clinches a trip to the state meet in Columbus next weekend.

Brock Christian at 132 pounds, Chris Bezzeg at 138 and Domenick LaMacchia at 157 will also represent the Pirates in the semis.

“We lost some matches I thought we probably should have won, but that’s the way it is,” Pirates coach David Rowan said. “We just have to the best we can to bounce back in the wrestle-backs.

“Christopher Bezzeg has had an unbelievable run here the last three or four weeks. He’s a great kid. He’s worked hard. I’m really proud of him. The whole team is battling hard. We knew it was going to be a tough weekend. We’re prepared for it. Win or lose, I’m proud of them. It’s a good program and we’re doing the best we can.”

Three wrestlers from Berkshire won both their matches March 3 to advance to the semifinals. Colin Hering (113) pinned Maddox Mitchell of Black River in 1:32 and then won his next match, 2-0. Johnny Heiden (138) won his first match with a pin in 31 seconds. He next battled with Drake Rennecker of Crestwood and won a 4-3 decision. John Brown, 150 pounds, also reached the semifinals for the Badgers.

Two Lake Catholic Cougars thoroughly dominated their matches, and no surprise. Parker Pikor (106) won with pins in 1:41 and 25 seconds. His 113-pound teammate Joey Romano barely worked up a sweat winning with pins in 18 and 17 seconds.

“Both those guys had two first-period falls,” Lake Catholic coach Scott Hivnor said. “They’re both ranked pretty high. We expected them to do well here. Next week is when it really counts.

“I think these guys are ready. I think they’re wresting the best they have all year. We have super high hopes for both of them.”

Beachwood advanced 150-pound Joshua Greenwood

and 215-pound Uzonna Nzekwe, who has been wrestling only two years. Now he is one win from clinching a spot in the state meet. He was an alternate last year.

“We work really hard in practice every day,” Nzekwe said after his second match. “We work way too hard to lose. We run stairs in the morning, lift in the morning and then train after school. It’s all thanks to my coaches and my teammates.”

Nzekwe, a senior, is heading to Tiffin to play football and wrestle. He was a linebacker and edge rusher for the Bisons. He plans to pursue studies in the medical field. He said wrestling has helped him become a better football player.

“Wrestling is all about hands, leverage and pure aggressiveness and never giving up,” he said. “I think wrestling is the hardest sport. If I can get through wrestling, I can get through most everything in life. It’s all about perseverance.”

Kirtland placed a pair of wrestlers in the semifinals. Gaetano Savelli (165) won his first match with a pin in three minutes and then took a 5-0 decision. Louka Babic (175) won with a pin in 38 seconds and a 15-6 decision.