Bay beats Keystone, Central Catholic in duals tourney

Bay advanced to the Division II regional semifinals after beating Cleveland Central Catholic, 5313, and Keystone, 48-27, in the quarterfinal round of the OHSAA team dual tournament at Cloverleaf on Jan. 25.

Coach Ryan Cover said he was pleased with his team’s performance considering how banged up the Rockets are at this point in the season.

“I’m real happy,” Cover said. “We’re a mess right now. Probably, like, four or five spots we moved guys around, had some JV guys step up. So I wasn’t sure how this would go but with the guys we brought, I’m really happy.”

Junior Dillon Barry (145) and sophomore Matthew Cover (182) stood out in the finals against Keystone, especially, Ryan said, considering what they went through in terms of injuries and lineup changes.

“(Barry) just got back from an MCL tear,” Cover said. “This was his first time back in almost a month and he went 2-0 .. .so that was good to see, and (Matthew) dropped down and wrestled (Justin) Ocheltree, which is one of (Keystone’s) best wrestlers, and had a good match.”

Stephen Tepper (106) also had a good night for Bay, picking up two wins, including a win over Keystone’s Randy Hartle.

Now, Cover said, it’s about getting healthy before the Rockets face Padua in a regional semifinal Feb. 1 at a site to be announced.

“We just have to get healthy,” Cover said. “We’re injured, we’re very injured, but every (team) is right now so we’re all in the same boat.”

Before falling to Bay, Keystone defeated host Cloverleaf, 45-36, in a match that saw the Colts overmatched by a tough Wildcats team. Picking up wins for Keystone were Randy Hartle (113), Curtis Toth (126), Clay Todd (138), Garrett Coe (152), Justin Ocheltree (182), David McCullough (195) and Jake Huffman (285).

“I just went out there with the same game plan I always do, which is work the kid, tire him out and score everything I could,” McCullough said.

“All of our matches were pins except for one and Garrett just beat a kid that’s ranked in the state, so that’s huge for our team.”

• Fairview fell, 46-27, to Buckeye in a D-II, Region 10 semifinal match of the quarterfinal tournament at Padua. The Warriors could not get much going, getting only five wins: Matt Kaufmann (106, forfeit), Allen Tin (113, pin), Ian McClintock (145, 4-2 dec.), Jackson Pachuta (195, forfeit) and Enrigue Garcia (285, forfeit).

• Firelands topped Norwalk, 45-22, in a semifinal of a D-II, Region 9 quarterfinal tournament at Perkins before falling to the host, 37-25, in the final. In a tight matchup against the Pirates, the Falcons received points from Payton Burgdorf (113, 14-3 maj. dec.), Ryan Hoffman (120, 6-5 dec.), Patric Keown (160, 10-7 dec.), Larry Verhovec (195, 9-6 dec.), Douglas Childers (220, pin) and Sean Lipscomb (285, forfeit)

• Vermilion edged Clearview in the first round of the D-II, Region 9 tournament at Sandusky, 42-24. Every match was either a forfeit or ended in a pin. Picking up pins for the Sailors were Brandon D’Egidio (106), Justin See (145), Trevor Boyd (170) and Tyler Bath (195). Clearview received pins from Michael Schmidt (182) and J.D. McCardle (285). The Sailors faltered in the second round against host Sandusky, losing 45-21. Vermilion received points from Justin See (145, 9-8 dec.), Brandon Flynn (152, 14-10 dec.), Trevor Boyd (160, pin), Tyler Bath (195, pin) and Brandon Flores (220, 9-6 dec.).

• Lutheran West advanced to the final of the D-III, Region 20 quarterfinal tournament at Tuslaw, but fell to the host, 72-9. Lutheran West’s two victories in the final came from Robert Pinkie (113, 6-1 dec.) and James Handwerk (182, pin). In the first round, the Longhorns dispatched Cuyahoga Heights, 48-30. Every bout in the matchup was either decided by forfeit or pin, with Lutheran West receiving pins from Parker Watson (132), and Handwerk (182).

• Wellington had a forfeit-filled tournament, topping West Salem Northwestern, 43-24, in the first round of a D-III, Region 19 quarterfinal tournament at Waynedale before falling to the host, 5121, in another forfeit-filled affair. The Dukes’ victories against Waynedale in the final came from Antonio Hernandez (126, pin), Mason Wright (138, pin), Trevor Boose (145, 4-1 dec.) and Nick Fox (195, pin). Thirteen matches were forfeits.