Comet Lee, Pioneers shine at Maumee

OREGON, OHIO» Amherst senior heavyweight Matt Lee picked up the biggest individual title of the night, while the Elyria Pioneers took home the team championship (213.5) edging Wauseon (184) at the Maumee Bay Classic tournament at Clay High School.

Lee pinned his way to a title, and most importantly, pinned Austin Emerson (Bedford, Mich.), the No. 6-ranked wrestler in the country (Flo wrestling) and No. 8-ranked wrestler in the country according to Intermat, in 2:46 to earn MVP honors. Lee also won the most pins in the least amount of time award.

In what many expected to a long match, Lee barreled Emerson on his back and surprised himself, pulling off the most complete tournament of his career.

“It’s an amazing feeling and I wasn’t expecting to pin him like that,” Lee said. “I wrestled smart and once I got that lock in the end, I knew it was game over. I was able to take him right to his back and stick him. I did not expect a pin. I thought it was going to be a close match, but I was going to give it my all and see what would happen.”

“Hopefully I’m now ranked top 10, right? That’s what I was hoping for.” — Amherst’s Matt Lee

Lee, ranked No. 2 in the state, was coming off a disappointing loss in the Perry Pin City tournament a week prior, and flipped that into motivation.

Lee’s weight class was arguably the toughest in the tournament, filled with state-ranked wrestlers, and he faced a state-ranked wrestler in each of the last three rounds.

A day earlier, Lee became Amherst’s all-time wins leader, surpassing four-time NCAA All-American Jake Percival (129).

The now two-time Maumee Bay champion made a statement to all wrestling aficionados.

“Hopefully I’m now ranked top 10, right?” Lee added about the national rankings. “That’s what I was hoping for. It’s still a good feeling and just reboosts your confidence with the state tournament coming up in a month

or two. It makes you feel good all the way around and it’s something I will cherish for a long time.”

Elyria, meanwhile, made its debut at Maumee Bay and came away with its most impressive performance of the year. It’s the first time the Pioneers have won a title in a tournament they’ve debuted in.

Elyria went six for six in the semifinals, with sophomore Dylan Shawver (113) and senior Brendon Fenton (120) capturing titles. Mick Burnett (126), Josh Breeding (132), Matt Zuckerman (138) and Farouq Muhammed placed second. The Pioneers also had a pair of freshmen in Enrique Munguia (145) and Jake Evans (170) place third.

Shawver beat Wauseon’s Gavin Ritter in a 11-2 major decision.

“This tournament was pretty good,” Shawver said. “I see every tournament as the same and just go out there and do what I usually do. My coach told me to go out there and score a

lot of points and put a show on, and that’s what I did.”

Fenton, a two-time state champion, won in a 9-1 major decision over Wauseon’s Alex Slattman. Fenton celebrated his 18th birthday on Jan. 12.

“I haven’t really gotten to show off as much as I’ve wanted to this season, so I felt like I wanted to come here and practice my new stuff, like my shots and heavy hands,” Fenton said. “So it feels good. It was good we both (Shawver) got extra bonus points and matched up with Wauseon kids and got bonus points. We had a 20-point lead going into the final, but still, anything can happen and we kept scoring points.”

Elyria usually wrestles at the Bill Dies tournament, but switched this year wanting to see more of the teams they will face in the district tournament.

With the Bill Dies tournament getting canceled because of snow, Elyria caught a break choosing Maumee Bay this year.

And it worked. “I thought we were super lucky. We’ve always liked the Bill Dies tournament, but we wanted to see some different teams,” Elyria coach Erik Burnett said. “Coming out here and with the twist of fate with the weather, this worked out great for us. The theme is to always make progress and I’m challenging the kids now. I’m asking them who’s going to turn the corner? Who’s making that move? And some guys are doing that.

“The confidence right now in the kids is growing. After the grind of the first month of the season, you can go one of two ways. You can walk around feeling sorry for yourself, or you can say, ‘I’ve been busting it against the best competition in the country, and I feel like I’m getting better.’ Hopefully that’s where we’re at right now and the kids feel like they can compete with the best.”

Vermilion senior Tyler Bath (285) placed fourth.