Olmsted Falls using SWC crown as motivation

As the final matches came to a close at the Southwestern Conference tournament Jan. 9, Olmsted Falls celebrated its tournament championship in the far northwest corner of BereaMidpark’s gymnasium.

In a normal season, a celebration like that would be the proverbial cherry on top of a regular season and the first step toward the postseason.

But this isn’t a normal season.

Despite handily winning an earlier-thanusual SWC tournament, Olmsted Falls coach Bryce Burkhard knows his team still has work to do in its final three duals before the end of the regular season.

“I’ve just been telling everyone to keep going like we haven’t won a conference championship,” Burkhard said. “They’ve been upbeat and happy, but we’re not going to settle and the kids know that.”

Carson Atkins (138 pounds), Brandon Burkhart (152), Nate Urray (160) and RJ Simon (182) all won conference championships for the Bulldogs, while Jacob Toth (170) and Luis Caraballo finished as runners-up in their weight class. With only two conference duals under their belt before the tournament, most Olmsted Falls wrestlers spent the tournament wrestling against opponents for the first time all season, something that would be unheard of in a normal season.

“They’ve really shown some resiliency this season,” Burkhard said of his team. “They’ve been able to stay positive and have been working to get better without any complaints. Now that we’ve seen everyone, we have some additional things we can add to our strategy. Knowing our opponents and their lineups is important to me, so seeing them was really helpful.”

The Bulldogs have more than just the SWC to worry about this week as well, as they wrestle against Elyria on Jan. 23 in an Ohio State Wrestling Coaches Association State Duals regional final. With the OHSAA canceling the state dual tournament, the coaches association put together its own tournament, with teams selected based on last year’s results.

“It’s a great opportunity,” Burkhard said. “We’re going to get a chance to wrestle against the best in the state and see how we stack up.

We’re always trying to go out and score points, so not a lot is going to change for us.

Sixteen teams were selected in Division I, with the top teams facing off in the championship at St. Edward in February.

“We’re trying to get as many team points as possible, especially since we’ll be going against a great team like Elyria,” Burkhard said. “Hopefully our kids don’t change their technique just because of who we’re going against.”