HOWLAND - Bill Beasom fully intended on his Howland High School wrestling team making a deep run into the newly created OHSAA Team Tournament.
The Tigers entered the season with one of the more powerful teams in school history and have several wrestlers with state-qualifying potential. So, the fourth-year coach was disappointed in the 37-28 result as his Tigers fell to Crestwood in the Division II, Region 11-B semifinals on Wednesday.
"It stinks," he said.
The result was the only part of the night that stunk, Beasom said. The wrestling, the effort and the fight Howland displayed in a match the Tigers were without four starters was as good as he could have hoped. Missing from the lineup because of injury or illness were 126-pound senior captain Alex Cornicelli, 106-pound freshman Danny Martineau, 120-pound sophomore Aaron Jackson and 170-pound senior Cody Davis. The foursome accounted for nearly 50 combined wins this year, and their absences meant the Tigers had to rely on their backups to come through - and they nearly did.
It wasn't until the second-to-last match that Crestwood (13-5) secured the win. Beasom said he isn't one for moral victories and admitted the Red Devils would be tough to beat even if Howland (10-4) had its full lineup, but he liked the determination the Tigers demonstrated despite missing some of their top wrestlers.
"They didn't let it faze them," Beasom said. "We had to throw four kids in there, and not one of them got pinned. Some teams would have just went out there and folded. So I was very proud of my team, even though we lost.
Fact Box
Division II Wrestling
Region 11-A Semifinals
Lake Catholic 37, Canfield 36
106: Kyle West (C) pins Liam Monahan, 1:13
113: Brad Taton (L) pins Matthew Dunbar, 1:34
120: Joe Boley (L) maj. dec. Stephen Daprile, 21-11
126: Mitch Hill (L) pins Ross Duffett, 4:49
132: Anthony Tutolo (L) pins Ben Siegle, 1:23
138: Shawn Williams (C) pins Jeff King, 3:58
145: Bryan Batton (C) pins John Szep, 2:21
152: Joe Frate (L) dec. Nick Borucki, n/a
160: Matt Ludwig (L) pins Steven Hamilton, 5:53
170: John Poullas (C) dec. Kaz Struna, 6-5
182: Hayden Smith (C) pins Justin Sanders, 3:59
195: Sam Conner (C) dec. Jon Brace, 3-1
220: Jimmy Szep (L) pins Jacob Esarco, 1:14
285: Curtis Burns (C) pins Marcus DeSantis,1:38
RECORDS: Canfield 15-3.
NEXT: Canfield is at Eastern Ohio Wrestling League tournament in Boardman on Friday and Saturday.
Division II Wrestling
Region 11-B Semifinals
Crestwood 37, Howland 28
106: Ryan Deuly (C) wins by forfeit
113: Jake Zemaitis (C) tech fall Nico Lucarelli, 17-1
120: Conner Nemec (C) tech fall Jake Schulman, 17-1
126: Jimmy Lerakis (H) pins Robbie Murray, 1:16
132: Donato Natale (H) dec. Josh Hillier, 9-7
138: Dylan Kager (C) tech fall Landon Chapman, 17-1
145: Gabe Stark (H) dec. Marcus Howells, 9-3
152: David Brian Whisler (H) wins by forfeit
160: Garrett Gerardi (C) dec. Jordan Radich, 11-5
170: Ricky Kollman (C) maj. dec. Mike Fitzpatrick, 12-4
182: Josh Grodesky (H) maj. dec. Josh Lorence, 13-1
195: Kenny Jackson (C) dec. Andrew Rolfe, 10-5
220: Doug Battiest (C) pins Jack Finch, 4:28
285: Mike Bell (H) pins Cameron Mordue, :24
RECORDS: Howland 10-4; Crestwood 13-5.
NEXT: Howland is at Eastern Ohio Wrestling League tournament in Boardman on Friday and Saturday.
Division III Wrestling
Region 20 Semifinals
Rootstown 51, Jackson-Milton 26
106: Mitch Tikkanen (JM) pins Mason Radike, 1:09
113: Tony Paolucci (R) pins Terry Stockton, 3:09
120: Seth Hayes (R) pins Nick Armstrong, 1:19
126: Jason Sadler (R) pins Devin Seka, 1:09
132: Joe Burnside (JM) pins Tyler Hilliard, 1:44
138: Tyler Staton (JM) maj. dec. Skyler Montie, 19-10
145: Tarren Lowell (R) dec. Tyler Jeffries, 5-3
152: Adam Jeffries (JM) maj. dec. Gabe Gretz, 16-3
160: Ryan Zoller (R) pins Ryan Fife, 1:16
170: Travis Linton (R) wins by forfeit
182: Kyle Slaughter (R) wins by forfeit
195: Jacob Elam (R) wins by forfeit
220: Jake Moore (R) pins Corley Lamb, :23
285: Joe Conlon (JM) pins Spencer Dixon, 1:49
NEXT: Jackson-Milton is at Eastern Ohio Wrestling League tournament in Boardman on Friday and Saturday.
Boardman 43, GlenOak 23
106: Double forfeit
113: Joey Weeden (B) pins Christian Konic, 2:39
120: Nick Mancini (B) pins Joe Parker, 5:26
126: Daniel Boerio (B) wins by forfeit
132: Peter Ryan (B) maj. dec. Paul Bailey, 16-3
138: Nicholas Steed (G) maj. dec. Mario Graziani, 11-3
145: Matthew Inghram (B) dec. Nathan Miller, 3-2
152: Drew McClain (G) dec. Kyle Kondas, 5-4
160: Steve Sferra (B) pins Max Hansen, 2:51
170: Ryan Walker (G) wins by forfeit
182: Joe Cordova (B) wins by forfeit
195: Dante Graziani (B) wins by forfeit
220: Tristen Roberts (G) maj. dec. Michael Caraballo, 15-6
285: Corey Siegfried (G) wins by forfeit
NEXT: Boardman hosts Eastern Ohio Wrestling League tournament on Friday and Saturday.
2013 OHSAA Regional Wrestling
Team Tournament
Division I
Region IV
SEEDS: 1. Massillion Perry, 2. Uniontown Lake, 3. Massillion Jackson, 4. Hoover, No. 5 Austintown Fitch, 6. Massillion Washington, 7. Boardman, 8. Timken.
Quarterfinals
Wednesday, Jan. 23
at Massillion Perry High School
Hoover 47, Austintown Fitch 28
Massillion Perry 64, Timken 9
at Lake High School
Massillion Jackson 42, Massillion Washington 30
Canton McKinley 54, Boardman 18
Uniontown Lake 58, Canton McKinley 15
Semifinals
Wednesday, Jan. 30
at Massillion Perry High School
Uniontown Lake 34, Massillion Jackson 26
Massillion Perry default Hoover
Massillion Perry 56, Uniontown Lake 15
Wednesday, Feb. 6
Site TBA
Massillion Perry vs. Madison, 7 p.m.
Division II
Region 11-A
SEEDS: 1. Perry, 2. Mentor Lake Catholic, 3. Canfield, 4. West Branch, 5. Fairless, 6. Poland, 7. Harvey, 8. Jefferson.
Quarterfinals
Wednesday, Jan. 23
at Canfield High School
Poland 57, Salem 15
Canfield 36, Poland 22
at Lake Catholic High School
Lake Catholic 58, Harvey 9
Semifinals
Wednesday, Jan. 30
at Perry High School
Lake Catholic 37, Canfield 36
Perry 34, West Branch 33
Perry 39, Lake Catholic 25
Wednesday, Feb. 6
Site TBA
Crestwood vs. Perry, 7 p.m.
Region 11-B
SEEDS: 1. Howland, 2. Walsh Jesuit, 3. Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary, 4. Crestwood, 5. Aurora, 6. Southeast, 7. Ravenna, 8. Hoban.
Quarterfinals
Wednesday, Jan. 23
at Howland High School
Crestwood 38, Aurora 22
Howland 56, Hoban 23
at Southeast High School
Ravenna 75, Buchtel 6
Akron SVSM 46, Southeast 20
Ravenna 54, Walsh Jesuit 18
Semifinals
Wednesday, Jan. 30
at Howland High School
Crestwood 37, Howland 28
Akron SVSM 32, Ravenna 26
Crestwood 39, Akron SVSM 30
Wednesday, Feb. 6
Site TBA
Crestwood vs. Perry, 7 p.m.
Division III
Region 19
SEEDS: 1. Cardinal, 2. Grand Valley, 3. Kirtland, 4. Pymatuning Valley, 5. Hawken, 6. Girard, 7. Berkshire, 8. Liberty.
Quarterfinals
Wednesday, Jan. 23
at Cardinal High School
Liberty def. Wickliffe, forfeit
Pymatuning Valley def. Hawken (withdrawn)
Thursday, Jan. 24
Cardinal 46, Liberty 28
Wednesday, Jan. 23
at Grand Valley High School
Kirtland 43, Girard 26
Berkshire 36, Grand Valley 27
Semifinals
Wednesday, Jan. 30
at Cardinal High School
Kirtland 47, Berkshire 36
Cardinal 45, Pymatuning Valley 35
Kirtland 38, Cardinal 33
Wednesday, Feb. 6
Site TBA
Kirtland vs. Keystone, 7 p.m.
Division III
Region 20
SEEDS: 1. Tuslaw, 2. Rootstown, 3. Akron Manchester, 4. Waterloo, 5. Garfield, 6. Jackson-Milton, 7. Canton Central Catholic.
Quarterfinals
Wednesday, Jan. 23
at Waterloo High School
Waterloo def. Garfield (withdrawn), 7 p.m.
Tuslaw bye
Wednesday, Jan. 23
at Manchester High School
Jackson-Milton 40, Akron Manchester 24
Rootstown 42, Canton Central Catholic 24
Semifinals
Wednesday, Jan. 30
at Tuslaw High School
Rootstown 51, Jackson-Milton 26
Tuslaw 66, Waterloo 13
Tuslaw 49, Rootstown 22
Wednesday, Feb. 6
Site TBA
Tuslaw vs. Waynedale, 7 p.m.
"Before the match, I said, 'It takes heart to be able to fight off your back.' Our kids showed a lot of heart tonight."
They needed to against a Crestwood team that boasted as many as four state-ranked wrestlers. Howland junior Donato Natale upset one of them when he defeated Josh Hillier, 9-7, at 132 pounds. That forced the Red Devils to shuffle their lineup a bit because Howland slowly but surely trimmed a 16-point deficit to 21-18.
Crestwood coach David Wrobel said he moved a few of his wrestlers up a weight class because he felt it might give the Red Devils an edge in those matches.
"I knew coming in that this was going to be a dog fight," he said. "And I knew we had to get creative with our lineup. We had the advantage early on with the lightweights, but Howland had the advantage in the upper weights, so we had to bump guys around. When we started doing that, I knew I could come out looking pretty stupid if things didn't work out to our advantage. But it kind of worked out the way we wanted it to. We ended up winning a key match or two, and that helped out."
The most important win came at 220 pounds, where the Red Devils' Doug Battiest got the best of Jack Finch with a pin in the third period. Crestwood led, 31-21, before that match, and a victory by Finch meant the dual would have came down to the last weight class, which Howland eventually won by way of pin.
"That was the best we could have had for today," Beasom said. "Sometimes it's not always about winning or losing, it's about how you handle yourself out there with adversity. We had a lot of adversity today, and we overcame it. We might not have won, but our kids never backed down, and (Crestwood) had to earn every point they got."
The Red Devils went on to beat Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary, 39-30, in the second semifinal, advancing them to the regional final. Crestwood wrestles Perry at 7 p.m. on Feb. 6 at a site to be determined.
