Four Kirtland wrestlers finished among the top four in their respective weight classes at the Division III Beachwood Sectional Tournament on Saturday and will compete this weekend at the Garfield Heights District.
Konnor Duncan finished third at 120 while Brayden Adkins (145), Austin Mayo (195) and Jeff Kusar (220) all finished fourth at Beachwood.
“The guys wrestled great,” said Kirtland coach Scott Francis. “They worked hard and improved throughout the season and it paid off for them by making it out to districts.”
Duncan opened the tournament with a 10-5 win in the quarterfinals then fell to eventual sectional champion JP Hlifka of Hawken in the semifinals, 13-4. He bounced back with a technical fall in the consolation semifinals then won his third place bout by pin.
“His match against Hlifka, that’s one we’ve been looking forward to,” Francis said. “He wrestled pretty well against him. Coming out with third place and that’s your only loss in the tournament, that’s a pretty good day.”
Duncan will wrestle Oberlin junior Reggie Bouchonville (22-11) in the first round at districts on Friday.
Adkins opened the tournament with a 4-3 win over No. 2 seed Mason Lustig of Berkshire then fell to Newbury’s Mike Weston in the semifinals. He punched his ticket to districts with a pin in the consolation semifinals then finished the day with a 3-2 loss to Lustig in the third place match.
“He had a good tournament,” Francis said. “When we first looked at his bracket, 145 might have been the deepest and best bracket there. There were some other weight classes with better individuals but they weren’t as deep. That was a good weight class and he really wrestled well. He’s been wrestling smart and he’s figuring things out. He goes into a match with a good game plan for himself. He’s got a few moves he’s hitting very well and it’s all coming together for him.”
Adkins drew Rootstown senior Tyler Jenkins (35-10) in the first round of the district tournament.
Mayo dropped his first match at sectionals to Brookfield’s Joe Hackett then drew a bye into the consolation semifinals, where he recorded a pin to earn his spot at districts. Hackett beat Mayo for a second time in the third place bout.
“He’s a senior, first-year wrestler and anything that kid gets is just a lot of sheer determination right now,” Francis said. “He didn’t come into wrestling until December so he’s only been doing this for two months. To make it out to districts is great; we’re really happy for him.”
Mayo will open the district tournament on Friday against Fairless senior Nick Shepard (34-0).
Kusar recorded two pins in earning his district berth.
“I don’t think he was happy with his last match,” Francis said. “He made the same mistake twice in that tournament and it cost him two matches. He knows exactly what it is and he’ll go back to working on that and he’ll go against those kids and have better matches next time.”
Kusar will wrestle Tuslaw senior Crawford Hamrick (37-10) in the first round at districts.
Sect. Tournament: Div. III – Beachwood Scores
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1. Newbury 163.5; 2. Pymatuning Valley 147.5; 3. Gar. Garfield 123.0; 4. Ash. St. John 119.5; 5. Grand Valley 104.5; 6. Berkshire 98.0; 7. Beachwood 93.0; 8. Brookfield 70.0; 9. Hawken 67.0; 10. Kirtland 65.5; 11. Cardinal 63.0; 12. Wickliffe 45.0;
First Place
106: Daniel Demma (Gar. Garfield) dec. James Klingman (Berkshire) 7-4;
113: Jake Edelman (Pymatuning Valley) pin Jackson Reineke (Hawken) 2:44;
120: J.P. Hlifka (Hawken) dec. William Campbell (Pymatuning Valley) 9-4;
126: Noah Campbell (Pymatuning Valley) pin Paul Jacobs (Beachwood) 3:23;
132: Anthony Surace (Berkshire) pin Thomas Bond (Newbury) 2:59;
138: Nick Burgard (Ash. St. John) forfeit Jarrod Malkus (Berkshire) Forfeit;
145: Logan Kissell (Gar. Garfield) maj. dec. Mike Weston (Newbury) md14-2;
152: David Cumberledge (Ash. St. John) pin Connor Hrubik (Gar. Garfield) 1:03;
160: Ryan Finney (Gar. Garfield) pin Christian Blank (Ash. St. John) 5:37;
170: Jacob Lagoa (Ash. St. John) pin Doug Byrne (Wickliffe) 2:27;
182: Bryce Randall (Brookfield) pin Zach Hazlett (Grand Valley) 3:42;
195: Mitch Sanders (Newbury) pin Mason Shreve (Grand Valley) 0:52;
220: Gaige Willis (Pymatuning Valley) pin Chase Cottrell (Grand Valley) 1:55;
285: Derek Elrod (Ash. St. John) dec. Caleb Bean (Pymatuning Valley) 3-0;
Third Place
106: Joey Bond (Newbury) pin Jeremy Leizman (Beachwood) 0:51;
113: Trevor Meeker (Grand Valley) pin Josh Tribuzzo (Berkshire) 2:02;
120: Konnor Duncan (Kirtland) pin John Webb (Brookfield) 2:16;
126: Jake Buttari (Wickliffe) pin Trevor Bacna (Cardinal) 4:30;
132: Paul Byler (Cardinal) dec. Logan Rutherford (Gar. Garfield) 9-4;
138: Michael Schmidt (Beachwood) maj. dec. Mathew Sexton (Grand Valley) md16-6;
145: Mason Lustig (Berkshire) dec. Brayden Adkins (Kirtland) 3-2;
152: Chad Brown (Pymatuning Valley) dec. Zane Drebus (Cardinal) 10-6;
160: Clayton Takacs (Grand Valley) forfeit John Chambers (Newbury) Forfeit;
170: Mike McKale (Newbury) pin Taylor Balasz (Beachwood) 2:37;
182: Alex Piczer (Newbury) pin Elijah Durham-Harris (Beachwood) 4:03;
195: Joe Hackett (Brookfield) pin Austin Mayo (Kirtland) 2:47;
220: Jared Gray (Newbury) pin Jeff Kusar (Kirtland) 2:37;
285: William Lindsey (Hawken) pin Hunter Baumiller (Brookfield) 4:49;
Fifth Place
106: Carter Williamson (Kirtland) Bye Bye Bye;
113: Aadi Dutt (Beachwood) maj. dec. Noah Williamson (Newbury) md11-3;
120: Zach Kudroff (Beachwood) maj. dec. Ryan Shanower (Cardinal) md12-2;
126: Brandon Hepper (Kirtland) forfeit Logan Lustig (Berkshire) Forfeit;
132: Jay Doyle (Hawken) dec. Dillen Knowles (Pymatuning Valley) 10-3;
138: Nathan Mohar (Newbury) pin Gene Henery (Cardinal) 0:31;
145: Jerry Rose (Cardinal) pin Ernie Landi (Wickliffe) 1:45;
152: James Flowers (Beachwood) dec. Jared Zimperman (Newbury) 5-4;
160: Jimmy McClellan (Berkshire) pin Jordin Sidhu (Wickliffe) 2:45;
170: David Nye (Grand Valley) pin Wade Leonard (Pymatuning Valley) 0:16;
182: Jarrod Peters (Gar. Garfield) pin Ryan Ford (Berkshire) 2:00;
195: Leonard Udell (Pymatuning Valley) pin Deven Callison (Cardinal) 0:30;
220: Gavin Lever (Beachwood) pin Kyle Wedge (Brookfield) 2:16;
285: Noah Hoffmann (Gar. Garfield) pin Daniel Gearhart (Grand Valley) 1:36;
