CHESTERLAND—West Geauga earned a doubleheader sweep of visiting Berkshire and Cardinal in a tri-match on Thursday.
The Wolverines opened the night with a 50-24 win over the Huskies and followed up Berkshire’s 45-36 win over Cardinal with a 43-25 win over the Badgers in the nightcap.
“We were very aggressive on our feet against Cardinal and we were scoring on the bottom as well, and then against Berkshire, they’re a very good team, well-coached, and very physical,” said West Geauga coach Carmen Russo. “We had to try and match that physicality and I believe our conditioning and takedowns really, really paid off.”
Russo, who attended Hickory High School in Pennsylvania and then coached at Conneaut Lake High School, is in his first year at West Geauga. He already has put his stamp on the Wolverine program.
“People are saying I’m trying to bring that PA approach a little bit but at the same time, I’m understanding how Ohio wrestling is done,” Russo said. “You’re just trying to find that balance and I think we’re finding it and we’re finding our stride. I believe the future is very bright for us.”
Ty Boze (106), Evan Baughner (113), Jack Sparent (138), Justin Artino (150), and Lucas Sadler (285) all went 2-0 for the Wolverines.
Boze claimed a forfeit and a pin, Baughner and Sparent flattened both of their opponents, and Artino and Sadler each claimed a major decision and a pin.
We have a large and talented roster and they wrestled hard,” Russo said. “A special shout out to our 157-pounder tonight, Justin Martino. He beat a good guy from Berkshire and he also wrestled (Austin) Strever from Cardinal, and he was a very good wrestler. Both guys are probably ranked in the top 20 in the state and he pinned both of them. That just goes to show you the potential this young man has.”
Sadler was especially dominant in his two wins over returning district qualifiers. He beat Cardinal’s John Avalon, 8-0, and pinned Berkshire’s Jeremy Bosher in 1 minute, 54 seconds.
“I’m very blessed as a coach to have a guy like Lucas Sadler as my heavyweight, kind of my close-out guy,” Russo said. “He’s aggressive, he’s physical, and he works extremely hard. He wants to push himself and he wants to achieve his goals. He also strives to be better every day. He’s probably the best heavyweight I have coached in 15 years.”
Cardinal’s Ty Zeigler finished 2-0 at 120 pounds with two pins and Berkshire’s Johnny Heiden (132), Josh Brown (150), Lucas Luoma (175), and Lucas Stoddard (215) also finished the night with two wins.
Heiden and Stoddard both recorded a pair of falls while Luoma recorded a pin and a decision. Brown won by forfeit and pin.
West Geauga 50, Cardinal 24
106: Ty Boze (WG) by forfeit; 113: Evan Baughner (WG) pinned Avery Wood, 6:00; 120: Ty Zeigler (CAR) pinned Matthew Obranovich, :59; 126: Angelo Kozelka (CAR) pinned Nicholas Zapata, 2:54; 132: Thomas Randau (WG) pinned Michael Wojtasik, 1:07; 138: Jack Sparent (WG) pinned Xander Rose, 0:34; 144: Michael Cavasinni (WG) pinned Benjamin Bolton, 2:35; 150: (WG) by forfeit; 157: Justin Artino (WG) maj. Dec. Austin Strever, 10-1; 165: Ethan Bartlett (WG) def. Josh Ripley, 9-4; 175: C.J. Holden (WG) dec. Chase Simak, 9-6; 190: Cameron Dimos (CAR) by forfeit; 215: Andrew Tucholski (CAR) pinned Alexander Hines, 1:11; 285: Lucas Sadler (WG) maj. Dec. John Avalon, 8-0.
Berkshire 45, Cardinal 36
106: Colin Hering (BER) by forfeit; 113: Avery Wood pinned Clayton Carman, 1:25; 120: Ty Zeigler (CAR) pinned Charlie Prosser, 1:09; 126: Amadeus Kosova (BER) pinned Angelo Kozelka, 2:51; 132: Johnny Heiden (BER) pinned Michael Wojtasik, 1:45; 138: Xander Rose (CAR) pinned Ian Martin, :57; 144: Benjamin Bolton (CAR) by forfeit; 150: Josh Brown (BER) by forfeit; 157: Alex Munn (BER) pinned Austin Strever, 2:20; 165: Josh Ripley (CAR) by forfeit; 175: Lucas Luoma (BER) dec. Chase Simak, 11-9; 190: Cameron Dimos (CAR) by forfeit; 215: Lucas Stoddard (BER) pinned Andrew Tucholski (CAR), 1:41; 285: John Avalon (CAR) pinned Jeremy Bosher, 2:55.
West Geauga 43, Berkshire 25
106: Ty Boze (WG) dec. Colin Hering, 10-5; 113: Evan Baughner (WG) pinned Avery Wood, 4:16; 120: Matthew Obramovich (WG) maj. Dec. Charlie Prosser, 13-0; 126: Amadeus Kosova (BER) dec. Nicholas Zapata, 2-1; 132: Johnny Heiden (BER) maj. Dec. Thomas Randau, 15-2; 138: Jack Sparent (WG) pinned Ian Martin, 0:20; 144: Robert Sabol (WG) by forfeit; 150: Josh Brown (BER) pinned Andrew Obranovich, 2:34; 157: Justin Artino (WG) pinned Alex Munn, 0:49; 165: Nick Donofrio (WG) by forfeit; 175: Lucas Luoma (BER) pinned C.J. Holden, 0:55; 190: double forfeit; 215: Lucas Stoddard (BER) pinned Alexander Hinds, 0:50; 285: Lucas Sadler (WG) pinned Jeremy Bosher, 1:54.
