St. Edward gets upper hand on history
Eagles clinch ninth straight state title, 21st overall, and place record 13 wrestlers, seven in finals
Pat Galbincea
Plain Dealer Reporter
Columbus- When asking the question “Who has established the greatest dynasty in Cleveland sports history? “it is certainly hard to rule out St. Edward wrestling as the answer.
The mighty Eagles clinched their ninth straight Division I state title Saturday in the 68th state wrestling tournament at Value City Arena, and 21st overall since 1978. St. Edward also set a state record by placing all 13 wrestlers – with seven competing in tonight’s finals – and has accumulated 187,½ points. The state record of 203 was set in 1995 by Walsh Jesuit.
Massillon Perry is second with 60 points, and Wadsworth third with 58,½. Elyria is sixth (41,½) and Mayfield eighth (37) to round out area schools in the top 10. St. Ed has more points than the second-, third- and fourth-place teams combined.
Perhaps the only questions left are, how many St. Edward wrestlers will win individual titles, and will the Eagles break Walsh Jesuit’s scoring record?
“I can’t say I’m surprised at what we’ve done, “St. Edward coach Greg Urbas said. “We have high expectations for all of our wrestlers. . . . we push them to finish as high as they can. [Assistant coach] John Heffernan does a fabulous job of keeping kids in the consolation rounds motivated.”
The seven St. Ed finalists are two-time state champ Lance Palmer (125 pounds), state champ Shawn Harris (112), state runner-up Sean Nemec (135), plus Keith Sulzer (119), Bryan Koz (160), Ben Kuhar (HVY) and Nick Marcellino (215), who was fourth in the Mentor district last weekend.
In addition, sore-shouldered Matt Harbeitner (189) will likely default for eighth place.
Neil Birt (103), Errol Young (130), Mike Janik (140), Mike McLaughlin (145), and Brian Roddy (171) will wrestle in the consolation semifinals this morning.
Palmer, who has vowed to pin his way to a third state title, was true to his word Friday. In the semifinals, he flattened district champ Jeremy DePoy of Greenville, who entered the bout with a 42-1 record, with a grapevine and power half nelson in 48 seconds.
Nemec, one of 10 underclassmen on the Eagles squad, used basic single leg takedowns plus a tilt for back points to beat North Royalton senior Jesse Oberdove, 7-4. He’ll face fellow sophomore Derek Foore of Wadsworth – who said last year he has state title aspirations – in the finals.
Koz took sterling Berea sophomore Dustin Kilgore down four times in the semifinals and scored an 8-3 decision. Kilgore was a wrestler St. Ed coveted, but he chose to attend his neighborhood school.
St. Edward’s dominance stole the thunder from other sterling performances in semifinal victories, including those by returning state champ Mike Ward (189) of Mayfield, Kevin Hardy (112) of Solon, Dan Mitcheff (119) of Elyria, Richie Spicel (130) of Brunswick, and Timmy Miller (171) of Wadsworth.
Miller, second in the state last year at 152, was too quick for Maple Heights sophomore Erique Robertson, taking him down with double-legs in an 8-3 decision. He faces David Clemens of Beavercreek in the finals.
“Timmy has been picking the right spots to attack, and he’s peaking, “Wadsworth coach John Gramuglia said.
“Medina has had only three other four-time state place winners. . . . and my money is on Timmy this time.”
Hardy, a sophomore who was third in the state last year, used leverage and skilled leg wrestling to win his semifinal bout, 9-0.
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