Eagles soar in winning 30th straight title
Sunday, February 13, 2005
Pat Galbincea
Plain Dealer Reporter
St. Edward claimed its 30th consecutive Division I sectional wrestling title Saturday at Southview High, but not in any way similar to its previous triumphs.
You couldn’t tell by merely looking at the scoreboard. The Eagles scored 333,½ points and are sending 13 wrestlers to the Mentor district, including eight champions in state champs Shawn Harris (112 pounds) and Lance Palmer (125), state runner-up Sean Nemec (130), vastly improved Bryan Koz (160), Brian Roddy (171), Nick Marcellino (189), plus Matt Harbeitner (189) and Ben Kuhar (HVY), both of whom had four pins as did Palmer.
Elyria, with 10 district qualifiers – including five champs in freshman Steve Mitcheff (103) and his senior brother Dan (119), seniors Matt Felton (130) and Matt Whitely (145), and junior John Pycraft (140) – finished second in the 13-team field with 228 points.
The Eagles had a rougher time at Southview than they’ve had in years. Several wrestlers had to scramble to earn comeback victories in semifinal bouts.
It would have been hard to top the 171-pound semifinal between Elyria senior state qualifier Paul Sen and St. Ed freshman Roddy, who won in overtime, 14-12, with a single-leg takedown.
Sen, who had lost to Roddy in a dual meet, jumped out to an 8-2 lead by countering Roddy’s upper-body locks to get four takedowns. Sen had a 12-9 lead with 14 seconds left when Roddy escaped, then dove in for the match-tying takedown.
St. Edward freshman Neil Birt (103) was trailing top-seeded Avon Lake senior Beau Lem, 5-0, when the latter used a barrel roll to put him on his back. In the second period, Birt caught Lem in a pancake and pinned him in 3:17.
In another odd semifinal, Eagles sophomore heavyweight Ben Kuhar, a Cadet national champion, was nearly pinned by Lakewood senior Chris Knight, who forged a 7-1 lead in the second period. In the last minute, Kuhar took Knight down with a double leg, then pinned him in a half nelson at 5:11.
“This was a loaded sectional, “St. Ed coach Greg Urbas said. “Three conference champs were here [Southview, Avon Lake and Elyria] and Westlake had several good kids. Many of our kids had to earn their victories the hard way.”
St. Ed did have dominant wrestlers, none better than two-time state champ Palmer, a junior who used an arm bar to flatten Lakewood junior Matt Curley in the finals at 3:47.
“Last year, I was burned out until the state tournament, “Palmer said. “I cut a lot of weight from the middle of the season on, and it took its toll on me. It sapped my energy. This year, it’s been easier for me because I haven’t had the worry and stress from cutting weight, and I feel great . . . My goal is to pin my way to a state title.”
The other sectional champ was unbeaten Westlake junior Josh Kassil (152), who trailed Elyria junior Matt Milavec, 4-2, but got a defensive pin at 3:35.
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