Pat Galbincea
Plain Dealer Reporter
Paybacks can be sweet or bitter, as standout wrestlers Mike Milano and Evan Standish learned Friday night in the 37th Greater Cleveland East-West High School Senior All-Star Matches at Cleveland State.
For Milano (160 pounds), a Rocky River senior and two-time state third-place finisher in Division II, the payback was not fun. Standish, a Division I state qualifier from Hudson, had the opposite experience.
It was part of the reason the two East squads dominated the meet. The East A stars beat the West A, 41-13, and the East B squad whipped the West B, 32-16.
Milano beat Standish, 3-1, at the Brecksville Holiday Tournament, but Standish won their rematch Friday, 14-6. So, how do you go from a low-scoring match to a high-scoring one?
“In losing to Mike at Brecksville, I knew how to wrestle him a little better this time, “said Standish, a 3.8 grade-point student who will major in engineering in college. “He also got tired as the match progressed. I could feel it. The headlock I hit him with in the first period was something he wasn’t expecting.”
Milano got behind Standish and pulled him down with a single leg for a 2-0 lead, but then tried a rolling maneuver which enabled Standish to catch him in the headlock for a 5-2 lead.
Milano, bound for Michigan on a wrestling scholarship, came back to tie the match, 6-6, after two periods. In the final period, he gave Standish an escape, then tried ducking under him for a match-winning takedown. Standish countered and trapped Milano on his back twice.
“It’s kind of funny because I’m not sure if I will wrestle in college, “said Standish, who also excels in football and lacrosse. “I’m best at wrestling, but it depends which college shows interest in me. I’d like to wrestle at Michigan – and here I beat Milano, the guy they’re taking.”
Milano offered no excuses in losing.
“He was right, I was out of condition, “Milano said. “Once you get down on a good kid, it’s hard to come back, especially if you’re not in top shape. On that headlock, I tried something I normally wouldn’t do, and I got caught.
“I am excited to be going to Michigan. I had no one to really work out with at Rocky River. At Michigan, I get workout partners like NCAA champ Ryan Bertin and Big Ten champs like the Churella [Josh and Ryan] brothers.”
The biggest surprise of the evening saw Parma heavyweight Rich McKenzie pin A.J. Salamon of Mentor, who was fifth in the state in Division I, at 1:59.
“I asked Rich afterward where was that at [the Massillon Perry] district? “Parma coach Ryan Madison said. “Rich had one bad week – the wrong week to have it – at district, but he’s a quality heavyweight. At least he went out on a happy note.”
Lake Catholic Division II state champ Trevor Bowers (135) had surprisingly little trouble in beating Jesse Oberdove of North Royalton, fourth in Division I, 8-3, with single and double-leg takedowns.
“After losing twice to [Beachwood’s] Kevin Lipp, I changed my attitude, “Bowers said. “I stopped worrying, and decided to go out, wrestle hard and have fun.”
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