With all the tournaments happening this weekend and the results pouring in now, take a look at some of the headlines from one of the busiest weekends in all of high school wrestling. The OhioWrestling.Net individual rankings will be released later this week so stayed tuned to see where all the wrestlers shake out and who #1 is in the first set of rankings.

Brecksville Holiday Tournament
Division 3 Dominance on Display

Division 3 dominance was in full force this weekend at the 2007 Brecksville Holiday tournament as the race for the team title was between two Division 3 state powers and six individual champions were crowned from Division 3 schools. Defending champion Troy Christian edged rival Marion Pleasant to win the team title. However the story of the night belonged to Zach Toal of Troy Christian who sent shockwaves throughout the state with a huge upset win over three-time state champion Tony Jameson of Austintown Fitch. Jameson had the lead late in the second period but Toal was able to get a reversal with two near-fall points to take an 9-8 lead. Jameson escaped to start the third period and tie the match but Toal got a takedown to secure the lead and the 11-9 win.

Another big story at Brecksville was the freshman phenoms and a sensational sophomore hailing from tiny Monroeville High School. Sophomore Logan Stieber and freshmen Hunter Steiber, Cam Tessari, and Chris Phillips all won Brecksville titles with relative ease. Tessari may have been the biggest surprise champion as he beat former state champion Steve Mitcheff of Elyria and state placer Jerome Robinson of Cleveland St. Ignatius on his way to a Brecksville title. Tessari then defeated James Inghram, a state runner-up last year, 4-0 to win the 112-pound weight class.

Tom Pretty of Cincinnati Elder was the headliner in Division 1 as he pinned all six of his opponents in the tournament and cemented himself as the #1 ranked wrestler at 125 pounds. The 140 pound weight class was the toughest of the tournament as many of the state’s best 140 pound wrestlers were there. David Habat of St. Ignatius clawed his way back in back-to-back matches to claim the title. Habat knocked off Kyle Lang of Brecksville 5-3 in overtime to reach the finals before coming back again to knock off Isaac Dukes of Ravenna to claim his first Brecksville title. At 189 pounds, Cody Lamberg of Akron Kenmore had wins over state placers Kevin Bailey of Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit and Jeremy Foster of Pemberville Eastwood to claim the title. Lamberg catapulted himself into the driver’s seat in the Division 1’s 189-pound state title race.

Medina Invitational Tournament
Eagles Soars at Medina

After Lakewood St. Edward lost their stranglehold on Ohio by being defeated by St. Paris Graham at a tournament (the Ironman) and in a dual (Super 8 Duals), many were quick to criticize. The Eagles may have silenced some of those critics with a dominating performance at the Medina Invitational this weekend. The Eagles were led by 5 champions including Jamie Clark at 112 who got revenge on Sam White of Massillon Perry. White had defeated Clark at Medina and in the state finals last year but this time Clark got the best of White in a 5-1 victory. Other champions included Gus Sako at 103 (who scored bonus points in all of his matches), Collin Palmer at 135, Brian Roddy at 171, and Connor Suba at 145.

The match of the night was at 152 pounds where Jared Kusar of Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy edged Jesse Dong of Westerville North with a late turn to win 5-4 and knock off the top ranked wrestler in Division 1. As always upsets occur, this time Scott Mattingly of Uniontown Lake bested Dan Genetin of Massillon Perry 8-4 in the semifinals on his way to claiming his first Medina title. Mattingly then went on to beat Anthony Salupo of St. Edward in the finals 2-0. The 130 weight class may have been the toughest weight there. In the end, Seth Horner of Massillon Perry was crowned champion with a 3-1 overtime win over Nick Sulzer of St. Edward. The quality at this 130 pound weight class was a preview of what is to come in the race for the coveted state title in Division 1.

GMVWA Tournament
St. Paris Graham Reigns Supreme

There should be no questions as to who the best team in the nation is right now as St. Paris Graham continues their march towards greatness. This time they left the GMVWA Invitational with 10 champions - yes 10 champions - plus two runners-up and a fourth place finisher. However, while Graham finished with ten champions and had over four hundred points, the marquee match-up didn’t involve any Graham wrestlers. Instead it was old rivals battling again as defending state champions Daniel Kolodzik of Dayton Miami Valley and Ryan Gambill of Casstown Miami East met in the final at 135 pounds. Gambill had gotten the best of Kolodzik in the last meeting (2006 district tournament) but this time Kolodzik won 5-3 to claim the GMVWA title and the Outstanding Wrestler honors in the small school division. If they stay at their present weight class, Kolodzik and Gambill will likely meet at the district and state tournaments.

David Taylor showed us all again why he may be the best wrestler in the state of Ohio as he did not have a match go the distance on his way through a dominating performance. Graham senior state champions Ben Jordan and Coby Boyd continued also dominated their weight classes as both won handily in the finals. Jordan won with a 20-4 technical fall and Boyd pinned state placer Brett Ewing of Miamisburg. Matt Pritchard of Clayton Northmont, the only returning state placer in Division 1, showed that he will be in the running for the Division 1 state title at heavyweight with a big 4-2 victory over two-time Division 2 state placer Adam Walls.

Grizzly Invitational Tournament
Wadsworth Wins Again

The Wadsworth wrestling team maybe the second-best in Division 1 this year with a great balance of young talent throughout the lineup. Wadsworth again showed that this weekend winning the GIT team title after a win at North Canton Hoover. The Grizzlies are led by the sophomore sensation Brad Squire at 130 who has yet to lose a high school match in his career. Squire again had no problems winning a tournament as he didn’t have a close match the entire tournament. They also had champions from freshman Alfredo Gray at 103, freshman Clay Wenger at 119 and another freshman in Sheldon Brandenburg at 140. Because of their youth, Wadsworth wrestling is here to stay and compete on the state scene. Andrew Tumlin of Harrison kept up his undefeated season by defeating Greg Isley of Sylvania Southview 5-4 in the finals at 189 pounds, where he is one of the top contenders for a state title.

Kenston Invitational Tournament
West Geauga rises to the occasion

West Geauga rose to the occasion to win at the KIT on the strength of three individual champions.
The marquee match-up of the night was also first match of the night. In a battle of returning state placers, Kory Mines of Maple Heights downed Jerry Pasquale 12-4 to win the title at 103 pounds. Mines showed that he is perhaps the most likely candidate to be in the state finals opposite St. Edward’s Gus Sako. In another big match-up, Tom D’Alessandro of Mayfield upset two-time state placer Andrew Dinda of Garfield Heights at 130 pounds, winning a close bout 4-3. At 140 pounds, Jeff Liggitt of Boardman also won in a close final bout over Mike D’Alessandro 3-2. Division 1’s 140 pound weight class is loaded at the and this may be a preview of just how tough the matches will be as the wrestlers make their way to Columbus.