![](/Files/image/articles/monroeville2011.jpg)
While the Monroeville "triple threat" was on display all night there was a lot of great wrestling as well through the divisions. The theme could be summed as expect the unexpected as nationally-ranked wrestlers went down throughout the night and no one was safe no matter how high the ranking. Matt Stephens of Graham took on No. 2 nationally-ranked Ian Miller of Oak Harbor. Stephens and Miller battled to a scoreless tie at the end of regulation with both wrestlers taking turns riding each other out. The action really heated up in overtime when Stephens got a body lock and lifted Miller up and to the mat, but Miller looked to have not given up the takedown. Stephens, however, was awarded the two which, was the right call as he shocked the arena winning his first state title.
Nationally-ranked Kagan Squire of Wadsworth had defeated his opponent Joey Ward of Moeller three different times this year. On Saturday night, he was not able to make it four as Joey Ward pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the night, winning in triple overtime, escaping with less than 10 seconds left. Squire was not the only nationally-ranked wrestler to go down in the finals. Ironman runner-up Huston Evans of Graham lost 5-2 to Chaz Gresham of Goshen. Gresham controlled the action and hit two beautiful throws on the edge to convert them into takedowns.
![](/Files/image/articles/bojordan2011.jpg)
Lakewood Saint Edward returned to its position on top of the big school division as they ran away with the state title over Massillon Perry and defending champion Wadsworth. St. Eds was led by Dean Heil, who came away with his second state title in as many years this time at 119. Heil was able to use a big move to knock off surprise finalist Max Byrd of LaSalle. Joining Heil on top of the podium was teammates Mark Martin at 152 and Dominic Abounader at 160 for both Martin and Abounader it was their first state titles.
In the small school division St. Peter Chanel captured their first state title since the 1970s, winning over Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy. Besides the "triple threat" from Monroeville there were other nationally-ranked wrestlers winning state titles in Division III. No. 1-ranked nationally Nathan Tomasello captured his second state title with a 9-4 decision in the finals at 103. The match of the night in DIII had to be between former Graham standout Felipe Martinez, now at Genoa Area, and Dominic Prezzia of St. Clairsville. Martinez, who has missed much of the season, was taken into overtime as he was pushed by Prezzia the whole match. It wasn't until Martinez was able to hit a takedown to get back points did he lock up his third state title.
Alex Utley in a perfect world could have been going for his third state title this weekend. Instead he finally broke through and won his first. Utley, up at 189, has been the victim of being in the same bracket as some of the best wrestlers in DIII getting stuck with both Zach Toal and Chris Phillips. Utley finally made the most of his opportunity by winning his first state title in dominant fashion, posting a 6-0 victory in the finals.
The entire OHSAA state tournament lived up to the billing from the opening round matches to the pomp and circumstance for the parade of champions. Most importantly, though, history was made when the Monroeville crowned the three four-time state champions all in one night all there will most likely never see something so truly remarkable again. The odds of those great wrestlers coming together at one school in a tiny northern Ohio town are astronomically small. I was just glad I was able to witness history being made on the grandest stage for Ohio wrestlers.
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now