By Roger Gordon

Correspondent

Crestwood sophomore wrestler Rocco Wrobel put up a good fight in the 113-pound championship match in the Kenston Invitational Tournament at Kenston High School before falling 9-4 to an opponent from Ontario High School. The tourney was held Dec. 27-28.

“The kid Rocco lost to in the finals, I believe, was a state runner-up last year,” head coach Dave Wrobel said. “Rocco wrestled extremely well against him. He wrestled a pretty solid first period, and in the last two periods really wrestled exceptionally well. He ended up getting a takedown and almost a second takedown in the third period. In the semifinals he beat a kid who he lost to last year in the Chagrin Valley Conference Tournament. I was really happy with the way he competed. It showed me that he wasn’t afraid to go out there and wrestle hard against kids who are ranked higher than him. Even though he lost in the finals, I was pretty happy with the way he wrestled because he kept the pressure on and was thinking offensively about scoring points. He went 4-1 over the two days.”

Overall, the Red Devils tied for 13th out of 32 teams.

“We went in there hoping to get four or five place-winners. We came up a little bit short with three,” said the elder Wrobel.

Junior Michael Berquist finished fourth in going 5-2 at 175, and freshman Tyler Devlin went 3-2 in placing seventh at 120.

“Michael ended up with four pins,” the coach said. “I was really, really happy with the way he wrestled because he was losing in three of those matches by five or more points. He actually avenged one of his earlier losses from Friday by getting a pin on Saturday. It probably was the best he’s wrestled in his year-and-a-half wrestling varsity.

“Tyler did a nice job wrestling hard throughout the weekend. There are still a few things he needs to clean up, but overall he’s always going to give you effort. He wrestled good enough to finish on the podium.

   • Next for Crestwood: Portage County Tournament Jan. 4 at 10 a.m. at Ravenna High School.

FIELD BOYS

Field senior wrestler Joe D’Amico entered last weekend with a 13-0 record in the 144-pound weight class. He finished the weekend with a still unblemished record by capturing the championship at 144 on Dec. 27-28 in the Kenston Invitational Tournament at Kenston High School.

“Joe put in a ton of time in the off-season,” head coach Dave Tenney said. “In the finals, he beat a young man from Aurora who last year teched him.”

Freshman A.J. Freudeman won the title at 106, continuing his outstanding season.

“A.J. had a real, real good weekend,” said Tenney. “He ran through some pretty tough kids, one of them a district qualifier last season. A.J. wrestled really well. As a freshman, the moment wasn’t bigger than he was.”

Overall, the Falcons tied for 13th out of 32 teams.

“We took only eight wrestlers, due mainly to injuries, and we had two champions and four on the podium. I was very happy with the outcome.”

The two other wrestlers who made the podium were seniors Drexal McAmis, who finished fifth at heavyweight, and Carter White, who was seventh at 165.

“Drexal had a real good weekend,” Tenney said. “He was a football player who’d never wrestled before this season. Four weeks into his wrestling career, to make the podium at that tournament shows how well he’s progressing. He’s a big, strong guy and works pretty hard. He’s doing the right things, and it’s coming to him. Carter had a pretty good weekend. He suffered an injury in a tough quarterfinal match and had to kind of battle back through that. To make it back on the podium, I thought he did pretty well regaining his focus. I expect through the next couple weeks he’s only going to get better as he heals up.”

   • Next for Field: Portage County Tournament Jan. 4 at 10 a.m. at Ravenna High School.

FIELD GIRLS

Three Field girls wrestlers took home sixth-place finishes in the Madison Lady Rumble on Dec. 29 at Madison Comprehensive in Mansfield — juniors Elizabeth Rock in the 170-pound weight class and Izzy Dickens at heavyweight plus freshman Thea Rebeck at 190.

“Elizabeth led the team with two wins,” head coach Mason Brainard said. “I think she went out there and wrestled fairly well. It was her first competition of the season. She was aggressive, and you could tell the stuff we were working on she put into use. She went out there and got a couple pins in her two wins.

“Izzy is new to wrestling, but she’s gaining valuable experience as we continue to grow throughout the season. You could see that she was putting some moves together and gaining experience. She was aggressive.

“Thea is also new this year, so she’s also still gaining experience. She wrestled well and was able to reach her goal throughout the day. You can see she’s progressing along as the season continues.”

Overall, the Falcons finished 20th out of 27 teams against some stiff competition.

“There were a lot of ups and downs,” said Brainard. “Even in matches we lost, the girls were aggressive and looking to score points. You could still take away positives. The majority of our team is new to wrestling. Going into the tournament, I just wanted the girls to go out there and try to execute the moves they wanted to hit. I think they all were able to do that in some capacity. You could tell they’re improving, and you can tell their hard work is paying off.

   • Next for Field: Alliance Top Gun Tournament Jan. 18 at Alliance High School.

KENT ROOSEVELT BOYS

Kent Roosevelt junior wrestler Gavin Edwards and senior Jeremiah Brumfield both won all four of their matches Dec. 28 in the Stow-Munroe Falls Dual Tournament at Stow-Munroe Falls High School. Edwards competed in the 165-pound weight class, and Brumfield was at 132 in the tourney, which also included Copley, Barberton and Parma Normandy.

“Gavin wrestled really well. It’s how he’s wrestled all season. He improved to 16-0,” head coach Chris Dunfee said. “He wrestled a state-ranked kid from Stow-Munroe Falls and wrestled a dominant match. He was up big and ended up pinning the kid in the third period.

“Jeremiah also wrestled really well. He had a couple really close matches and was able to battle through and gut it out. Conditioning became a factor. He was in better shape in those matches and was able to secure wins in two close matches.

“Both Jeremiah and Gavin earned their titles.”

Team wise, the Rough Riders defeated Copley and Parma Normandy and lost to Barberton and Stow-Munroe Falls.

   • Next for Kent Roosevelt: Portage County Tournament Jan. 4 at 10 a.m. at Ravenna High School.

KENT ROOSEVELT GIRLS

Kent Roosevelt freshman wrestler Penny Edwards finished second in the 105-pound weight division in the East Liverpool Queen of the Hill Tournament on Dec. 29 at East Liverpool

High School. Edwards went 4-1 on the day with two wins by pin and two wins by tech fall.

“Penny wrestled strong. Her only loss was to Ella Thomas, a state placer last year,” said

head coach Ryan Sankhauser. “That match provided a perfect midseason opportunity to measure herself against one of the best wrestlers in her weight class. Penny will use these matches to make adjustments throughout this week at practice to continue getting better.”

   • Next for Kent Roosevelt: Austintown Fitch Girls Wrestling Tournament on Jan. 3.

ROOTSTOWN

Although the Rootstown wrestling team was far from perfect, the Rovers still managed to finish 13th out of 54 teams in the Medina Invitational on Dec. 27-28 at Medina High School.

Ashland won the competition.

“I felt like we wrestled sub-par on what our abilities are for sure,” head coach Anthony Anderson said. “I was hoping to be in the top 10. We just didn’t wrestle our best.”

Leading the way for Rootstown were seniors Brian Youngblood and Tristan McKibben. Youngblood finished runner-up in the 190-pound weight class, and Anderson was third at 175.

“Brian wrestled really well the whole tournament, probably the best he’s wrestled all season. He had a really tough finals match,” said Anderson. “Tristan also had a great tournament. His semifinal was a really tough match that he just couldn’t finish out, but he battled back to finish third.”

   • Next for Rootstown: Portage County Tournament Jan. 4 at 10 a.m. at Ravenna High School.

MOGADORE GIRLS

Mogadore juniors Mackenzie Shellenbarger (155) and Kai Gaetjens both were runners-up in the Lady Longhorn Wrestling Tournament on Dec. 27-28 at Lutheran West High School in Rocky River. Shellenbarger competed in the 155-pound weight division, while Gaetjens was at 135.

“Mackenzie wrestled tough,” said head coach Duane Funk. “She was dominating on her way to the finals. In the finals she wrestled a girl who was the state champ at 145 last year. Kai kind of got caught early in the tournament but fought her way back the second day.”

Overall, the Wildcats finished 15 th out of 55 teams despite having only four wrestlers on the team.

“I thought that was really awesome,” Funk said.

Freshman Layla Funk finished ninth at 110 with a 5-2 record, and her classmate Audry

Garner placed 12th at 145 with a 3-4 mark.

   • Next for Mogadore: Doylestown Chippewa High School Girls Invite Jan. 5 at 7 p.m.