Saturday, January 23, 1999
Columbian overcomes forfeits for good 1st day at NOL
By Ed Fox
Sports Writer
WILLARD - Despite at least a pair of forfeits in each match, Columbian battled its way to a 2-1 record on the first day of the Northern Ohio League Duals at Willard High School.
The Tornadoes trail only Bellevue and host Willard in the standings. The Redmen, who have won seven straight league championships, and the suprising Crimson Flashes finished day one with perfect 3-0 slates. Shelby also went 2-1 to share third place with Columbian.
Action resumes at 11 a.m. today with each team having four matches on tap.
The Tornadoes opened with a 39-36 loss to Willard, but bounced back with a win by the same count over Upper Sandusky and closed out the day with a 42-34 win over Bucyrus.
''We knew this was going to be physical and mentally challenging, too. It's the preparation and staying focused,'' said Columbian mentor John Tomaszewski. ''I thought we wrestled three pretty good matches. I'm pretty satisfied. We were forfeiting at least two matches against each team and even forfeited three against Upper Sandusky and Bucyrus. We were pretty solid in the middle.''
Columbian had five wrestlers post 3-0 records including Chris Lee (135), Maxum Tomaszewski (145), Mike Eisenhower (152), Justin Lynch (160) and Joe Ranker (189). Three others sported 2-1 marks including Kris Adams (119), Brian Bloomfield (125) and Allan Weickert (215).
''Most of our kids are doing a nice job. Right now, everybody is wrestling hard,'' added Tomaszewski.
Helped by Columbian forfeits at 103 and 112, the Crimson Flashes stormed from the gate to win four of the first five bouts for a 22-3 lead.
Lee got the Tornadoes back on track with a pin of Casey Luppino in 1:47 at 135 pounds.
After Nick Howell of Willard decked Eric Gardner in 2:52 at 140 for a 28-9 lead, the Tornadoes went on a roll. They won five of the next six matches to gain the lead at 36-33.
Included in the streak were four pins as Tomaszewski needed just 1:07 to put Corey Holmes to the mat at 145. Eisenhower followed with a pin in 3:52 over John Meade at 152 and Lynch downed Jarrod Armitage in 1:13 at 160.
Willard broke through for a win at 171 on a tech fall for a 33-27 lead, but Ranker got the equalizer with a pin in 2:29 over Joe Dye at 189. Weickert put Columbian ahead for the first time with an 8-3 nod over John Stephens at 215, but it was shortlived as Willard's Brian Shoup pinned Columbian freshman Mark Sams in 54 seconds to decide the match.
''Against Willard, I knew their 25 would be tough. He's strong, he's physical and he caught Brian (Bloomfield) with a four-point move and a five-point move and those were big points,'' said Tomaszewski of the 125-pound battle with Willard's Sam Ames, a 17-9 winner. ''Then, when we got pinned at 130, that hurt us. We managed to battle back, but it all fell on our freshman heavyweight (Sams). By the way, that's his first varsity match and it's too much pressure to put on him.
''I thought we wrestled well against them (Willard), we just didn't have the depth that they do. I was really happy with our effort against Upper. We wrestled smart and didn't try to brawl with people. We used our skill and techiniques. If we continue to do that, I think we can wrestle with all these teams.
''Because of the forfeits, we have to get the pins or we won't beat anybody. I'm pretty satisfied to be 2-1. We've got the big guns coming up tomorrow(today) with Bellevue and Shelby. With the exception of Bellevue, it's very even and very competitive,'' said Tomaszewski.
Upper Sandusky had the unfortunate task of facing Bellevue in the first round and suffered a 55-21 loss. After falling to Columbian, the Rams battled back for a 57-22 win over Norwalk as they won 10 of the 14 matches.
Finishing 3-0 for the Rams were Darrin Rowland (103), David Doty (215) and Curtis Eldridge (275). Three others went 2-1 including Jerrod Ball (112), Jacob Vaughn (140) and Keith Montgomery (171) and Joe Kennedy went 1-1 at 160.
''We worked our way up. We started with Bellevue and they are head and shoulders above the rest,'' said Upper Sandusky head coach Dick DeWitt. ''They don't have the superstars they've had in the past, but are very solid top to bottom.
''Against Tiffin, that was one which could've went either way and one more win would've swung it in our favor. But, we came back to get a good win against Norwalk.
''We're getting there. We are really young with five freshmen and three other sophomores and one of them is a first-year sophomore. We knew we were going to take our lumps, but hopefully be ready when the league tournament comes around.
''We feel pretty good about our 215 and heavy, those are two kids who can compete with anyone. That 215 is a doozy of a weight class. Rowland is my backup 103-pounder and he won all his matches. I think our kids will come back tomorrow with a good taste in their mouth. If we were going to do it, we did it in the right order,'' said DeWitt.