January 29, 1999

Columbian wrestles win from 30-30 tie

By Ed Fox
Sports Writer

It would've been fitting to have kissing sisters on Parent's Night.

Such was not the case, however, as Columbian prevailed over Toledo St. Francis despite the fact the two battled to a 30-30 tie.

The first criteria for breaking a deadlock in dual meets is number of matches won by each team and the Tornadoes won eight to just six for the visiting Knights.

As usual, Columbian battled back from a deficit with St. Francis taking the early lead helped by forfeit wins at 103 and 112. Andy Odorzynski decisioned Kris Adams, 7-6, as the Knights were in front by a 15-0 score.

Columbian won eight of the final 11 matches and twice put three wins together in a row.

But, it all came down to the final three matches.

Junior Joe Ranker (20-7) was forced to overtime before scoring a 10-5 decision over Michael Steinhelfer at 189 pounds. Ranker nearly pulled it out in regulation and came up with a five-point move midway through the overtime and kept Steinhelfer on his back for the final 45 seconds of the match.

''The 189 match was one of the pivotal ones for us,'' said St. Francis head coach Carl Janke. ''Steinhelfer has a good record (14-7), but just didn't cover up his hips on a good move at the edge of the mat which would've given him the win.''

Allen Weickert, also a junior with a 15-5 mark, came back with a strong 10-3 win over Ian Robertson at 215 pounds and the Tornadoes were on top, 30-24, heading into the final bout.

At 275, sophomore Jason Mercurio got the Knights even at 30-30 with a pin in 1:19 over Columbian freshman Mark Sams.

''It was a good night for the kids and it was good to see them do it on Parent's Night which is also our only home meet of the season other than the Wendy's Invitational,'' said Columbian head coach John Tomaszewski. ''We won eight (of the actual 12) matches and the kids continue to work hard.''

After the slow start, the Tornadoes came back with three straight wins as senior Brian Bloomfield (19-6) scored a 16-4 major decision over Tony Jaksetic at 125 pounds, senior Brad Mesnard pinned Bryan Drewyor in 2:36 at 130 and Chris Lee followed with a 16-5 major decision over David Edgell at 135.

St. Francis broke through at 140 pounds as Chad Marzec pinned Eric Ardner in 3:20, giving the Knights a 21-14 advantage.

Back came the Tornadoes with three more wins in succession as junior Maxum Tomaszewski (19-8) came up with a hard-earned 5-4 win over Dino Barrows at 145, senior Mike Eisenhower (18-7) followed with a 9-3 decision over Kelly Knerr at 152 and Justin Lynch scored a 13-4 major decision over Dave Odom to give Columbian a 24-21 lead, their first of the night.

''We knew that 145 match with Dino and Max would be a good one. Both of those kids will be in the district with no doubt and they could meet again down the line,'' said Janke.

Senior Ryan Nufziger came back with a 5-0 nod over Columbian frosh Scott Bloomfield which squared the score at 24-24 heading into the final three matches of the night.

''They (St. Francis) always has a good quality program and some excellent young kids. We knew their would be a lot of good matches,'' said Tomaszewski.

The Tornadoes are idle until next Saturday when they compete in a quad at Dublin Scioto.

''That will be a good one. Along with Scioto and us, the other teams are Worthington Kilbourne and Cincinnati Harrison. That is a good foursome. Harrison was involved in the Division I state duals this past weekend,'' said Tomaszewski.