The Aurora Greenmen wrestling team got a glimmer of what to expect when the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division I postseason arrives next year. The Greenmen’s fast start to the season continued when they swept a tri-meet against Chardon and Mayfield, beating the Hilltoppers 39-30 and the Wildcats 59-18 last Saturday afternoon at Mayfield High School.
“I think it is just important because Chardon and Mayfield have some rich traditions in wrestling,” Coach Jeremy Johnson said. “It is important for us to not only wrestle against tough competition but also as a team and a dual meet is a team aspect and it takes all 14 members of a team to win a dual match and we were able to do that on Saturday.”
In the first dual match of the afternoon, the Greenmen went 7-7 against the Hilltoppers including sophomore Johnny Green winning the 113-pound bout by forfeit.
After the Greenmen took a 23-0 advantage by winning the first four matches, Chardon dominated in the middleweights and went ahead 24-23 when senior 175-pounder Will Vucetic captured a 2-0 victory against junior Cole Walton, marking the sixth consecutive victory for the Hilltoppers.
Despite Walton matching the 2023 North Canton Hoover District runner-up’s stride, he could not bring Vucetic down and the Hilltopper senior claimed the advantage when he scored a reversal in the second period.
“It was really close,” the Greenmen’s second-year coach said. “It was two ranked opponents at 175 pounds. We bumped Cole up because we felt it was the best thing that the team needed. He went out and fought tooth and nail and almost had him.”
Aurora went back ahead 27-24 when senior 190-pounder Austin Grossman overpowered Hilltoppers’ senior Austin Hardesty by a 14-4 major decision.
“It was a good match overall,” Grossman. “It was pretty good. Obviously, I wanted to get the pin and score points for my team but winning the match was good.
The Hilltoppers rebounded when junior 215-pounder Logan Webster pinned junior Aiden Jackson with 27 seconds left in the first period, taking a 30-27 lead but junior Matthew Copley pinned senior Logan Bryant at the 1:18 mark of the second period in the 285-pound bracket, pushing Aurora ahead 33-30.
Sophomore 106-pounder and 2023 Division I state qualifier Luke Green sealed the victory by pinning freshman Danek Szepanski with 1:08 remaining in the first period.
Ultimately, the deciding factor for Aurora defeating the Hilltoppers came in the heavyweight bouts.
“We knew it was going to be a close dual meet so it was important for us to step up where we needed to,” Johnson said. “I think Chardon is a tough group in the middleweights and we had to be ready to scrap and fight.”
Aurora dominated the Wildcats in its second dual match by going 10-4, including winning two matches by forfeit.
“I just think from a physicality standpoint we went out and we took it to them for most of our matches and I think that alone was really important,” noted Johnson.
Just as they did in the previous dual match against Chardon, the Greenmen took a 12-0 advantage by dominating in the lightweights, with sophomore 120-pounder Nicholas Turba pinning freshman Nick Young with 1:42 left in the first period and freshman Grant Eaton winning the 126-pound bout by pinning freshman Amarion Watkins with 33 seconds remaining in the opening period.
Mayfield won the next four matches to go ahead 19-12 spurred by senior 132-pounder Sal Palmisano pinning sophomore Michael Kennedy with 40 seconds left in the first period.
Aurora won the 157-pound match by forfeit then senior James Blaser won the 165-pound match by pinning freshman Muhammad Ibrahim at the 1:25 mark of the second period, extending the lead to 24-18.
Walton bounced back in his second 175-pound bout, overpowering sophomore Josh Kerfonta with a 16-0 major decision and Grossman pinned freshman Giusepe Mangelluzzi with 12 seconds remaining in the third period, finishing his day with a 2-0 record.
“Austin is great,” Johnson said. “He is a senior and has dealt with a lot of adversity in his life and we are just happy that he is really relishing in these opportunities week-by-week and he is getting better week-by-week.”
The Greenmen continued dominating in the heavyweights, capped off by Jackson pinning freshman John Harris at the 1:31 mark of the first period and then Copley pinned sophomore Ryan Jackson with 1:17 remaining in the first period of the 285-pound match.
Luke also finished with 2-0 record on Saturday when he overpowered freshman Keegan Tartarowicz by a 16-1 technical fall.
Although Aurora is enjoying a lot of success at the beginning of the season, Johnson said he is making sure his team does not get too caught up in the moment.
“We look at improving every week,” he added. “I think we are leaving here with a lot of things we need to improve on but we are fixing some of the things that we saw at the Solon Comet Classic that we needed to get better.”
The Greenmen will close out the year when they compete at the Brecksville Holiday Tournament at Brecksville-Broadview Heights High School on Friday beginning at 5 p.m.
