According to Crestwood Red Devils’ wrestling Coach Dave Wrobel, competing at the Twinsburg Duals was a good measuring stick to where the team really stood, and the Red Devils went 3-2 to take third place last Friday at Twinsburg High School.
“It was nice to come out ahead and go 3-2,” the 26-year coach said. “I think that we had a couple of kids out there that could have closed the gap a little bit. In February, hopefully we will close the gap.”
In a dual team format style tournament, the Red Devils competed against Independence, Twinsburg, Hudson, Waynedale and Eastlake North.
On Friday, Crestwood enjoyed a fast start by triumphing 48-10 against Independence, by winning three head-to-head matches by either a pin or major decision.
“Out of the five matches, that was the one that was a good starter for us to get the blood flowing a little bit,” Wrobel noted.
Against Twinsburg, the Red Devils went four of eight in the head-to-head matches and only forfeited one weight class, propelling them to a 46-30 victory.
Wrobel noted that one the Red Devils’ greatest strengths over the years is the wealth of talent they have amassed in the lighter weight classes which is led this year by sophomore 126-pound Rocco Wrobel, who went 4-1 on the day.
In a dual format, he added that having a strong collection of light weight wrestlers allows the Red Devils to take some early leads but have usually been tested in the middle and upper weights, where the team’s depth is not as formidable.
Against Hudson, the Red Devils did not fare well in the middle and upper weight matches, winning only two matches as the Explorers defeated Crestwood 46-28.
“We won some big matches early on and then we were struggling with the middle weights and then toward the end, we could not close the deal at the end because we gave up those two pins,” Wrobel said. “The key is going to be to fill the line-up and get experience and just improve in the middle to upper weights.”
Although Hudson excelled in the middle and upper weight bouts, Wrobel said that the Red Devils showed promise as junior 175-pound Tye Berquist and senior 190-pound Michael Berquist each collected a victory in their respect matches,
Throughout the tournament, Wrobel praised the Berquist cousins for holding their own in the upper weights, as each wrestled had a perfect day, going 5-0 to anchor the Red Devils in the upper weights.
Wrobel noted that the cousins succeeded by fueling off of each other’s victories, as Tye started the trend and Michael carried off of his cousin’s momentum.
“I think that was huge and I really like the way that Tye is competing right now. He really looks good, he really looks solid, his confidence is really at the highest level I have seen,” Wrobel said. “Michael is trying to keep up with his cousin, he is trying to not fall behind so when his cousin wins, I am sure he feeds off of that.”
Against Waynedale, the Red Devils faced an uphill battle against one of the top Ohio High School Athletic Association Division III wrestling programs in the State of Ohio and were defeated by 52-8 margin.
Although the gap was evident against the Golden Bears, Wrobel said that it was still a valuable dual match for Crestwood to compete against as Waynedale was the true barometer for the Red Devils to gain an assessment of where they stood.
“They have no holes in their line-up,” he acknowledged. “They were probably an easy 30-plus kids that were at Twinsburg, dressed and ready to go and compete for Waynedale. They are solid but I like that we were able to compete against them because you want to see where you are at against some of the best.”
The Red Devils rounded out the day by prevailing 56-17 against an undermanned Eastlake North squad, which could only fill eight spots in the line-up and Crestwood won six of those eight head-to-head bouts.
“It was a nice way to end it on a positive note, we still have a lot of work to do, and it was good to get that dual meet atmosphere going again and get ready for the stretch run,” Wrobel said. “We are less than a couple of months away, seven weeks, eight weeks away from the state tournament so we really need to fine-tune and get ready for that time of the year.”
Following a road dual against Chagrin Valley Conference foe Berkshire on Thursday evening, the Red Devils will do battle in the CVC Chagrin Division tournament at Hawken Upper School on Jan. 30 in Chesterland at 5 p.m.
