The Crestwood Red Devils’ wrestling team left their mark at the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division III Independence District Tournament by taking third place with 96.5 points and having junior 126-pounder Rocco Wrobel and 175-pounder Tye Berquist clinch state bids last weekend at Independence High School.
“They grew up together. For these guys to wrestle in high school together and to share that moment down at the state tournament for the first time, that is special” noted Coach Dave Wrobel. “They grew up wrestling together in the youth and they wrestled a little bit in the middle school together and now they are wrestling in high school together, so it is going to be a good moment that they are going to be able to share it together.”
The Red Devils’ duo will make their debuts at the OHSAA Division III state tournament at The Ohio State University’s Schottenstein Center in Columbus on Friday beginning at 1 p.m. Rocco will face Bridgeport junior Cole Weekly in the first round of the 126-pound weight class while Berquist will duel sophomore Aiden O’Neal from Mechanicsburg in his first state bout.
“The key is not only to get on the podium but to get as high as possible because there are no guarantees that you will ever get back there so you want to take advantage of it and you want to go out there and be in peak form and wrestle to the best of your abilities,” said the 24-year coach.
It marks the first time since the 2021-2022 season that the Red Devils qualified multiple wrestlers to the OHSAA Division III state meet, when J.P. Wrobel and Mason Daniels each earned a state berth.
According to Wrobel, sending several wrestlers to the OHSAA Division III state meet this year is just the beginning of what appears to be a promising several years for the Red Devils’ program.
Berquist paced the Red Devils by finishing as the district champion of the 175-pound weight class, going 4-0 to capture his first state bid.
“The last thing to come from him was his confidence,” added Coach Wrobel. “He knew he was good; he knew he was well-conditioned, but he needed to really believe he could beat the top-tiered wrestlers and throughout the season, he was knocking kids off left and right and he is now just oozing confidence.”
On Friday, Berquist went 2-0 to advance to the semifinal round of the bracket, pinning Wellsville sophomore Colton Malone with 1:25 remaining in the first period of his first bout, then pinned senior Eddie Stachowicz from South Range with 31 seconds remaining in the second period of his quarterfinal match.
Despite trailing 3-0 early in the quarterfinal round, Berquist seized momentum with a seven-point swing before ultimately sealing victory by pinning him.
“He just began to wear him down,” Wrobel said. “He wore him down the point that he ended up getting the pin so that was a nice win.”
On Saturday, the Crestwood sophomore earned his state qualification when he triumphed against Smithville senior Mason Haines, winning by an 11-0 major decision.
Berquist captured the district championship when he pinned senior Aiden Pelfrey from Dalton with only one second remaining in the first period.
Rocco secured his first state bid when he posted a 3-1 record in the 126-pound weight class to finish as the district runner-up.
On Friday, Rocco went 2-0 to qualify as a district semifinalist as he bested Jackson-Milton freshman Camden Hambrick by pinning him with 26 seconds remaining in the second period of the first-round bout, then pinned Portage County rival freshman Caileb Tompkins with 46 seconds remaining in the first period of his quarterfinal match.
On Saturday, Rocco returned to action and captured a state berth with a thrilling comeback victory in the semifinal against Chippewa sophomore Grady Lambdin, winning by a 5-1 decision by scoring five points in the final two seconds of the bout.
“There was a restart and Rocco was down 1-0, he ended up hitting a nice outside single and it ended up being a scramble and finally with two seconds to go, ended up putting his opponent on his back, he got a takedown for three points and a near fall for two points,” said Coach Wrobel.
In addition to Rocco earning a state bid by winning his semifinal match, the victory also officially marked his 100th career win.
Rocco’s bid for the district title ended when he was pinned by junior Isaak Skelly from Waynedale with 1:06 remaining in the first period.
The Red Devils also had three wrestlers place at the district meet, as sophomore Levi Daniels went 5-2 in the 113-pound bracket to take fifth place and capture a spot as a state alternate, freshman 132-pounder Jacob Morris went 4-3 to take sixth place and senior Michael Berquist tallied a 2-3 record to finish in sixth place in the 190-pound bracket.
