For the last three years, Crestwood Red Devils’ 126-pound senior J.P. Wrobel’s time at the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division III state wrestling meet has been a short one. Wrobel made the most of his final appearance by going 4-2 to take fifth place last weekend at The Ohio State University’s Jerome Schottenstein Center in Columbus.
“It means a lot,” said J.P. “I wish I would have been a state champion. Fifth place isn’t bad and I was happy I was able to get an odd number with my last match.”
The Red Devils’ senior may had been a three-time state qualifier before this season but he had never advanced to day three of the tournament. He ended his senior season with his best performance at the state meet by becoming a state placer for the first time in his varsity career.
On Sunday, J.P. started the day wrestling the consolation semifinal match against Milan Edison junior Abe Hermes and was pinned with 49 seconds remaining in the second period, sending him to the fifth place match.
In that match, J.P. dueled against freshman Riley Greathouse from Waynedale and neither wrestler scored a point in the first period. In the second period, Wrobel recorded an escape to take a 1-0 lead then scored a takedown to hold a 3-0 advantage entering the third period.
Greathouse recorded two escapes in the third period and almost put Wrobel on his back in the final seconds but a stalemate was called with only two seconds left in regulation.
The Red Devils’ senior acknowledged he was walking a tight rope by putting himself in a dangerous spot with so little time left.
“I was able to trust my defense,” he said. “I felt pretty good scrambling. I really trust my defense and my scrambling is top tier so I don’t really worry too much when I am in that position. I am able to scramble and that is the just way I wrestle,”
Greathouse did not have enough time to try and score a takedown or near fall and J.P. finally became a state-placer. He ended his final season with a 48-5 record, marking the most amount of victories by any Crestwood wrestler in school history.
One of J.P.’s biggest goals was to finally win a preliminary match, having lost his last three first matches at the state tournament and on Friday, J.P. overcame that hurdle when he pinned Frederickton junior Trent Rooke with 1:26 remaining in the second period for his 100th career pin.
“It feels good,” J.P. said after winning his first match. “The first match dictates a lot and it also gets the momentum going so I’m happy I went and got that first match out of the way. The first match is always the hardest and I feel more comfortable out there to just wrestle my style.”
For Coach Dave Wrobel, it was a great sight to see J.P. finally break down that wall. As his coach he was proud of J.P. but as his father he was even prouder.
“It is tough,” the 24th-year coach added. “It is definitely but he has done well and we have just taken it one match at a time.”
On Saturday, J.P. was eliminated from championship contention when he was pinned by Fairland junior C.J. Graham only 12 seconds into the first period. J.P. was aggressive and tried to throw Graham to the mat but Graham caught him in a vulnerable position and pinned him quickly.
J.P. bounced back in the blood round when dominated freshman Qwinton Howard from Crestview to win by a 17-1 technical fall, automatically becoming a state placer and advanced to the consolation semifinal bout when he defeated Covington senior Jericho Quinter 4-2.
Although J.P. had experienced a lot of success by quickly pinning his opponents, he was more than prepared to duel his opponents for the full six minutes.
“That’s what we always preached about this year,” J.P. said. “My conditioning had to be up and I feel like every single match this year, my conditioning was better than everyone else’s. I was tired but not as tired as I usually am and this year, I was tougher on conditioning because it really cost me the past two years.”
For J.P., wrestling for Crestwood for the last four years has been an experience he would not trade for the world. His final state tournament concluded his wrestling career and he plans to become a firefighter in Mantua when he graduates from high school.
According to him, the last four years have prepared him for this next chapter.
“It has taught me mental discipline and toughness so being a wrestler teaches you a lot in life,” J.P. said.
