Streetsboro Rockets’ wrestling Coach Mark Skonieczny said he wanted to not just see his experienced wrestlers advance to the district tournament but also some underclassmen make the cut as well. The Rockets advanced a nice mix of upper and underclassmen by having six wrestlers advance along with two district alternates to take fourth place with a score of 156.0 points last Saturday at the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division II sectional tournament at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron.
“The eliminating matches were heartbreaking matches,” the second-year coach noted. “They were matches that we were winning but lost it at the end. You have to learn off of those. It was an extremely great sectional, we held our own for most of it.”
Streetsboro wrestlers will fight to become state qualifiers when they return to action for the OHSAA Division II district tournament at Kenston High School staring on Friday at 5 p.m. in Bainbridge Township.
Streetsboro’s strong performance at the D-II sectional tournament was highlighted by having four wrestlers advance to the championship bracket and two winning sectional championships.
Sophomore 106-pounder Jarreau Walker repeated as the sectional champion by going 2-0 in his bracket.
“In both of those matches, he took the kid down three times and pinned him in the first period,” Skonieczny said. “He knows what he has to do and he is taking care of business just like you would expect. He is fun to watch and the more he wrestles, the more and more people start to follow him.”
Walker conquered Tallmadge sophomore Ryam Gurung in the semifinal by pinning him at the 1:24 mark of the first period and wrapped up the championship when he pinned freshman Max Galliazzo from Geneva with 41 seconds remaining in the first period.
The Rockets’ other champion was senior 120-pounder Matt Klimak, who went 3-0 to capture his first sectional title.
Matt advanced to the semifinal when he pinned Akron Archbishop Hoban senior Garrett Walters at the 1:31 mark of the second period, then earned a championship berth by pinning senior Lucas Distler from Geneva with 37 seconds remaining in the first period.
Matt capped off his day when he pinned Metro Athletic Conference rival junior Ronnie Ammons from Norton with 30 seconds left in the third period to clinch the title.
“When that match started, in the first 30 or 40 seconds of that match, Matt hit a single leg and brought it up and got into a scramble and that kid’s knee came up underneath Matt’s chin and popped him in the face and knocked him out cold,” noted Skonieczny. “He was a little off of his game, but as soon as he shook off the cobwebs in the third period, he got an escape and took the kid down and pinned him.”
Junior 126-pounder Anthony Sindelar was the runner-up in his bracket by going 2-1.
Sindelar dominated his quarterfinal bout by pinning Cleveland John F. Kennedy sophomore Tyshawn Stubbs at the 1:02 mark of the first period then earned a championship bid when he pinned sophomore Hunter Benham from St. Vincent-St. Mary with 1:03 remaining in the second period.
Sindelar then medically forfeited the championship match against Benedictine sophomore Devion Coffin. According to Skonieczny, Sindelar aggravated his shoulder injury in practice earlier in the week and the coaching staff decided that as long as he advanced to the championship match, they would pull him to give his shoulder some rest.
“Anthony is a competitor, and I will give him that and for missing 90% of the season and coming back in the room,” he added. “Having that thing move back out then standing on an elliptical for two days and going in there and dominating his two matches was pretty impressive.”
Senior 165-pounder Cohen Klimak posted a 2-1 record to earn a second-place finish.
“This is what he has been working for since day one,” Skonieczny said. “He is by far the most dedicated and by far the hardest working kid in the room in the last two years, so he is the first one in and the last one out.”
The Rockets’ senior overpowered MAC rival sophomore Jake Beddow from Norton in the quarterfinal by winning by a 17-2 technical fall, then defeated Benedictine senior Tristan Wilson in the semifinal by an 8-2 decision.
Cohen then fell to junior Rylan Hurley from St. Vincent-St. Mary, losing on a 7-2 decision.
Streetsboro’s other two district qualifiers were 113-pound sophomore Jayden Kittle, who went 2-2 to earn fourth place and senior 132-pound Justin Wargo, who snagged fourth place with a 4-2 record. Sophomore 150-pound Gerri Benci became a district alternate by taking fifth place with a 2-2 record and senior 285-pound Jayce Fedor also finished as a district alternate with a 3-2 record.
