The Olmsted Falls wrestling team went 2-0, with wins over Avon (60-11) and Lakewood (78-0) to cap off an impressive Southwestern Conference dual meet on Jan. 21.
Avon and Westlake each went 1-1, while Lakewood went 0-2.
“We just kind of stayed with our plan,” Olmsted Falls coach Bryce Burkhard said. “That’s what we’re looking to do every time.”
Olmsted Falls and Avon entered undefeated in the conference, and Burkhard said they got a good look at Avon at the Bill Dies tournament last weekend.
“We wanted to get on them early and often,” he said. “No letdowns at all.”
One highlight Burkhard pointed to was Alec Kirby (145 pounds) picking up a 4-1 win over Avon’s Jack Gothier, avenging a 2-1 loss at the Bill Dies tournament.
“That was an awesome showing there,” Burkhard added.
“I’m glad I was able to get that win,” Kirby said. “It just helped a lot with my mentality. My ultimate is goal is always to get on the podium and stay. And I know wrestling these high-caliber matches like that, it gets me ready. It gives me confidence moving forward knowing what I can do.”
Additionally, Noah Broski (152) and Jaden Mendeluk (170) each had two pins for the Bulldogs. Noel Caraballo (182) earned two forfeits, Brice Locklear (160) one pin and one forfeit, Michael Shaw (106) one pin and one tech fall, and Jihad Salti (120) picked up two forfeits.
The Bulldogs are 12-0.
“I think that’s a goal for us,” Burkhard said of going undefeated. “It carries your momentum into the tournament. We want to use all the momentum we can heading into that one day tournament.”
Avon is 6-1 in the SWC and 13-3 overall. Despite losing to Olmsted Falls, Coach Porter gave high praise to them.
“They’re the best dual team we’ve wrestled this year,” he added. “They’re pretty special. They have the potential to be a top-10 team in March.”
http://www.morningjournal.com/sports/20160121/high-school-wrestling-olmsted-falls-goes-2-0-against-swc-rivals