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Four Comets pin down conference championships
(by Tony Lange - February 08, 2012)
Four Comets pin down conference championships
By TONY LANGE
Four individual champions propelled Solon's wrestling team to a Northeast Ohio Conference championship last Saturday.
The Comets scored 183 points, which bested runner-up Elyria, which followed with 160.5 points, and the rest of the 18-team field during the two-day tournament.
Winning individual crowns for Solon were Brandon Thompson in the 113-pound weight class, Timothy Duran at 120, Anthony Collica at 145 and Justin Kresevic at 160 pounds.
Finishing as runner-up for the Comets was Shawn Williams in the 126-pound weight class.
During the consolation rounds, the Comets were as far back as sixth place and entered the semifinal bouts in third place, head coach Tony DiGiovanni said.
"We had a great weekend," he said with a hoarse voice he attributed to coaching at the tournament. "We kind of won the tournament in the semifinals. Taking five guys into the finals was big, and then winning four of those bouts was big. And the only bout we lost in the finals was a 1-0 match."
Also placing for the Comets, Daniel Clement finished fourth in the 106-pound weight class, Anthony Restifo finished fourth at 138 pounds and Philip Jagers was sixth at 220 pounds.
"We did not bring a heavyweight, but every kid we brought scored points," DiGiovanni said. "Every kid wrestled the second day, so that was kind of nice. That made it a complete team effort."
Solon, which finished sixth place at the Division I state wrestling tournament in 2011, is ranked ninth as a team this season by the Ohio High School Wrestling Coaches Association state poll.
For juniors Thompson and Collica, it was a repeat NOC title weekend. Thompson won the tournament at 103 pounds last year, and Collica won it at 130 pounds.
Both Thompson and Collica went on to win the state tournament in their respective weight classes last season.
This season, according to the Ohio wrestling rankings that use a rating percentage index, Thompson is ranked No. 1 in Ohio in the 113-pound weight class, and Collica is ranked second in the 145-pound weight class behind Perry's Zach Daily.
RPI is a mathematical system that ranks wrestlers based on current and past performances.
To get back on top of the winners' podium at the state tournament is difficult, if one thinks of it as a chore, DiGiovanni said.
"You have to look at it as another challenge or something that you want to do, not something that you hope to do," he said. "Anthony and Brandon are real good at taking criticism and responding to it without feeling like, 'Oh, man. The coach is never happy.' And the coaches, to be honest, we never are happy. We're proud of them. We're satisfied with a match when it's over, but we're not satisfied with what we're going to do for the next match."
Meanwhile, for seniors Duran and Kresevic, it was their first NOC titles. Last year, Duran placed fourth at 112 pounds, and Kresevic did not place.
It was not a big shock or a surprise to see Duran and Kresevic place first, DiGiovanni said.
"It was good to see them realize their capabilities. They're finally reaping some of their rewards," he said. "It feels real good, because we're rolling into the tournaments now, and when you think you're going to get something, that's the first step towards getting it, and so this helps them prepare in a more positive place for the coming tournaments ahead."
The sectional wrestling tournament begins at 3:45 p.m. Feb. 17 at Austintown-Fitch High School for Solon.
Before then, the Comets are focused on minimizing mistakes and improving natural tendencies, DiGiovanni said.
"Sometimes what a kid does naturally is wrong and happens to get him into trouble. And so we're trying to make it so that everything that they do by nature is right and that we eliminate the things they do that get them into trouble. So that's what we're fixing up."
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