Wed Mar 10 2010
by Michael Leonard
Sports Editor
Aurora -- Between the three of them, Nordonia's Tom Milkovich, Twinsburg's Dave Mariola and Aurora's Dick Bliss have more than 90 years of wrestling coaching experience.
That pedigree, and the storied nature of their respective programs, always makes the annual Cable 9 tri-meet more than just another backyard wrestling meet.
The Cable 9 Cup headed back to Twinsburg Jan. 30, as the Tigers defeated Nordonia 62-13 and Aurora 47-13. Aurora defeated Nordonia 51-22 as well.
All three coaches expressed admiration for each other.
"Both Dick and coach Mariola have done great jobs with their programs," Milkovich said. "I'm proud to be a part of this tri-meet. I just wish I had more to contribute."
"When I was coming up, Tom Mikovich was my favorite wrestler," Mariola said. "Coach Bliss had been coaching for years even before I got here. I have nothing but respect for both of them."
"I respect them both," Bliss said.
Nordonia also dropped a 52-31 loss to Cuyahoga Falls Jan. 28. The Knights' dual meet record stands at 4-7, 2-2 in Northeast Ohio Conference Lake Division.
Coming off a tough loss the previous night at Strongsville, Mariola said the sweep didn't make up for the loss, but could be a springboard for the rest of the season.
"We definitely needed this," Mariola said. "I'm happy with the younger guys and what they did. It gives them time to get better for next year."
Mariola got good performances from all over his lineup, as Twinsburg ended up sweeping the upperweight mat vs. Aurora.
Twinsburg saw 112-pounder Del Vinas, 125-pounder Grant Blumenthal, 152-pounder Waquiem Comar, 160-pounder Michael Baker, 189-pounder Drew Rader and heavyweight Brandon Bucknell all scored a pair of wins.
Radar also picked up the fastest pin award, as he stuck Aurora's Andrew Weaver in 39 seconds.
Blumenthal scored a win in the closest match of the day vs. Aurora's Devin Levan. Trailing 5-0 early on, Blumenthal rallied to get the tying takedown in the match's final moments to force overtime at 6-6. After no score in the first and second overtime, Blumenthal got the decisive reversal in the third overtime to score an 8-6 win.
"Grant's better than he sometimes shows," Mariola said. "Our riding today was very good."
Bliss indicated his team was missing several of its regular starters due to injury. However, Bliss also made it clear he was not pleased with the way his team wrestled.
"We did not wrestle very well today at all," Bliss said. "We left some points on the mat and we lost some matches that we should have won.
"I wish we would have had all of our guys here, because we might been able to make thing interesting against Twinsburg," Bliss added. "We didn't have enough firepower to beat Twinsburg today, but we could have made it more interesting."
Aurora had three double winners at the tri-meet, including 119-pounder Ty Mitch.
Mitch was involved in perhaps the biggest bout of the meet, as the two-time state champion faced Twinsburg All-Ohioan Mike Labry. Labry attempted to keep the match tight, but Mitch scored takedowns in the first and third period to score a 5-3 win.
Mitch also pinned Nordonia's Nathaniel Codner in 1:36 and was named outstanding wrestler of the tri-meet.
Aurora also got a pair of wins from 103-pounder Sean Armstrong and 135-pounder Tommy Gallagher.
The Greenmen also had 112-pounder DJ. Lieberth win 18-7, had Levan, 160-pounder Danny McNamara and Weaver score pins and had 189-pounder Matt Korosec and 215-pounder Dalton Stebbins score forfeit win vs. Nordonia.
The day was a bit long for the Knights, as Milkovich acknowledged his young team struggled against two veteran squads.
"It is what it is," Milkovich said. "I have a limited number of kids that I can run out there. I do have three very good kids, but [189-pounder Brian] Yurko is down right now with a sprained ankle."
Milkovich lauded senior 145-pounder Mike Benson, who got a pin and a forfeit win at the tri, while 130-pounder Mark Gupko picked up a pair of major decision wins. At 140 pounds, junior Clay Mulhall also picked up two wins.
Nordonia also got a win from sophomore 152-pounder Terrell Glen, who beat Aurora's Patrick Houlahan 4-2.
It's conference tournament time for all three teams this week. Twinsburg and Nordonia will participate in the Northeast Ohio Conference Tournament at Garfield Heights Feb. 5 and 6, while the Greenmen will wrestle at the Chagrin Valley Conference Tournament Feb. 5 and 6.
E-mail: mleonard@recordpub.com
Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3113
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