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High school wrestling notes: Euclid's avenue going right way

Thursday, January 27, 2011

By John Kampf
JKampf@News-Herald.com

If you see Euclid coach Mike Turk these days, you will likely see him with a smile on his face.

It's not just because the Panthers, at 11-5 (4-0 in the Lake Erie League), are having their best season in recent memory.

For the first time in a long while, Turk has a full deck with which to play.

"We have our first full team in years," Turk said, "with underclassmen from 103-140 and a good upperclassmen core from 145-189 whom have taken a leadership role to teach our young guys what they must do to succeed."

A full lineup has made a big difference for Euclid. Instead of giving away free points via forfeits, the Panthers are competing from top to bottom.

Last week, Euclid went to Shaker Heights and came home with a convincing 48-27 win. A few days later, they played third in the TK Duals in Geneva, defeating Benedictine (57-24) and Conneaut (46-36) before losing to host Geneva (47-28).

"We only won one match against Geneva last year and were shut out against them the year before," Turk said, pointing out his program's marked improvement.

In the third-place match, Euclid defeated league foe Bedford, 40-32. Freshman Jeremy Adkins helped clinch the victory with a pin.

"We found out (Tuesday) after a doctor visit that Jeremy had a broken rib as he picked up those victories," Turk said.

Besides Jeremy Adkins, other standouts at the TK Duals were senior 145-pounder Zak Adkins (5-0 with five pins), senior 171-pounder Dylan Norwood (5-0) and junior 160-pounder Rynell Roper (5-0). All three have 29 wins already this season with plenty of time left to eclipse 40 wins.

As excited as he is about the season to date, in particular the previous week, Turk said his team is aware of the rigors that await them. For instance, the Panthers will join Mentor and Maple Heights in a triangular on Friday.

"They are all gaining confidence and coming together as a family," Turk said. "It has, thus far, been a very rewarding season, but it gets tougher in the coming weeks. (Friday's triangular) should tell us where we are and what we need to improve on."

More on Friday

Mentor will hold an alumni night on Friday as part of its triangular against visiting Euclid and Maple Heights. The match starts at 6 p.m.. All Mentor alumni are asked to arrive between 6:30 and 6:45 p.m. Alumni members will be announced prior to Mentor's match with Maple Heights, a tradition-rich bout that dates back to the old Greater Cleveland Conference.

Maple and Euclid will wrestle at 6, followed by Mentor and Maple, with the Cardinals and Panthers wrestling in the finale.