Week Six: Geneva T.K.Duals

The wrestling team traveled to Geneva for the T.K. Duals this past weekend.
They were competing in a team pool dual meet competition. In their pool were the host Geneva Eagles, Benedictine, and Conneaut. The other pool was Jefferson, Bedford, John Marshall, and Manchester. The top two teams from each pool would meet for a first place match, and so on.
Our first match was against Benedictine and we came out strong with a 57-24 victory.
Next up was Geneva, who shut us out three years ago and who only one wrestler won last year against. We started slow with the lower weights, but then started wrestling well in the middle. The final score was a respectable 47-28 defeat, but a big improvement over the last two years.
Next up was Conneaut. A victory would send us to the third place match against the 2-1 team from the other gym. The match again did not start well with the grapplers losing the first two matches before Darsheed Mustafa picked up a win. The next two matches were losses that put the team down by the score of 24 to 6. The upperclassmen then got us back on track, led by Zak Adkins, David Cozart, Rynell Roper, and Dylan Norwood all getting pins and six team points. This pushed us into the lead 30-24. Lamar Gunter posted a 12-4 major decision to increase our lead to 34-24. Noah Brown was pinned in 30 seconds and Conneaut was now behind 34-30 going into the heavyweight match. Sophomore Linje Ross attacked his opponent off the opening whistle and secured the pin in 11 seconds. Next up was the 103 class with the Panthers holding a 40-30 lead. Freshman Ebrahim Elbagory was facing Alesha Zappitella, a nationally ranked female wrestler, with only two matches left. He was overwhelmed and pinned in 14 seconds by Alesha, thus setting up the climatic ending. The Panthers held a 40-36 lead with Freshman Jeremy Adkins wrestling for the win. Jeremy scored first with a takedown but was penalized with a locking hands call for a 2-1 lead after the first period. Starting from the down position, Jeremy scored a reversal and 2 near fall points, but then was reversed. The score was now 6-3 when Jeremy got another reversal and the pin in 3:46. He helped secure the 46-36 victory as the team went wild. What a big win by the freshman.
The wrestlers then went to the other gym to see who they would face in the third place match. Bedford and Jefferson were battling it out. The final score was a tie, 33-33. It came down to tie-breakers and Bedford came out on top. We would face the Bearcats, a L.E.L. foe, for the third place match.
Bedford struck first with a 14 second pin in the 125lb. match. We then countered with a pin at 130lb. Bedford then won two more by pin to take a 18-6 lead. Zak Adkins got us back on track with a 52 second pin before David Cozart lost by pin to Devonte Smith of Bedford. After six matches, the score was 24-12 Bedford. Rynell Roper ignited a streak with a major decision. Dylan Norwood pinned in 3:27 and Lamar Gunter had a 6-0 decision to push the team ahead 25-24. Noah Brown lost by a major decision 12-2 and Bedford took the lead 28-25. Linje Ross stepped up big time with a pin in the second period to put the team up 31-28. Ebrahim Elbagory won by forfeit to make the score 37-28 with two matches to go. If Jeremy Adkins could win at 112, it didn't matter what the outcome of the last match would be. After a scoreless first period, Bedford escaped to start the second and nobody could secure a takedown. Going into the third period, the score was 1-0. Jeremy had his own escape and tied the score up. There were some failed attempts at takedowns the rest of the period and regulation time ended with the score 1-1. In the one minute overtime period, Jeremy set up his shot and secured the takedown to win 3-1. This win was big because it brought home the dual victory and the third place finish for our team. Mike Figer lost a hard fought battle in the last match to make the final score 40-32.
What a great finish, especially a year after a last place showing at the same dual tournament. The team is really coming together and we are quietly putting up a great season. The wins on Saturday push our overall record to 11-5 and 4-0 in the L.E.L. I could not be any happier right now for the wrestlers. Keep it up!