C12  Sunday, March 12, 2017  |  THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH •
HIGH SCHOOLS
Wrestling
With title out of reach, Liberty still excels
By Ray Stein
The Columbus Dispatch
Mark Marinelli and his
Olentangy Liberty wres-
tling team came to the state
meet with designs on making
history by becoming central
Ohio’s first big-school team
champion.
That blueprint likely was
scrapped on the tourna-
ment’s first day when four
Liberty wrestlers lost their
opening matches, putting
the Patriots in an early hole
that only deepened when
three-time champion Kyle
Lawson lost in a quarterfinal
Friday.
But Marinelli and his
crew still were able to make
a statement on behalf of
Columbus-area wrestling at
Value City Arena, becom-
ing the first Central District
team to finish with more
than 100 points in the big-
school team standings.
Led by state champion
Brakan Mead and seven
other wrestlers who made
the podium by finishing
among the top eight, Liberty
totaled 122 points — 27 more
than it scored a year ago and
good enough for third place,
matching the best-ever
finish by a central Ohio team
in Division I.
As usual, Lakewood St.
Edward won the big-school
team title, with 151 points.
It was the Eagles’ 31st state
TOP
Continued from C1
Brakan Mead lost last year,
too. And the year before that.
The Liberty senior placed
second as a sophomore and
third as a junior, and was fed
up with coming up short.
He changed that in a big
way Saturday by scoring a
2-0 decision against Bryce
Hepner from Lakewood St.
Edward’s in the champion-
ship match at 113 pounds,
helping the Patriots secure
third place in Division I for
the second straight year.
“I wanted that win for
three years,” Mead said. “But
it’s not like it’s just me. I’m
backed by the community
and an amazing coaching
staff. It’s a pyramid. I’m at
the top but below that is so
much. I know when I go out
there it’s a family.”
Liberty coach Mark
Marinelli was thrilled for his
senior, who he described as a
“wrestling junkie.”
title and 19th in the past 21
years. Elyria was second
with 128.5, passing Liberty
with only four matches
remaining.
“We came here to win,”
Marinelli said.
“We have a 10-year plan,
and this year we thought
we’d have a great chance.
A couple of matches got
away.”
But the Patriots masked
any disappointment about
missing the big prize by rev-
eling in their resilience and
their 27-point improvement
from 2016, when they also
placed third.
“It’s a real good team,”
Marinelli said. “I told them,
I’m going to wake up tomor-
row and have a coffee and
a doughnut and the sun’s
going to come out whether
we win or lose. So why not
make it taste a little better?”
The Patriots tried to make
it as sweet as they could
Saturday, which began with
them trailing Elyria by 19.5
points.
Worse, the Patriots
learned before Saturday’s
matches that Lawson, who
won the 160-pound title for
Liberty as a junior and two
previous titles for St. Paris
Graham, would not wrestle
because of an injury suf-
fered in a consolation match
Friday.
“He hurt his knee on a
whip-through,” Marinelli
Dom Demas of Dublin Coffman celebrates after beating Trey Grenier of
Olentangy Liberty in the 145-pound final for his second title in three years.
[Kyle Robertson/Dispatch]
“He’s lived the journey and
paid the price,” Marinelli
said. “I’m so happy he won
it.”
The Central District picked
up a third state champion
when Circleville junior Nate
Keaton (113) scored a tight
1-0 win against Dominic
Liberty’s Brakan Mead and coach Mark Marinelli celebrate after Mead beat
Bryce Hapner of Lakewood St. Edward to win the Division I state title at
113 pounds. [Kyle Robertson/Dispatch]
said. “His meniscus locked
up on him. He wanted to
wrestle (Saturday) but we
wouldn’t let him.”
So Lawson defaulted to
a sixth-place finish, but
big performances by his
teammates in consolation
matches helped the Patriots
overtake Elyria by the start
Carone of Streetsboro.
“He was definitely ready
for this weekend,” said his
uncle, Circleville coach Brad
Keaton.
Central Ohio also experi-
enced some painful losses,
including Central Cross-
ing junior Jaden Mattox,
of the championship-match
session.
“We had a real good
morning,” Marinelli said.
“That’s when you know your
team is focused.”
Trevor Lawson, Kyle’s
younger brother, finished
third at 170 pounds, and
sophomore Connor Brady did
who dropped a 7-1 decision
to David Carr of Massillon
Perry at 152. Mattox was
trying to win his second con-
secutive title, having won at
132 last year. Now comes the
same path Demas faced.
“I would say to (Mattox),
‘Remember this moment,
because it’s the worst feeling
ever,’ ” Demas said.
But winning is the best, he
added.
After pinning Grenier 30
seconds into the second
period, Demas ran to the
stands to celebrate with his
family.
“I gave my mom a big
hug,” he said. “She had tears,
like she did last year. They’re
just a different kind of tears
this time.”
Davidson junior Gio
DiSabato (120) suffered a
tough 5-4 loss when Elyria’s
Brendon Fenton scored
a takedown with 42 sec-
onds left. DiSabato was
attempting to win the 17th
state championship for the
DiSabato family, a fixture
“We came here to win.
We have a 10-year
plan, and this year we
thought we’d have a
great chance. A couple of
matches got away.”
Coach Mark Marinelli
the same at 152. Jordan Rosselli
(120) and Mike Ezenekwe (220)
placed fourth, and Blake Saito
(106) was seventh.
Brady was especially key
after losing to eventual state
champion David Carr of Perry
in the second round. Not only
did Brady win all four of his
consolation matches, but he
recorded pins in each of them,
racking up valuable bonus
points.
“I came out there trying to
score the most points I could,”
Brady said. “I was hoping to
wrestle in the final, but that
didn’t happen. We wanted
to win, too, but that didn’t
happen, either. So we worked
to get the next-best thing.”
Mead’s title at 113 pounds
helped keep Liberty in front,
but Trey Grenier was beaten in
the 145-pound final and three
of Elyria’s four finalists won
titles to pull ahead.
“(Friday) I said we can’t
win them all. And this morn-
ing we tried to,” Marinelli
said. “I’m proud of them.”
rstein@dispatch.com
in the Columbus wrestling
community.
Coffman missed out on
a second champion when
Ben Frye (285) dropped a 5-2
decision to Kevin Vough of
Elyria.
Lakewood St. Edward’s
won its 31st Division I team
title, while St. Paris Graham
easily walked away with its
17th consecutive champi-
onship, and 19th overall, in
Division II. Mechanicsburg
collected the Division III
crown, highlighted by senior
Kaleb Romero (170) becom-
ing the 29th wrestler in
Ohio High School Athletic
Association history to win
four titles. Romero, who has
committed to Ohio State,
led the crowd in an O-H-I-
O cheer after pinning Brett
Vonderwall of Delphos St.
John’s 52 seconds into the
Division III match. His four-
year prep record is 202-3.
roller@dispatch.com
@rollerCD