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Mogadore home at last; slew of coaching changes
By Nate Ulrich
Beacon Journal sportswriter
Published on Thursday, Dec 06, 2007
As the high school wrestling season begins this week, one of the most prestigious tournaments in the country will invade Cuyahoga Falls.
The 14th annual Ironman tournament will begin at 1 p.m. Friday at Walsh Jesuit High School. The quarterfinals of the double-elimination tournament will start at 10 a.m. Saturday.
Ironman, which had about 430 participants last year, is noted for attracting some of the nation's elite wrestlers. Of the 14 Ironman champions from 2006, 13 went on to win either state or national prep titles last season.
''About three years ago, St. Edward coach Greg Urbas said, 'The Ironman is where state champs go to die,''' Ironman co-director Bob Preusse said. ''Nobody has figured (the number) out, but we've even had a couple of four-time state champions come here from out of state and not even place.''
National powerhouses Lakewood St. Edward, Blair Academy (New Jersey)
and St. Paris Graham all return after placing in the top three at Ironman last year.
''If you want to see the best wrestling in the country, that's the place to go,'' said Walsh Jesuit coach Bill Barger, who helped start the tournament in 1994. ''It has taken years, but in the last four or five years, it's morphed into an animal. The thing is already sold out. It's out of control.''
Perry junior Sam White (112 pounds) and Wadsworth sophomore Brad Squire (130) are defending state champions who will highlight a contingent of area wrestlers at Ironman.
White and Perry senior Dan Genetin (125) each placed fifth at Ironman last year. Squire and the rest of the Grizzlies wrestling team will compete in Ironman for the first time.
''We finally got the schedule worked out so we can do it,'' Wadsworth coach John Gramuglia said. ''We're really honored to represent our community at the best tournament in the country.''
Brunswick senior Richie Spicel (140), who won a state title as a freshman and went 43-1 on his way to a second-place finish at the state tournament as a junior, will compete in his first Ironman.
Walsh Jesuit senior Chase Skonieczny (135) and CVCA senior Jared Kusar (152) finished second and fourth, respectively, at Ironman last season.
No place like home
Mogadore will host a match for the first time in about seven years when it faces off against Waterloo and Woodridge in a Portage Trail Conference County Division tri-match at 6 tonight at Mogadore High School, Wildcats coach Tim Bracken said.
Bracken said the construction of a new high school and lack of wrestlers for a few years led to Mogadore being forced to wrestle on the road for several years.
''It's a great time,'' Bracken said. ''I don't have to get on a bus and drive to another PTC school and wrestle and then go all the way back to Mogadore. I'm glad we're going to be at home and be able to showcase what these kids have worked so hard on.''
Vikings back in City
North will have a wrestling team for the first time since 1996. Charles Burger, a 2000 North graduate, will be head coach.
''It's not just helpful for our school, it's also helpful for the City Series, period,'' said Burger, who is also an assistant football coach at North. ''The more people that we have participating in the City, the more it's going to help the City. I don't want these kids who have a lot of athletic talent to waste it.''
The Vikings last won a City Series title in the 1991-1992 season.
Coaching changes
Mike Whitmore, who coached wrestling at Brown Middle School in Ravenna for the past 21 years, replaced Derick Fletcher as coach at Ravenna High School. He inherits a team that placed second at the Division II state tournament last season.
Joe Retherford, a 1991 graduate of Ravenna and former Kent State University wrestler, replaced Anthony Gary as St. Vincent-St. Mary's head coach.
Gene Leonard, who has been an assistant at Norton for the past five years, replaced Doug Turchin as Panthers coach. Leonard's son, Drew, is a senior who went 33-8 and finished sixth in the 135-pound weight class at the Division II tournament last season.
Randy Glover has taken over for Dan Gnabah as the coach at GlenOak. Glover, who has 19 years of experience as a coach, guided three teams to state titles: Coventry in 1993 and 1996 and St. Vincent-St. Mary in 2001.
Brian Dolph has become Greg Donahue's successor as North Canton Hoover's coach. Dolph graduated from Hoover in 1985 and went on to wrestle at Indiana University, where he won an NCAA championship at 150 pounds.
Richard Lann, who was an assistant coach under Ralph Paonessa at Archbishop Hoban for the past five years, is now at the helm of the Knights' program. Lann is a 1981 graduate of Archbishop Hoban.
Aaron Martell, a 2002 graduate of Dalton and a former wrestler at Mount Union College, has become the third head coach at Fairless in four years.
As the high school wrestling season begins this week, one of the most prestigious tournaments in the country will invade Cuyahoga Falls.
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