Liberty experiences of day of ups and downs
Friday began with disappointment for Olentangy Liberty.
Liberty left the second day of the state wrestling tournament at Value City Arena with a potential points total coach Mark Marinelli called “pretty good.”
Two Patriots — senior Brakan Mead at 113 pounds and senior Trey Grenier at 145 — are on to the state finals and a total of eight wrestlers are in position to place.
Kyle Lawson, a threetime state champion, once each at 138, 152 and 160 pounds, fell 3-2 to Wadsworth's Cody Surratt in a quarterfinal at 160 pounds after he could not break free for a match-tying escape point in the third period.
"The kid he wrestled was really good,” Marinelli said. “That kid earned it. He was really good."
Lawson returned in the afternoon to win two matches in the consolation bracket. With two additional wins today, the Oklahoma recruit can take third in the 160-pound bracket.
His brother, Trevor, experienced an equally heartbreaking loss in a semifinal at 170 pounds, a 1-1 tie with Massillon Perry’s Emil Soehnlen turning into a 3-1 defeat with a takedown in the final 10 seconds.
Still, a handful of deep bracket runs have the Patriots third in the Division I team standings entering the tournament’s final day. Liberty (87 points) trails Lakewood St. Edward (129) and Elyria (106.5).
“Pretty good,” Marinelli reiterated of his team’s first two days. “I mean, a couple matches we could have done a little bit better, but you can’t win 'em all.”
Demas makes another final
Another year, another state final for Dublin Coffman senior Dom Demas.
His Division I 145pound semifinal against Nevan Snodgrass of Kettering Fairmont was tight throughout. His largest lead in the match was 2-0, but he didn’t sweat things too much on his way to a 2-1 victory.
Now he’s on to the final against Liberty senior Trey Grenier, marking Demas’ third time in a final in his high school career. Demas won at 138 pounds in 2015 and finished second last year at 145, the latter a moment he said produced “tons of motivation.”
“That was the worst feeling in the world,” he said. “Coming up and seeing my parents who relied on me just glassyeyed. Some people were crying. It’s something I told myself I can’t do again.” It’s clear Demas has been in this situation before. Activity by activity, he mapped out the rest of the weekend.
“Go home, get a haircut, watch a couple movies with my friends, eat breakfast in the morning, plan to win a state title, then go to church the next day,” he said.
No pain, no gain
West Jefferson senior Jake Burns suffered a painful double-whammy in his quarterfinal against Daniel Beemer of Ottawa-Glandorf. The first wham came in the first period when Beemer’s chin collided with the back of Burns’ head, opening a cut requiring stitches. After forcing overtime with an escape with three seconds left in regulation, the second wham arrived in extra time, when one official ruled Burns the winner after scoring a reversal. But the second official waved off the winning points, determining Burns had insufficient control. Beemer went on to win 9-5 in a tiebreaker.
Final count
In addition to Demas, Mead and Grenier, four other central Ohio wrestlers will compete for a state title today, including Central Crossing’s Jaden Mattox at 152 pounds, Hilliard Davidson’s Gio DiSabato at 120 pounds and Dublin Coffman’s Ben Frye at 285 pounds in Division I and Circleville’s Nate Keaton at 113 pounds in Division II.