High school wrestling: Highland captures first league title since 1996

CUYAHOGA FALLS — The Highland wrestling team finally got the monkey off its back Saturday at the Suburban League Tournament, as the Hornets won the American Conference for their first league championship since 1996. "Jeez, I did not know that it's been (that long)," senior James Scavuzzo said. "It's pretty cool. I'm glad that we were able to get that done before I finished off my high school (career)." Scavuzzo pinned Wadsworth's Adam Ryder with 26 seconds remaining in the first period to win at 157 pounds and become Highland's only champion. He led the Hornets, who placed 12 to topple defending champion Aurora 304½-266½. "I haven't won a (SL championship) before in the four years I've been in high school," Scavuzzo said. "I was excited to get that one under my belt. I think we've got one of the hardest conferences in the state of Ohio, so it's pretty good to get to the top of the podium at this tournament." Highland technically placed fourth out of the 15-team field, with the first three spots going to National Conference members. Brecksville edged Wadsworth for the National Conference championship 408-394½, while Nordonia was third with 306½. The Grizzlies placed 14, including five champions. The Bees recorded four champions and had another four reach the finals. Perhaps the highlight for Wadsworth came when 126-pound senior Mason Brugh earned a 5-3 overtime victory over Brecksville's Kaden Jett in a rematch of a contest that Jett won 2-1 in extra time earlier in the month. Brugh overcame third-period controversy when he was penalized two points in the final 21 seconds to tie at 3 for two infractions. He was cautioned four times in the match. "I'm not going to lie. I was pretty (ticked) off about four cautions in one match, and only one of them I think was actually me," Brugh said. "You've got to keep your head straight and push through adversity, and I wanted that takedown bad. "Jett is a great competitor and a great person, too. He's one of my best friends." Prior to Brugh's championship, sophomore Jaxon Joy earned a second-period technical fall over Highland's Joey Vazsonyi to win at 120 for the Grizzlies' first title. "It feels really good to win a Suburban League championship," Joy said. "I felt good on my feet all tournament and that last match was good. I just went into every match the same way, trying to score as many points as I can." Vazsonyi was the first of three Hornets to reach the finals before falling into second place, still helping Highland to overtake Aurora. Vazsonyi reached the final by defeating North Royalton's Mannix Wasco in overtime in a match that gave him a cut over his left eye. "Our whole team has been together since we were 5 or 6 years old and waiting for this moment almost our whole lives," Vazsonyi said. "It's really nice to succeed in this accomplishment." The league championship for Highland completed a mission of a team led by six seniors of validating the belief they had in each other. "We've been working to be Suburban League champions for a long time, so it feels great," said William Scavuzzo, who finished second at 165. "There's been a lot of talk about this Highland team being pretty tough and it's good that we can finally show it. We're not just on paper good, we came in here and showed it." In the final match of the night and third head-to-head finals clash between Wadsworth and Highland, the Grizzlies' Aaron Ries earned a 3-2 over Joey Scally at 285 pounds. "I got named the Suburban League champion last year, but it wasn't the same because I didn't get to wrestle in the tournament," Ries said of last year's tournament that was canceled. "This is awesome." The action Saturday treated everyone to outstanding wrestling in one of Ohio's most difficult conference tournaments with potential state qualifiers everywhere and possible district final matches happening in pool competition. Wadsworth's David Shue completed his journey by earning a 3-1 decision over Israel Petite in the 138 final. "It's been one of my goals all of high school to win a Suburban League title, and I'm super happy to finally achieve that," Shue said. "You've got tough teams like Brecksville, Aurora, Nordonia and you've got to battle. The biggest part about that is you're going to be seeing a lot of these guys at the district and state (tournaments)." The Grizzlies' final championship was won by Christopher Earnest, who had a second-period pin of Aurora's Nic Willingham at 150. "It's very exciting," Earnest said. "Ever since I was little I've always wanted to be Suburban League champion. We have a thing in our room with a list of all of our Suburban League champions and I've always wanted to get my name on that board." In the end, the day belonged to Highland ending a 26-year drought. "It's pretty cool to win the conference," Scally said. "We talked about it growing up and our coaches really pushed us this year to be those teams (that win), instead of looking up to those teams. We've got the be the ones to beat." Contact John Urchek at jurchek@medina-gazette.com. Results Team standings: 1. Brecksville 408, 2. Wadsworth 394½, 3. Nordonia 306½, 4. Highland 304½, 5. Aurora 266½, 6. North Royalton 240, 7. Stow 231½, 8. Barberton 179½, 9. Hudson 110, 10. Revere 101, 11. Copley 84, 12. Twinsburg 72½, 13. Kent Roosevelt 66, 14. Tallmadge 56, 15. Cuyahoga Falls 15. 106 — Brett Stanley (Br) d. Javaan Yarbrough (Co), 5-2; Third: Johnny Green (A) d. Jack Dinwiddie (W), 7-0; Fifth: Sal Bonacuse (Re) d. Keegan Prothero (H), 4-3. 113 — Codie Cuerbo (A) ff. Harrison Haffner (Br); Fifth: Joey Calarco (NR) p. Peyton Halleck (W), 2:32. 120 — Jaxon Joy (W) t.f. Joey Vazsonyi (H), 25-9 (3:48). 126 — Mason Brugh (W) d. Kaden Jett (Br), 5-3 (OT); Third: Corey Haney (H) d. Collin Grady (Tw), 9-2. 132 — Chase Pluhar (Br) d. Zane VanVoorhis (Co), 4-2 (OT); Third: Robert Davis (S) d. Kade Mellon (W), 5-4; Seventh: Joey Zywiec (H) p. Josh Kurilko (Ba), 4:32. 138 — David Shue (W) d. Israel Petite (N), 3-1; Third: Chase Crutchley (H) d. David Zambounis (Br), 3-1. 144 — Manny Scordos (Br) d. Bo DiJulius (A), 5-4; Fifth: Nick Humphrys (W) d. Zisimos Giatis (H), 3-1. 150 — Christopher Earnest (W) p. Nic Willingham (A), 3:26; Third: Mason Valencia (Ba) d. Creed Hill (H), 5-1. 157 — James Scavuzzo (H) p. Adam Ryder (W), 1:34. 165 — Tyler Lillard (A) d. William Scavuzzo (H), 5-3; Seventh: Inti Cerrato (NR) d. Brody Grimm (W), 3-2. 175 — Luke Vanadia (Br) p. Kyle Sandborn (NR), 1:12; Fifth: Louis Schaefer (W) p. Aden Schwartz (Ta), 2:58. 190 — Dylan Fishback (A) p. Shawn Earle (Br), 0:50; Third: Coen Grimm (W) d. Will Edmondson (S), 3-1; Seventh: Dominic Konopka (H) m.d. Dante Ciulli (NR), 13-4. 215 — Roosevelt Andrews (Ba) p. Max Vanadia (Br), 1:55; Third: Maverick Blackburn (W) p. Andrew Oster (NR), 4:41; Fifth: Danny Giannini (H) ff. Quinn Gorman (Au). 285 — Aaron Ries (W) d. Joey Scally (H), 3-2.