High school wrestling: Buckeye wins MIT going away`

MEDINA — At the start of the season, coach Mike Tecco had his eyes on this week when he set forth a challenge for his Buckeye wrestling team. The Bucks completed the mission Thursday by winning the Medina Invitational Tournament for the first time, bettering multiple thirds. It also was the first time a Medina County school won since Wadsworth completed a run of three titles in 2018. "A month out from this tournament, (Tecco) told us we were going to win," senior Todd Allen said. "It feels great, because it's the first time in Buckeye history to win this tournament and we won it by quite a bit." Allen provided the exclamation point when the 2021 state champion topped Galion state qualifier Alex Griffin 5-1 in the 285-pound championship. Colyn Limbert (113) and Eddie Neitenbach (175) joined Allen as champions as Buckeye blew away the competition with 243 points, well ahead of second-place Wauseon (165.5). Highland (144.5), the top Division I team, finished third as Lukas Stiles won at 215 with a 10-3 decision over Beachwood state alternate Uzonna Nzekwe. The Hornets, who are awaiting the return of state qualifier Chase Crutchley (broken jaw), placed seven wrestlers. While his family has a long history with the M.I.T., Stiles became the first to climb to the top of the podium. "My dad (Michael Stiles) and my uncle (Medina assistant coach Wade Chapman) both used to wrestle in this tournament, so it means a lot that I got to get the win," Stiles said. "Getting this win can do a lot for (my confidence). Obviously, it's a long run with sectional, district, state, but this is a really cool accolade to have." Senior Andrew Supers broke a 10-year streak of the host Bees going without a champion at the self-proclaimed "Greatest Show in Wrestling" when he won 4-0 over Ashland's Jon Metzger, who placed fifth at state last year. Teddy Hammer was the last Medina wrestler to win at the M.I.T., doing so at 138 in 2011. "This is the tournament that I've been looking forward to the most," said Supers, whose team was 14th with 78.5 points. "This tournament does a great job of preparing us for the rest of the season, and it's right at the top in terms of importance for us because it's in our home gym." Limbert was given the Brian Brakeman/Mike Massa Most Valuable Wrestler Award after defeating Columbia's Cole Schulke in the 113 final for his team's first title. He rode a dominant first period that gave him a 6-2 lead to a 7-4 decision in a battle of last season's third-place finishers in D-II and D-III. "He got the first takedown, but I just stayed down in my stance to defend it, because I knew it was going to come again," Limbert said. "I stayed patient waiting for my opportunity to score and I got it in the first period with that cradle." Neitenbach won an all-Medina County final at 175 when he pinned Medina's Blaine Chrisman in 23 seconds. It was the fastest of five first-round pins for the two-time state qualifier, who won the award for the most pins in the shortest amount of time (5:38). "The game plan (all tournament) was to get a couple takedowns and then get the pin," Neitenbach said. "That was my mindset, and I wasn't going to let anyone stop me. For the final, I just wanted to go out there and get it done as quick as possible." In addition to its three champions, Buckeye saw freshman Blake Bartos reach the finals at 106, where he lost to nationally ranked junior Javaan Yarbrough of Copley. The Bucks had 10 wrestlers place. Medina, Brunswick and Cloverleaf each placed two. The Blue Devils (60.5) had Eddie Skiba take fifth at 113 and Vinnie Skiba place sixth at 120. Timmy Shores placed sixth at 285 to lead Colts (51), who also saw Tristan Craddock (150) take seventh. Contact John Urchek at jurchek@medina-gazette.com. Results Standings: 1. Buckeye 243, 2. Wauseon 165.5, 3. Highland 144.5, 4. Mayfield 125.5, 5 Avon Lake 118.5, 6. Beavercreek 106.5, 7. Miami East 105, 8. Clarkston (MI) 101.5, 9. Galion 95, 10. Ashland 94.5, 11. Genoa 92, 12. Solon 83, 13. Austintown-Fitch 82.5, 14. Medina 78.5, 15. Columbia 77.5, 16. Oak Harbor 72, 17. Brunswick 60.5, 18. New Lexington 60, 19. Firelands 59, 20. Delta 55, 21. Westerville North 52, 22. Cloverleaf 51, 23. Avon 48, 24. Northmor 47, 25. Copley 44.5, 26. Beachwood 41, 27. Hilliard Darby 39, 28. Hoover 36.5, 29. Upper Arlington 36, 30. Olentangy 33, 31. Mansfield 32, 32. North Ridgeville 30, 33. Bedford 29.5, 34. Northwest 25, 35. Otsego 24, 36. Lutheran West 17, 37. Olmsted Falls 13, 38. Brownsburg 11, 39. Elyria Catholic 4, 40. Wellington 0. 106 — Javaan Yarbrough (Cop) d. Blake Bartos (Buck), 9-5. 113 — Colyn Limbert (Buck) d. Cole Schulke (Col), 7-4; Fifth — Eddie Skiba (Brun) d. Carter Slubowski (HD), 6-5. 120 — Cooper Shore (ME) m.d. Trevor Wilcox (Ot), 21-7; Fifth — Corbyn Jones inj. def. Vinnie Skiba (Brun). 126 — Ruben Pina-Lorenzana (Fir) d. Collin Twigg (Wau), 4-2. 132 — Vinnie D'Alessandro (May) d. Malakhi Sharpley (Sol), 3-0; Third — Zaden Torres (Wau) m.d. Niko Giatis (High), 13-0; Fifth — Jesse Badiu (Buck) d. Daniel Jang (UA), 3-0. 138 — Nathan Perry (AL) m.d. Carson Campbell (Nor), 8-0; Third — Conner Haney (High) d. Aydan Reyes (Gal), 10-3. 144 — Augusta Anderson (Clar) d. Benicio Torres (Wau), 8-6; Third — Zisimos Giatis (High) d. Aaron Mills (ME), 6-5; Seventh — Riley Atkins (Av) d. Nick Brunst (Buck), 3-0. 150 — Hunter Martin (Beav) p. Breadan Beck (May), 3:31; Third — Creed Hill (High) d. Alex Boske (Hoo), 11-4; Fifth — Authur Croom (A-F) d. Nolan Martin (Buck), 3-2; Seventh — Tristan Craddock (Clov) p. Andrew Davis (WN), 2:25. 157 — Andrew Supers (Med) d. Jon Metzger (Ash), 4-0; Third — Kaden King (Buck) m.d. Kale Waxler (Wau), 12-0. 165 — Zaidan Kessler (Wau) p. Jack Marconi (AL), 3:10; Seventh — Brandon Hayner (Buck) p. Garrett Szuch (Col), 2:35. 175 — Eddie Neitenbach (Buck) p. Blaine Chrisman (Med), 0:23; Seventh — Chance Snow (Wau) d. Mathew Haney (High), 3-1. 190 — Trent Thomas (Bed) m.d. Hayden Garrow (Col), 15-3; Third — Dillon Badiu (Buck) inj. def. Leo Hess (Man). 215 — Lukas Stiles (High) d. Uzonna Nzekwe (Beac), 10-3. 285 — Todd Allen (Buck) d. Alex Griffin (Gal), 5-1; Fifth — Dustin Winner (ME) d. Timmy Shores (Clov), 2-1 (OT); Seventh — Brady Bendau (High) p. Lewis Gallagher (AL), 1:33.