High school wrestling: Pins cause problems for Brunswick at GCC quad

MEDINA — The Brunswick wrestling team entered its final Greater Cleveland Conference matches at Medina aiming to win the league outright. Instead, the Blue Devils were dealt a pair of disappointing losses. First, Mentor repeated as GCC champion by beating Brunswick 44-28 and then clinched the title outright with a 72-9 win over Euclid. The Blue Devils then lost to Medina on criteria after the match was tied at 35 due to the Bees finishing with four pins to Brunswick's three. Pins were a problem all night for the Blue Devils (5-3, 4-2), as Mentor got six of its eight victories that way. "It starts in the practice room, honestly," Blue Devils senior Devin McCartin said. "Our coaches coach us for these hard moments, and we've got to take advantage of that. We can't give up pins. That's a big thing. "We've got to keep improving. We don't have a lot of matches left, but we've got to capitalize as the season comes to a close and postseason approaches." McCartin joined Nate Friedl (113), Jacob Kash (132) and Brayden Miles (144) in winning two matches for the Blue Devils. For Medina, it was a strong way to close the conference season by also beating Euclid 66-10 to move to 4-2 overall and in the GCC. After Brunswick's Michael Dunlevy got a forfeit win at 215 pounds, the Bees trailed 35-23 and needed pins from Cliff Nicholson (285) and Dominic DiFilippo (106) in the final two matches. Both delivered, with Nicholson pinning Andy Dalgliesh in the first period and DiFilippo pinning Tegan Matousek in the second. "I needed the pin," DiFilippo said. "I just tried to get it as fast as I could. I got it done. I couldn't get him turned in the first period, so I knew I had to go a little harder in the second period." Also winning by pinfall for Medina against the Blue Devils was Taegan Gilmore (120) and Michael Kessler (138). Aiden Supers (157) and Nick Kaplack (175) each won two contested matches for the Bees. "It feels good to get it back-to-back and just rolling our momentum to focus on our next tournament (the Josh Hephner Memorial) tomorrow," Nicholson said. "The duals felt relaxed and now we're ready for our last (regular-season) tournament." In both of its matches, Brunswick built a lead but was unable to protect it late. Against Medina, Gavin Devich (190) preceded Dunlevy's forfeit by pinning Aaron Tyson to break a 23-23 tie after Kaplack pinned Logan Matousek at 175. Against Mentor, Brunswick built a 28-16 lead with Miles beating Landon Opatrny by technical fall at 144, McCartin earning an 11-7 decision at 150 against Sal Masiello and Travis Latta winning by 14-5 major decision against Jack Lisachenko at 157. Mentor went on to win the last five matches, four by pin and one by major decision. Brunswick also will compete in the Hephner and doesn't have much time to lick its wounds. "It sucks, but we kind of have to let it go," Miles said. "We have a tournament tomorrow and Saturday, one more competition after that and then it's the postseason. Now we're onto the part of the year where you don't really have an extra life to play with. That's where our focus needs to shift to." For both teams the mentality is beginning to transition to being ready for the postseason and making a run to the state tournament. "I'm starting to climb," McCartin said. "I've got to have a good weekend and keep improving. I'm just hoping to make a state push my senior year and I want to take everyone, our full lineup, to the state tournament. That's the goal." The Bees also are excited to be peaking at the right time. "I'm confident within my work," Nicholson said. "I work hard and focus on my technique, and as I continue to build on my confidence, I believe I'll excel." Contact John Urchek at jurchek@medina-gazette.com. Medina 35, Brunswick 35 (Medina wins on criteria) 106 — Dominic DiFilippo (M) p. Tegan Matousek, 3:00. 113 — Nate Friedl (B) p. Evan Mitchell, 3:31. 120 — Taegan Gilmore (M) p. Davis Hulvalchick, 1:12. 126 — Tyler Bradshaw (M) m.d. Jackson Hulvalchick, 19-5. 132 — Jacob Kash (B) d. Cooper Lavender, 11-7. 138 — Michael Kessler (M) p. Nick Petrokas, 2:45. 144 — Brayden Miles (B) t.f. Kingston McDowell, 19-4. 150 — Devin McCartin (B) m.d. Jack Storm, 12-2. 157 — Aiden Supers (M) d. Travis Latta, 9-6. 165 — Carter Wickes (B) t.f. Tyler Wilson, 23-5. 175 — Nick Kaplack (M) m.d. Logan Matousek, 11-2. 190 — Gavin Devich (B) p. Aaron Tyson, 0:28. 215 — Michael Dunlevy (B) fft. 285 — Cliff Nicholson (M) p. Andy Dalgliesh, 1:35. Mentor 44, Brunswick 28 106 — Frankie Noga (M) p. Tegan Matousek, 4:45. 113 — Nate Friedl (B) p. Hunter Klasch, 1:07. 120 — Jackson Hulvalchick (B) t.f. Dawson Barnes, 18-3. 126 — Jack Cuff (M) m.d. Davis Hulvalchick, 10-0. 132 — Jacob Kash (B) t.f. Grant Kilfoyle, 21-3. 138 — Colton Pollock (M) p. Nick Petrokas, 3:28. 144 — Brayden Miles (B) t.f. Landon Opartny, 17-2. 150 — Devin McCartin (B) d. Sal Masiello, 11-7. 157 — Travis Latta (B) m.d. Jack Lisachenko, 14-5. 165 — Preston Bogel (M) p. Carter Wickes, 2:22. 175 — Caiden Clair (M) m.d. Logan Matousek, 13-2. 190 — Liam Lloyd (M) p. Gavin Devich, 1:20. 215 — Ben McWilliams (M) p. Mihael Dunlevy,0:39. 285 — Josh Smelcer (M) p. Andy Dalgliesh, 2:10. Medina 66, Euclid 10 106 — Dominic DiFilippo (M) fft. 113 — Evan Mitchell (M) p. DeVan Harrell-Benson, 3:25. 120 — Taegan Gilmore (M) fft. 126 — Tyler Bradshawn (M) fft. 132 — Mikhail Stitt (E) m.d. Cooper Lavender, 14-4. 138 — Michael Kessler (M) fft. 144 — Kingston McDowell (M) p. William Bruce, 1:15. 150 — Jack Storm (M) p. Dillon Walsh, 2:49. 157 — Aiden Super (M) p. Joshua Murphy, 1:49. 165 — Tyler Wilson (M) fft. 175 — Nick Kaplack (M) p. Jahi Glover, 3:05. 190 — dbl. fft. 215 — Dylan Boufford (E) p. Aaron Tyson, 1:31. 285 — Cliff Nicholson (M) fft.