High school wrestling: Buckeye leads after first day of Medina tournament

MEDINA — The Buckeye wrestling team is back in a familiar spot after the first day of the Medina Invitational Tournament. With five semifinalists, the Bucks (97.5) lead the 48-team field. They hold a 17-point advantage over second-place Austintown Fitch. Buckeye won the tournament for the first time in 2022 and repeated in 2023. Last season, it finished second overall but first among Division II teams. "We're looking good," sophomore Collin Bartos said. "We lost some guys last offseason, but we've had some guys step up. Logan Letner's been wrestling well and Brenden McKee is looking good. Blake (Bartos), he's a hammer." Collin Bartos kicked off the Bucks' run to the semifinals with a thrilling 9-6 victory thanks to a last-second takedown of Upper Arlington's Hunter Shupe. He'll face Mayfield's Asilbek Anvarov in the semifinals. "It was a tough match, and he's a good kid," Bartos said of Anvarov. "It was a battle, but we got it done. I put some pressure into him and pulled him onto his back and was able to land on top of him (at the end)." Collin Bartos (120) will be joined by teammates Blake Bartos (138), Letner (144), Ryan Wilhelm (190) and Justin Augustine (215) in the semifinals this morning. Blake Bartos and Wilhelm pinned their way into the semifinals, while Augustine recorded a major decision and Letner got a 2-0 win. Buckeye wasn't the only team to thrive Monday, as the host Bees put Dominic DiFilippo (113) and Cliff Nicholson (285) into the semis. Medina (68) sits in 10th place, while 16th-place Brunswick also picked up two semifinalists in Travis Latta (157) and Carter Wickes (165). Cloverleaf (14) is 45th, with Caleb Burke (157) one win away from reaching the podium in the consolation bracket. DiFilippo gave Medina County its first semifinalist when he pinned Clearview's Noah Huston. DiFilippo, who faces returning 106-pound D-III state champion Bodey Gibbs of Columbia today, started with a 4-2 decision over Oregon Clay's Ethan Ackerman. "It feels good," said DiFilippo, who is guaranteed to improve on a seventh-place finish last year. "Last year, I didn't even make the quarters, but I'm glad to have made it this far." Nicholson joined DiFilippo in the semis by pinning Brunswick's Andy Dalgleish and picked up a 10-1 major decision over Austintown Fitch's Noah Bolen. He will meet Lewis Center Olentangy's Daniel Stephens. Latta pinned his final two opponents and will meet Casstown Miami East's Riggins Hansgen in the semis. He also beat Sandusky Perkins'Landon Flores by 7-1 decision in the first round. "I'm happy because now I'm going to place after going 0-2 last year," Latta said. "My hard work's been paying off. I sacrificed a lot of time over the summer to lift and really focus on my technique." Wickes followed Latta with a 5-2 decision over Norwalk Catholic's Rafael Gross to meet Perkins' Law Davlin in the semis. Wickes added a pin and technical fall earlier in the day. Blake Bartos reached the semifinals with two pins and a technical fall, as the 2024 state champion and two-time state finalist looked in fine form. Letner, a Cloverleaf transfer, pinned his first opponent and then earned two tighter decisions and will meet Nathaniel Carter of Clarkston (Mich.). Wilhelm earned bonus points in all his matches with a technical fall, major decision and pin, while Augustine added a technical fall to his major decision in the quarterfinals. Contact John Urchek at jurchek@medina-gazette.com. Results Medina Invitational Tournament Standings: 1. Buckeye 97.5, 2. Austintown Fitch 80.5, 3. New Lexington 79.5, 3. Clarkston (Mich.) 79.5, 5. Sandusky Perkins 79, 6. Avon Lake 77.5, 7. Toledo Whitmer 73, 8. Mayfield 69, 8. Upper Arlington 69, 10. Medina 68, 11. Louisville 64.5, 12. Mentor 63.5, 13. Columbia 62.5, 14. Genoa Area 61.5, 15. Casstown Miami East 60, 16. Brunswick 58.5, 17. Lake 58, 18. Wauseon 57.5, 19. Aurora 53.5, 20. Oregon Clay 53, 21. Hilliard Darby 50.5, 22. Olentangy Liberty 49, 23. North Canton Hoover 44, 24. Padua Franciscan 43, 25. Beavercreek 41, 25. Elyria Catholic 41, 25. Canfield South Range 41, 28. Berea-Midpark 39, 28. Pickerington North 39, 28. Avon 39, 31. Newark Licking Valley 38, 32. Olmsted Falls 33, 33. Olentangy Orange 32.5, 34. Lewis Center Olentangy 30.5, 35. Firelands 29, 35. Copley 29, 37. Clearview 27.5, 38. Midview 25, 39. Norwalk Catholic 24, 39. Springfield 24, 41. Granville 19, 42. St. Mary Central Catholic 18.5, 43. Green 16, 44. Tallmadge 14.5, 45. Cloverleaf 14, 45. Oak Harbor 14, 47. Hughes Stern 9, 48. Holy Name 3. Semifinals pairings 106 — Jospeh Hahn (Clark) v. Brody McNabb (New Lex); Constantine Paxos (Hoov) v. Grady Moos (Ely Cath).113 — Bodey Gibbs (Col) v. Dominic DiFilippo (Med); Ethan Powell (Gen) v. Braedyn Tammarine (Lib Cent). 120 — Spencer Shore (Mia E) v. Xavier Pollard (Lou); Collin Bartos (Buc) v. Asilbek Anvarov (May). 126 — Scotty Fuller (Gen) v. Nicholas Turba (Aur); A.J. Dubendorfer (Whit) v. Joseph Curry (Lick Vall). 132 — Carter Stuckey (Wau) v. Grant Sedlick (UA); John LoFaso (Pad) v. Gavin Culloty (Clark). 138 — Blake Bartos (Buc) v. Joel Brink (Green); Kaiden Barker (Lou) v. Evan Protopapa (Fitch). 144 — Nathaniel Carter (Clark) v. Logan Letner (Buc); Desmond Childers (Cop) v. Tyson Spicer (New Lex). 150 — Benjamin James (St. Mary's CC) v. Omar Leon (Spring); Harrison Ratliff (New Lex) v. Braxden Martin (Perk). 157 — Tyler Abbey (Gen) v. Lukas Jordan (Lake); Travis Latta (Bru) v. Riggins Hansgen (Mia E). 165 — Tyson Seesholtz (SR) v. Ayden Muller (Clark); Law Davlin (Perk) v. Carter Wickes (Bru). 175 — Drake Brasiel (Aur) v. Ian Bee (Tall); Kahle Albright (Waus) v. Gabe McNally (Clay). 190 — Trey Setter (Clark) v. Brock DuVall (Whit); Ryan Wilhelm (Buc) v. Carter Whaley (Clay). 215 — Justin Augustine (Buc) v. John Harris (May); Logan Krooner (Darby) v. DeShawn Harper (Perk). 285 — Logan Sifuentes (Lib Cent) v. Eian Englehart (Avon); Cliff Nicholson (Med) v. Daniel Stephens (Clay).