Boys wrestling: Brunswick beats Strongsville in "Dual at the School"

BRUNSWICK — The Brunswick wrestling team traded its history books, calculators and English lectures for singlets, head gear and mats Thursday afternoon. Complete with hype videos, entrance music and performances from the Blue Devils dance and cheer squads the action on the mat matched the spectacle at the aptly named "Dual in the School." Students and other spectators that crammed into the East Gymnasium, as well as youth wrestlers that sat alongside their varsity counterparts, watched Brunswick defeat archrival Strongsville 38-28 in an important Greater Cleveland Conference match. The Blue Devils improved to 2-0 overall and 2-0 in the GCC. "The whole team is pumped after beating our rivals Strongsville," junior Travis Latta said. "We've been working up to this all year. It doesn't mean the work stops. We've got to take the GCC title." Latta gave Brunswick the lead for good at 24-22 when he earned a 20-5 technical fall over 165-pound counterpart in Joseph Grecol. The Blue Devils essentially clinched victory one match later when sophomore Carter Wickes picked up a 17-2 technical fall over Chris Herb at 175 with Brunswick sophomore heavyweight Andy Dalgleish poised to take a forfeit victory in the final match. The Blue Devils were simply dominant over the second half of the match, winning five of the final six contested matches to go with Dalgleish's forfeit win. Freshman Lucas Remendowski got the ball rolling by pinning Nathan Janakovich with 17 seconds remaining in the third period of the 150 match to cut the Mustangs' lead to 22-14. Senior Brayden Miles followed with a 16-1 technical fall over Nicholas Carrossellia at 157 before the Latta and Wickes matches. Sophomore Logan Matousek put the cherry on top of the sundae when he earned an 8-1 decision over Brody Wyldes at 215 for a 32-28 lead. "Strongsville's lineup came out hot and got the best of us in a lot of those (early) matches," Miles said. "The second half, we bumped our lineup a little bit and our guys stepped up. ... It was really cool to see those guys step up for us." With a raucous crowd cheering for Brunswick, the Blue Devils were able to turn the momentum. Adding to the pageantry was special ring announcer Dave Kich, who was dressed in a blue tuxedo. Kich, a 1996 state runner-up at 119 for Strongsville and former teammate of Blue Devils coach Greg Seigler, brought his expertise as a ring announcer for a professional wrestling circuit based in Pennsylvania to the event. "My team and I are really blessed to be able to compete in the middle of school," Miles said. "Our athletic director Mr. (Jim) Kovi absolutely carries this event and I'm very thankful for him. "Huge crowd, super loud with everyone cheering, it was really awesome." While the back of the lineup carried Brunswick, a couple of big victories early kept the Blue Devils in the match and stopped Strongsville's momentum from spoiling the afternoon. Freshman Danny Gamer made the score 9-3 when he beat Henry Smith 8-3 at 120 for the Blue Devils' first victory. Trailing 13-3 in the team score, senior Jacob Kash took it to Anthony Velotta at 132 with a 20-2 technical fall in the third period. Kash's win was the first of five technical falls or pins out of Brunswick's seven contested wins. "My mindset was really good going into that match," Kash said. "I knew I had to change it up (for the team). Even though I didn't get the pin, I knew I had to break the kid. I had to get the tech." Contact John Urchek at jurchek@medina-gazette.com. Brunswick 38, Strongsville 28 106 — Beau Wilkovich (S) p. Vladyslav Demko, 0:20. 113 — Brayden Pryor (S) d. Davis Hulvalchick, 12-5. 120 — Danny Gamer (B) d. Henry Smith, 8-3. 126 — Michael Rusinko (S) m.d. Nate Friedl, 12-3. 132 — Jacob Kash (B) t.f. Anthony Velotta, 20-2. 138 — Tyler Petkov (S) p. Sean Gamer, 3:12. 144 — Ostap Korpan (S) d. Spencer Burger, 15-14. 150 — Lucas Remendowski (B) p. Nathan Janakovich, 5:43. 157 — Brayden Miles (B) t.f. Nicholas Carrossellia, 16-1. 165 — Travis Latta (B) t.f. Joseph Grecol, 20-5. 175 — Carter Wickes (B) t.f. Chris Herb, 17-2. 190 — Wyatt Harhay (S) p. Gavin Devich, 3:46. 215 — Logan Matousek (B) d. Brody Wyldes, 8-1. 285 — Andy Dalgleish (B) fft.