Boys wrestling: Highland wins fourth SL American title in five years

GRANGER TWP. — The Highland wrestling team extended its streak of dominance over the Suburban League American Conference on Saturday. The Hornets won their fourth SL American crown in five years by blowing past Barberton 485.5-340 but came up just short of biggest goal at the Suburban League Tournament. National Conference kingpin Brecksville (490) repeated as champion and barely had an edge for first place in the combined standings. The Hornets were looking good until the Bees' Zack Aquila beat Highland's Niko Giatis 4-1 in sudden victory for the 165-pound title and North Royalton's Nik Kofinas downed Lukas Grillis by 11-0 major decision in the 190 championship. After that, Brecksville's E.J. German won the 215 crown to put enough distance between the Bees and Highland to survive Cole Ditzig's 20-4 technical fall loss to Wadsworth's Jacob Earnest and Cody Bendau beating Barberton's Joe Porter 1-0 for third place at 285. The Hornets' Riley Pylypiak also lost in the 113 final, getting pinned by Barberton's Gaspar Raymundo in the third period. "We had a good opportunity to beat Brecksville and win the whole conference for the first time in a long time," Highland's Brennan Kicker said after winning the 150 title. "All of our guys were pushing for bonus points and working toward something bigger than ourselves." Kicker proved to be the last of four champions for the Hornets, following Brandon Bickerton (120), Austin Bickerton (126) and Kyle Scavuzzo (132). Wadsworth (385) finished second in the SL National and third overall after crowning Blake Frantz (138), Kyle Jardine (157) and Earnest. Along with its finalists and Bendau, Highland placed Leonidas Giatis (3rd, 144), Jacob Regovich (4th, 144), Caleb Berger (5th, 126), Joey Oriti (5th, 175), Artha Rogers (6th, 157), Hoyt Pylypiak (8th, 138) and Kallen Whitling (8th, 215). Whitling and Hoyt Pylypiak were forced to withdraw with injuries after earning podium spots. Along with their three champions, the Grizzlies put Kolten Mellon (2nd, 144), Carter Raymond (3rd, 215), Noah Wiles (4th, 106), Tyler Brugh (5th, 120), Carter Martin (5th, 150), Dominic Leguillon (7th, 165) and Blake Hoover (8th, 175) on the podium. Frantz earned his first SL title with a 7-3 victory over Copley's Desmond Childers. He reached the final with two pins and two technical falls, never seeing the third period. "This has been a goal of mine all four years," Frantz said. "I've always fallen a little short in the past, but this year I was able to win it. "I just had to do what I know best. I've gotten better at hand fighting so I can stay in those positions longer and take them into deep waters." Jardine beat Aurora's Michael Kennedy by 10-2 major decision in his final. That victory followed a pin and three technical falls. Earnest won three matches by technical fall and added a pin. Jardine and Earnest were coming off titles at Wadsworth's Grizzly Invitational Tournament. Brandon Bickerton started his day with a technical fall and then pinned his next three opponents, including Brecksville's David Cotleur in 3:07 in the final. His twin brother, Austin Bickerton, followed by pinning Aurora's Nicholas Turba in the 126 final to win his third SL title. Austin Bickerton had three pins and a technical fall to his ledger. "I'm just trying to go out there and score as many points as I can, and the results will take care of themselves," Austin Bickerton said. "I'm getting to my attacks. That's all I can do. I'm trusting in the Lord to put me in the best position to compete for the best spot at state." Scavuzzo made it three champions in a row for Highland when he took a 17-2 technical fall win over Brecksville's Lucas Schulz. The rubber match between Scavuzzo and Schulz was the first lopsided decision. Scavuzzo beat him 1-0 at the North Coast Classic to start the season, while Schulz responded 4-1 at the Brecksville Holiday Tournament. "I've been wrestling Lucas for three or four years now," Scavuzzo said. "We've been going back and forth, but I knew if I got to my stuff today I was going to win that match." Kicker blanked Copley's Jack Cutlip by 15-0 technical decision to win his title. It was his second technical fall to go with two pins. "I've had some ups and downs this season, so the downs really push me for moments like these," Kicker said. "I'm just working harder and harder to get ready for the postseason. This feels good to get this win right before postseason." Contact John Urchek at jurchek@medina-gazette.com. Results American Conference standings: 1. Highland 485.5, 2. Barberton 340, 3. Aurora 310.5, 4. Roosevelt 170.5, 5. Tallmadge 167, 6. Revere 157, 7. Cuyahoga Falls 123, 8. Copley 71. National Conference standings: 1. Brecksville 490, 2. Wadsworth 385, 3. Hudson 276, 4. North Royalton 255, 5. Solon 214, 6. Twinsburg 175.5, 7. Stow 169.5, 8. Nordonia 111. 106 — Caleb Peterson (Aur) p. Sean Dougherty (Bre), 3:28; THIRD: Justin Wilson (CF) d. Noah Wiles (Wad), 6-4. 113 — Gaspar Raymundo (Bar) p. Riley Pylypiak (Hig), 5:29. 120 — Brandon Bickerton (Hig) p. David Cotleur (Bre), 3:06; FIFTH: Tyler Brugh (Wad) m.d. Matt Alvis (CF), 14-1. 126 — Austin Bickerton (Hig) p. Nicholas Turba (Aur), 3:05; FIFTH: Caleb Berger (Hig) d. Jack Stannert (NR), 7-5. 132 — Kyle Scavuzzo (Hig) t.f. Lucas Schulz (Bre), 17-2. 138 — Blake Frantz (Wad) d. Desmond Childers (Cop), 7-3; SEVENTH: Ka'Yir Brown (Roo) med. fft. Hoyt Pylypiak (Hig). 144 — Cole Speer (Bre) d. Kolten Mellon (Wad), 1-0; THIRD: Leonidas Giatis (Hig) p. Jacob Regovich (Hig), 2:11. 150 — Brennan Kicker (Hig) t.f. Jack Cutlip (Hud), 15-0; FIFTH: Carter Martin (Wad) p. Kingston Kurtz (Roo), 2:17. 157 — Kyle Jardine (Wad) m.d. Michael Kennedy (Aur), 10-2; FIFTH: Logan Kerber (Bre) d. Artha Rogers (Hig), 8-3. 165 — Zack Aquila (Bre) d. Niko Giatis (Hig), 4-1 (SV); SEVENTH: Dominic Leguillon (Wad) t.f. Caleb Williams (Bar), 17-1. 175 — Drake Brasiel (Aur) m.d. Ian Bee (Tal), 11-2; FIFTH: Joseph Oriti (Hig) t.f. Anthony Kinney (NR), 18-0; SEVENTH: Walker Mulvaney (Hud) p. Blake Hoover (Wad), 2:39. 190 — Nik Kofinas (NR) m.d. Lukas Grillis (Hig), 11-0. 215 — E.J. German (Bre) d. Jackson Phillips (Bar), 8-3; THIRD: Carter Raymond (Wad) p. Joey Lyons (Hud), 0:58; SEVENTH: Hamza Aslan (Sol) med. fft. Kallen Whitling (Hig). 285 — Jacob Earnest (Wad) t.f. Cole Ditzig (Bre), 20-4; THIRD: Cody Bendau (Hig) d. Joe Porter (Bar), 1-0.