Boys wrestling: Medina falls apart late, loses out on GCC share

MEDINA — The final piece of the Greater Cleveland Conference wrestling championship came into focus Thursday when Strongsville earned a share of the title with Brunswick while taking that possibility away from Medina. In the last GCC match for both teams, the Mustangs won the final six contested matches to beat the Bees 48-25 in a winner-takes-half matchup. Strongsville finished tied with the Blue Devils in league competition at 6-1. Brunswick clinched at least a share of the title by sweeping Cleveland Heights and Mentor on Feb. 4, but Medina (6-3, 5-2) cracked open the door by beating the Blue Devils last week. Ultimately, the Bees finished tied with the Cardinals for third place. The Bees led 19-14 midway through the match after Michael Kessler earned an 8-2 decision over Austin Trusnik at 144 pounds, but Medina didn't score again until Cliff Nicholson (285) got his hand raised in a forfeit in the final match. Strongsville's Joseph Grecol (157), Chris Harb (165), Hudson Davis (175), Wyatt Harhay (190) and Brody Wyldes (215) earned five straight pins to turn a 19-18 deficit into a 48-19 lead. The Bees were seeking their first GCC title since 2022 in their final season in the league before heading to what should be a loaded Suburban League National Conference. "It sucks," senior Taegan Gilmore said. "Most of our team, our upper weights, didn't do what they needed to do." Gilmore earned a 21-5 technical fall at 120 after giving up the first points on a quick takedown by Henry Smith. He battled back to take a 6-3 lead after that period. That was one of only four contested matches that the Bees won. Along with Gilmore and Kessler, Medina got a pin from Dominic DiFilippo (113) and a technical fall from Tyler Bradshaw (132). DiFilippo and Bradshaw also got wins in the first match of the night to help the Bees defeat Euclid 71-9, while Gilmore and Kessler were awarded two of the seven forfeits the Panthers gave away. In the main event, Beau Wilkovich (106) kicked things off for Strongsville with a pin. DiFilippo answered to tie the match 6-6 by pinning Mustafa Eddir in 1:18. "I was getting my pin just to help the team with our points," DiFilippo said. "We needed as much as we could get. Obviously, our team didn't do as well as we hoped to do, but I was just trying to make it a good last match before postseason." Gilmore followed by beating Smith to give the Bees their first lead of the night at 11-6. "I knew he wasn't going to take it easy," Gilmore said. "He's good. I got taken down off the bat, which I shouldn't have, but I wrestled my match to get the tech, the bonus points." In the following match, Cooper Kaplack (126) kept things close for two periods, trailing only 3-1 against Michael Rusinko. Rusinko, ranked eighth in D-I by DubStat, broke loose in the third period for a 22-5 technical fall to tie the match again. Bradshaw countered with a match very similar to Rusinko's in which he led 8-3 after two periods before scoring 14 points in the final two minutes for a 22-7 technical fall and 16-11 lead. "Once you're wrestling someone, there's a certain point where you feel them break," Bradshaw said. "Once you feel someone break, it gives you extra motivation to really beat them, because then you know you've won." The last highlight of the night for Medina came two matches later when Kessler dominated early with a 5-0 lead going into the final period. The Bees will now turn their attention to the Austintown Fitch Division I Sectional on Feb. 28, where they are the seventh seed in the Northeast District but the top seed at the sectional. Contact John Urchek at jurchek@medina-gazette.com. Medina 71, Euclid 9 106 — Landen Stolz (M) fft. 113 — Dominic DiFilippo (M) p. Arran Akhir, 0:35. 120 — Taegan Gilmore (M) fft. 126 — Cooper Kaplack (M) fft. 132 — Tyler Bradshaw t.f. Jeremias Jackson, 15-0. 138 — Mikhail Stitt (E) d. Cooper Lavender, 12-10. 144 — Michael Kessler (M) fft. 150 — Kingston McDowell (M) p. Michael Salters, 0:57. 157 — Jack Storm (M) fft. 165 — Lazar Kovacevic (M) fft. 175 — Tyler Wilson p. Tajhi Thomas, 0:50. 190 — Rocky DiFranco (M) fft. 215 — Dylan Bufford (E) p. Ali Muhammadi, 0:45. 285 — Cliff Nicholson (M) p. Tashawn Allen, 1:29. Record — Medina (6-2, 5-1). Strongsville 48, Medina 25 106 — Beau Wilkovich (S) p. Landon Stolz, 0:40. 113 — Dominic DiFilippo (M) p. Mustafa Eddir, 1:18. 120 — Taegan Gilmore (M) t.f. Henry Smith, 21-5. 126 — Michael Rusinko (S) t.f. Cooper Kaplack, 22-5. 132 — Tyler Bradshaw (M) t.f. Anthony Velotta, 22-7. 138 — Tyler Petkov (S) d. Cooper Lavender, 8-4. 144 — Michael Kessler (M) d. Austin Trusnik, 8-2. 150 — Nicholas Carrossellia (S) m.d. Kingston McDowell, 16-7. 157 — Joseph Grecol (S) p. Jack Storm, 3:26. 165 — Chris Harb (S) p. Lazar Kovacevic, 4:11. 175 — Hudson Davis (S) p. Tyler Wilson, 3:15. 190 — Wyatt Harhay (S) p. Rocky DiFranco, 0:15. 215 — Brody Wyldes (S) p. Ali Muhammadi, 3:33. 285 — Cliff Nicholson (M) fft. Record — Medina (6-3, 5-2).