Boys wrestling: Buckeye's Blake Bartos gets four pins at Kenston sectional

BAINBRIDGE TWP. — The excitement of the opportunity to chase a second state title was more than enough to offset any rust or nerves for Buckeye senior Blake Bartos at the Kenston Division II Sectional. Making a triumphant return six weeks after an injury on the first day of Alliance's Top Gun Tournament, Bartos pinned all four opponents Saturday to win the 138-pound title and qualify for the Kenston District . "Man, I'm freaking excited," Bartos said. "I haven't wrestled in a month and a half, but coming back I feel great and am just happy to be here." Bartos was joined by teammate Brody Zoul (165) as a sectional champion. They highlighted 10 Bucks qualifiers that also included Vinny Joy (2nd, 106), Zack Simmons (4th, 113), Collin Bartos (2nd, 120), Brenden McKee (2nd, 126), Logan Letner (3rd, 144), Carter Hershkowitz (4th, 150), Kaden Locker (4th, 157) and Preston Ware (3rd, 175). Despite the team success, Buckeye was unable to defend its championship, coming in second behind Perry 240-230.5. The Pirates qualified nine of their 11 competitors, including five champions. "I love these guys," Blake Bartos said. "We've got a younger team. I think they're doing great adjusting to these kinds (of tournaments)." Cloverleaf (64) finished 10th out of 16 teams and saw Caleb Burke (157) finish third to qualify for districts. Burke pinned Locker in the placement match, his fourth pin of the tournament that placed him one spot higher than last season. Burke reached the championship semifinals before suffering his only loss. "It's not first or second, but third will do," Burke said. "I'm happy that I got a better seed at district. I hope to qualify for state. I've been working for it since my freshman year." Buckeye's Daniel Leonard (132) and Cloverleaf's Xavier Lyons (150) and Austin Sprankle (285) earned district alternate status. They could get the call if one of the qualifiers at their weight is unable to compete due to injury or another issue. Zoul repeated as sectional champion after his finals opponent, Gavin Edwards of Roosevelt, defaulted due to injury. Up 3-0 with 39 seconds left in the first period, Zoul locked in a high-crotch and elevated Edwards before bringing him down on his shoulder. Prior to the championship match, Zoul picked up a pin and a 19-1 technical fall. "I'm feeling great," Zoul said. "I'm excited to keep pushing it. I'm ready for district and excited for state." Blake Bartos, who won the 113 state title as a sophomore, finished runner-up at 132 last season and was fourth at 106 as a freshman, needed only 2:53 to dispatch his four sectional opponents. That helped him get extra rest for his injured knee. "It's sore, but mentally I did it," he said. "You've just got to be a dog. I tried to stay off my knee as much as possible this weekend and just get it done fast and easy to let it rest another week." Blake Bartos and Zoul were the final two of five Bucks to reach the finals, with the other three finishing as runners-up. Joy pinned his first two opponents to make the final but fell behind Maple Heights' Jaden Weaver 9-2 in the first period before rallying in a 15-12 loss. Collin Bartos also pinned his first two opponents before Kenston's Teo Triscaro struck for the first takedown and used a defensive game plan to earn a 6-2 decision. In another Bombers-Bucks matchup, Carter Baran beat McKee by 15-0 technical fall after McKee earned a pin and major decision to reach the final. Contact John Urchek at jurchek@medina-gazette.com. Results Standings: 1. Perry 240, 2. Buckeye 230.5, 3. Madison 174.5, 4. Norton 122, 5. Roosevelt 117.5, 6. Kenston 113.5, 7. University 90, 8. Conneaut 85, 9. Bay 73, 10. Cloverleaf 64, 11. Maple Heights 56.5, 12. Rocky River 51, 13. Orange 46, 14. Villa Angela-St. Joseph 24.5, 15. Ashtabula Edgewood 9.5, 16. Glenville 4. 106 — Jaden Weaver (MH) d. Vinny Joy (Buc), 15-12. 113 — Jordan McCullough (Mad) p. Jaylin Flanagan (MH), 0:57.; THIRD: Carter Fertig (Roos) p. Zack Simmons (Buc), 2:57. 120 — Teo Triscaro (Kens) d. Collin Bartos (Buc), 6-2. 126 — Carter Baran (Kens) t.f. Brenden McKee (Buc), 15-0. 132 — Landon Rusnak (Per) d. Doyle Grosz (Uni), 9-8; FIFTH: Daniel Leonard (Buc) fft. Hunter Bilbrey (Conn). 138 — Blake Bartos (Buc) p. Dante Villalobos-Pacheco (Per), 1:06. 144 — Anthony Trentanelli (Per) m.d. Brady Baran (Kens), 10-0; THIRD: Logan Letner (Buc) t.f. Joseph Beauchesne (Bay), 18-3. 150 — Chance Schlauch (Per) p. Wyant Dobran (Conn), 0:47; THIRD: Vicente Navarro (Mad) p. Carter Hershkowitz (Buc), 1:22; FIFTH: Xavier Lyons (Clo) m.d. Kingston Kurtz (Roos), 17-3. 157 — Antonius Bertone (Per) p. Jason Beverly (Nor), 3:24; THIRD: Caleb Burke (Clo) p. Kaden Locker (Buc), 2:17. 165 — Brody Zoul (Buc) inj. def. Gavin Edwards (Roos). 175 — Phil Kasubick (Uni) d. Jackson Bezzeg (Per), 8-4; THIRD: Preston Ware (Buc) m.d. Noah Catanese (Roos), 13-3. 190 — Wyatt Diste (Conn) d. Josh White (Mad), 4-3; FIFTH: Keagan Coe (Per) d. Sawyer Davis (Buc), 6-3 (SV). 215 — Chase White (Mad) p. Jordan Taylor (VASJ), 1:40; FIFTH: Max Odorcic (Per) d. Dayton Clutter (Clo), 9-3. 285 — Trent Taylor (Per) p. Cam Mullins (Mad), 4:23; FIFTH: Austin Sprankle (Clo) p. Brendan Flowers (RR), 1:35.