Mead, Grenier punch tickets to finals

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After a solid first day, Delaware County standouts continued to shine during the second day of the OHSAA Division I Individual State Wrestling Tournament Friday at OSU.

Liberty seniors Brakan Mead and Trey Grenier grabbed the headlines, earning spots in today’s championship finals with solid semifinal wins.

Mead (113) is back in a championship match for the first time since finishing second in the 106-pound division back in 2015.

The soon-to-be three-time state placer beat Elyria freshman Dylan Shawver 5-3 in the quarterfinals before handling Mentor senior Parker Brunkala 7-1 in the semis to punch his ticket to today’s final.

He’ll take on Lakewood St. Edward freshman Bryce Hepner for the right to stand on the top of the podium. Hepner beat Central Crossing’s Zach Collins 10-4 in his semifinal match.

While Mead cruised in two of his three tourney matches, Grenier (145) has had to battle in all three of his.

After beating Cincinnati LaSalle’s Eric Beck 4-3 in Thursday’s opener, Grenier earned a hard-fought 2-0 quarterfinal win over Dover senior Andrew Murphy and an even more thrilling 5-4 semifinal decision over Fairfield senior Sam Meddings. He’ll take on Dublin Coffman’s Dom Demas, a three-time state placer and former state champ at 138, in today’s final.

Other area standouts in the hunt for top-three finishes include Hayes’ Max Wright (195) and Liberty’s Jordan Rosselli (120), Connor Brady (152), Kyle Lawson (160), Trevor Lawson (170) and Mike Ezenekwe (220).

Wright won his first two matches of the tournament in dominant fashion. He took care of Cleveland St. Ignatius’ Michael Drobnick with a first-period pin in Thursday’s opener before cruising past Elyria’s Cameron King 12-2 in Friday’s quarterfinal.

The senior, who entered the tourney with a 29-1 record and guaranteed his first trip to the podium with the quarterfinal win, fell to Macedonia Nordonia’s Anthony Perrine 5-3 in the championship semifinals. He could still finish as high as third with a couple more wins, but will have to beat Brunswick’s Aaron Naples in today’s consolation semifinals to earn that chance.

Rosselli, who lost in Thursday’s opener, won all three of his consolation matches, including two on Friday, to stay alive. He beat Fairfield’s Jabari Thomas 6-3 to advance to today’s consolation semifinals and a date with Austintown-Fitch’s Gus Sutton.

Brady lost to two-time state champ David Carr (Massillon Perry) in the championship quarterfinals before bouncing back with a pair of pins to move through the consolation bracket. He’ll wrestle Oregon Clay’s Kevin Contos this morning for the right to compete in the third-place match later in the day.

Kyle Lawson, a three-time state champ, was stunned by Wadsworth senior Cody Surratt 3-2 in the championship quarterfinals. He recovered from his first loss in state competition quite well, though, winning a pair of consolation matches in impressive fashion. He’ll wrestle Cincinnati Elder’s Ti’Ric Evans in today’s consolation semis.

Trevor Lawson won his championship quarterfinal, knocking off North Canton Hoover’s Luke Reicosky 7-1, but lost a tough semifinal to Massillon Perry’s Emil Soehnlen 3-1 to get bumped into the consolation bracket. He’ll wrestle Barberton’s Gary Wokojance in the semis.

Ezenekwe, finally, won three straight consolation matches after falling in Thursday’s opener. The senior beat Ashtabula Lakeside’s Parker Meaney 10-3, Elder’s Antonio McCloud via a first-period pin and Olentangy Orange’s Bryce Houston 5-2 to keep his hopes of a top-three finish alive and well.

He’ll take on North Canton Hoover’s Dillon Smith in today’s consolation semi. Houston, meanwhile, who won a pair of consolation matches after a first-round setback, will wrestle Dublin Scioto’s Brian Zimmerman in today’s seventh-place match.

In other action, Liberty’s Blake Saito (106) went 1-1 to earn a spot in today’s seventh-place match against Louisville’s Andy Graham, the Patriots’ Zach Furnas (138) lost a pair of matches to end what was a stellar career as a Patriot and Orange’s Logan Broskie (160), the program’s all-time wins leader, fell in the second round of the consolation bracket.

Hayes senior Max Wright, top, competes in the OHSAA Division I Individual State Wrestling Tournament at OSU. He won his first two matches to secure a place on the podium before falling to Macedonia Nordonia senior Anthony Perrine in Friday night’s championship semifinal.
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2017/03/web1_wright.jpgHayes senior Max Wright, top, competes in the OHSAA Division I Individual State Wrestling Tournament at OSU. He won his first two matches to secure a place on the podium before falling to Macedonia Nordonia senior Anthony Perrine in Friday night’s championship semifinal.

Liberty senior Brakan Mead competes in the OHSAA Division I Individual State Wrestling Tournament at OSU. Mead is back in a championship match for the first time since finishing second in the 106-pound division back in 2015. He handled Mentor senior Parker Brunkala 7-1 in the semis to punch his ticket to today’s final. He’ll take on Lakewood St. Edward freshman Bryce Hepner for the right to stand on the top of the podium.
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2017/03/web1_brakan.jpgLiberty senior Brakan Mead competes in the OHSAA Division I Individual State Wrestling Tournament at OSU. Mead is back in a championship match for the first time since finishing second in the 106-pound division back in 2015. He handled Mentor senior Parker Brunkala 7-1 in the semis to punch his ticket to today’s final. He’ll take on Lakewood St. Edward freshman Bryce Hepner for the right to stand on the top of the podium.
Wright, Rosselli, Ezenekwe, Lawson brothers, Brady still in hunt for top-3 finishes

By Ben Stroup

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Follow Ben Stroup on Twitter @delgazette_ben.

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