Wrestling: Yellow Jackets fall in regional final
Perrysburg beats Clay in semis

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Perrysburg got over one hump then found a hurdle it could not clear in a Division I dual team wrestling regional Wednesday night at Clay High School.
The Yellow Jackets breezed past the host Eagles 48-18 — Perrysburg’s nemesis the past two years — in the semifinal, then lost to fourth-ranked Elyria 34-23 in the final.
The Pioneers advance to the state dual team tournament Feb. 14 in Columbus.
In a tight, back-and-forth dual in the finals that featured seven lead changes, the last one came at 170 pounds when the Pioneers’ J.T. Brown squeaked out a 5-3 decision over Matt Waltermeyer.
That win gave Elyria a 22-20 edge, and the Pioneers bumped it to an eight-point lead 21 seconds later when Ben Darmstadt pinned Ryan Riggs at 182.
“I thought Perrysburg wrestled real well and we had some guys come through for bonus points,” Elyria coach Erik Burnett said. “That’s ultimately why we ended up winning. We needed bonus, and we got some.”
Perrysburg’s Chase Newton kept his team’s hopes alive by scoring a 13-8 decision over Cameron King, leaving the possibility for a potential heavyweight clash between Perrysburg senior Cale Bonner and Elyria sophomore Kevin Vough to decide the state quarterfinal berth.
Vough had beaten Bonner 4-2 in the third-place match at last year’s D-I state individual tournament.
That showdown became a moot point when Elyria’s Dylan Reis took a 5-1 decision over Perrysburg’s Abdullah Rimawi at 220 pounds, giving the Pioneers an insurmountable 31-23 lead. Vough beat Bonner 3-0 for the final margin.
“We didn’t look past them because we knew they were a very good team,” Perrysburg coach Sam Cotterman said of Elyria. “We just needed some of those swing matches to go our way. We could’ve used a few more bonus points.
“But it was just a great dual. I can’t fault the kids. They wrestled hard. Hopefully we’ll see them again. Abdullah did a good job. He was a 182-pounder, and we had him drinking water so we could bump him to 220.”
Other winners for the Yellow Jackets in the finals were Jack Walton (120), Mario Guillen (126), Moises Guillen (132), Josh Herhold (145), and Dan Waltermeyer (160).

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“I would’ve liked to see that heavyweight match go the other way, but hopefully that [Bonner versus Vough] is the state final in a few weeks,” Cotterman said.
In the semifinals, Perrysburg made short work of top-seeded host Clay, taking five victories by fall in that dual.
Those pins came from Kyle Ryan over Clay’s Cole True at 106; Mario Guillen over Mike Handy at 126; Dan Waltermeyer over Hunter McNutt at 160; Chase Newton over Kevin Witt at 182; and Cale Bonner over Sean Todd at 285.
Walton, Brock Jones (138), Leo Romp (152), and Matt Waltermeyer (170) all earned three points on decisions, and the Jackets also collected a forfeit at 132.
“The kids wrestled with a chip on their shoulder [against Clay],” Cotterman said. “We’ve lost to them twice in the same spot [in regionals], and to beat them at home was special.
“The kids have been waiting for that for a long time. I’m glad in went down like it did. We would’ve loved to be going to Columbus, but we’re still improving and we have to make sure we’re peaking in the next couple weeks.”
Clay’s lone victories came from Nick Henneman (113), who pinned Chase Walczak; Richie Screptock (145), who decisioned Josh Herhold 4-0; and Tyler Koester (220), who beat Rimawi 10-5. The Eagles also won by forfeit at 195.
Elyria advanced to the final by beating Lorain 46 to minus-2.
Lorain won no matches and had two points deducted for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Contact Steve Junga at: sjunga@theblade.com, or 419-724-6461 or on Twitter@JungaBlade.