Brian Cook

 Anyone competing in any sport wants to be the best they can be, which is to be expected. A clique, when you have a bad kid beating up on another bad kid you think you’re good, can sometimes be used in the Ohio Valley. There’s no mistake when I say the valley doesn’t have the most competitive wrestling teams in this part of Ohio, but that’s to be expected.


However, that doesn’t have to be accepted and some of the wrestling coaches in the Ohio Valley are doing this because they want to be more competitive.


Coming from the Mountain State, everyone knows Ohio wrestling is typically more competitive than West Virginia. This is why during my prep days at Wheeling Park the mat program left the valley to compete in tournaments like the North Canton Holiday Invitational and the Joshua Hephner Memorial Tournament at Austintown Fitch because that’s where the best teams were going to be on the mat.


We didn’t ever cruise to a team trophy over Ohio powers Lakewood St. Edwards, Tallmadge or Massilon Perry, but getting mat experience against good wrestlers only prepared us more for the OVAC and state tournament.


Hanging around the mats this weekend at the Best Value Inn Invitational in St. Clairsville I was in conversation with one local coach about seeing better competition. He said he liked what the Red Devils’ mat program has done promoting their tournament and bringing in high quality competition.


“I even try to have my junior high team get away for at least one tournament to see better wrestlers,” he said.


There are a lot of teams in the valley that prefer to stay home and not travel outside the OVAC. These coaches know who they are and only continue to limit their wrestling squads. To some of their defenses — some cannot escape funding issues, others aren’t at that level to see better competition and others are looking for an excuse.


“To win big matches you have to be in big matches, and a lot of them, it’s the only way to get better,” St. Clairsville coach Jay Michael said as his freshman standout Dominic Prezzia defeated Oak Glen’s Ethan Dray this weekend.


Michael went on to explain his plans of taking his squad — saturated by freshman and sophomores — to the Columbus area on Jan. 5 to compete against some better squads.


“Some people don’t realize why I want to head towards Columbus to wrestle, but its to get better competition,” Michael explained. “This is the only way to continue getting better is to see better teams. We may not come away with team victories, but it will help each individual wrestler improve.”



WHEELING PARK DUAL TOURNAMENT





It has never been better to be a Park Patriot after toppling rival John Marshall 44-16 to claim the team title at the Wheeling Park Domino Duals this weekend.


“It was a good win,” Patriots’ mat mentor Sean Doyle said in a phone conversation. “These guys have not been given much credit from outsiders with only seven returning starters from last season.”


Drilling the Monarchs from the whistle, the icing on the cake came in the 215-pound bout as Wheeling Park’s Alan Earnest knocked off returning West Virginia Class AAA state champion Taylor Potts in a 8-2 decision.


“It was a great one to see,” assistant coach Steve Shaffer said as the victory will give Earnest the upperhand in seeding heading into the OVAC tournament. “Earnest really took it to him.”


The route to the Monarchs wasn’t an easy one as the Patriots — along with JM, Hopewell (Pa.) and Carrollton — won their respected pools. Park’s confidence booster in the pool victories came in defeating Ripley and Parkersburg South — both which were ranked higher in the West Virginia Class AAA standings coming into the weekend.


“Those two wins definitely got us going,” Doyle said. “They’re a motivated group and individually want to be OVAC and state champions.


“A lot of our early success came from getting so many pins. They are a very tight group and continued to feed off each other through the entire tournament.”


As the Patriots will jump up the poll in West Virginia Class AAA, they still have to clash with long time Class A/AA champions Oak Glen on Saturday.


“Wrestling Oak Glen is the first point when we start to target ourselves to peak and continue to improve,” Doyle said as his Patriots prepare to wrestle the high octane Gold Bears. “That follows right into OVACs and states.”



BERTOLINO PLACES 5TH AT MIDLANDS





EVANSTON, Ill. – Buckeye Local graduate David Bertolino continues to trek through the fiercest of competition as Iowa State battled in the Midland Championships at the Welsh-Ryan Arena.


Staying alive in day one of competition, Bertolino pinned Cody Johnson of Wabash (Ind.) and Carl Howe or Northwestern in times of 2:46 and 6:22, respectively. However, the senior Cyclone wasn’t as lucky in his quarterfinal match as he fell short to Central Michigan’s Wynn Michalak by pin fall.


Battling back through the consolations, Bertolino handed Iowa’s Brodie Ambrose a quick Midlands goodbye in 5:40 before sneaking away with a 4-2 decision of Michigan State’s Joe Williams.


As the competition continued to get, better Bertolino hit a familiar face with Rider’s T.J Morrison. In their first matchup of the season, Bertolino was able to come away with a one point win from riding time in a 4-4 deadlock to hand Morrison a 5-4 setback.


However, this time the result wasn’t exactly the same as Morrison worked the mat more efficiently to earn 9-4 win sending the Mt. Pleasant native to a fifth-sixth place bout.


Needless to say, his placement match wasn’t a first time meeting either as Bertolino toed the line with Northern Iowa’s Andrew Anderson — who he pinned earlier this season. The result, not a pin fall, but still a win as Bertolino handed Anderson a 9-4 decision to take home fifth place.


“I thought overall we had a good tournament,” Iowa State head coach Cael Sanderson said to Iowa State Sports Information Department. “We won some big matches and lost some close ones. The important thing is we know what we have to do to get better and we will be working on those things.”



SEDGMER SCHOLARSHIP FEAST





ON SUNDAY, Jan. 5 a member of our wrestling family will be remembered at the Lucas Sedgmer Memorial Scholarship Sportsman's Feast at the New Athens Firehall. Sedgmer, a Cadiz standout wrestler, lost his life in an automobile accident a few years back.


His contributions as a prep wrestler and coach at Wheeling Park are well worth remembering. The event will begin at 4 p.m. with food service beginning at 5p.m. The cost is $10 per person and those under 21 must be accompanied by an adult. Auctions, door prizes, raffles, 50/50 and music will be available.


For more information contact or for tickets contact (740) 968-4419 or (740) 942-2118.
 

Oak Glen’s Shaw Reaches Elite Level

By RICK THORP

Oak Glen wrestling coach Larry Shaw recently earned his 300th career coaching victory, a number that ranks him inside the top 10 in West Virginia high school history.

According to Bill Welker, a noted wrestling enthusiast who has been writing wrestling columns for the Wheeling News-Register for three decades, an unofficial listing shows Huntington’s Bill Archer leading the way with 463 dual meet victories, followed by Independence’s Ed Gilson (371), legendary Cameron coach Jim Potts (363), Shady Spring’s Dix Manning (349) and Shaw (302).

Even with that, numbers aren’t necessarily needed to illustrate how much Shaw has meant to wrestling in the Mountain State and, more importantly, to the Ohio Valley.

The record book speaks for itself.

Shaw’s Golden Bears have won 11 straight Class AA/A state wrestling championships. He is six-time winner of the Dix Manning Award, given to the top Class AA/A coach. The 2007 and 2000 OVAC Coach of the Year.

These are just some of the honors that have come Shaw’s way since he started coaching at Oak Glen in 1979.

But while awards and honors mean a great deal to him, making differences in the lives of young people is his top priority.

‘‘I’ve had a lot of kids that didn’t come from a whole lot and their participation in wrestling has been rewarding in their lives,’’ Shaw said. ‘‘And in some situations it’s turned around their lives.

‘‘There’s no price you can put on that.

‘‘Another reward is when they come back and say thank you. You can’t make a check big enough to take the place of that.’’

Think about it. Eleven straight state championships.

No other school in West Virginia history has won as many consecutive state titles in any sport.

And according to records kept by Wrestling USA Magazine, only 13 high school programs in the United States have constructed a run like the one the Golden Bears are on.

And of that group, only two other schools are in the midst of their streaks. Lakewood St. Edward, a Division I power in Ohio for many years, is one of them.

‘‘The success we’ve had is fun ... there’s no denying that winning is a great feeling,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s something those involved with the program can carry through their lives.’’

Shaw wrestled at Shady Spring High School and Concord College before arriving in New Manchester at the tender age of 23 and with one season’s worth of experience as an assistant coach.

But he also arrived with a dream. A dream to direct the Golden Bears to their first state championship.

And he wanted to do it the right way.

‘‘Are we doing the right things in the classroom and in society?,’’ Shaw asked. ‘‘Are we taking care of ourselves? And I try to get the parents involved in that.’’

One of the first things Shaw did upon arriving in Hancock County was start the Oak Glen Junior Mat Men program for younger grapplers.

‘‘It’s been a great feeder program for us,’’ Shaw noted. ‘‘It’s something I’m very proud of.’’

He involved his staff, his wrestlers and the community. It would become one of the driving forces of his program and lay the foundation for future success.

While Shaw set a state championship as a team goal, he also put together a list of individual goals that he wanted to achieve.

‘‘As a coach, I needed to set some goals that were long term,’’ he said. ‘‘I had to make a commitment.’’

Shaw’s commitment to Oak Glen yielded his first individual state champion in 1980—Tim Ralph—who is now a member of his staff.

‘‘I’m really proud that there are guys who were so so excited that wanted to come back and and give back to the program,’’ Shaw said.

That’s one of the reasons why the Golden Bears have been so successful during the last two decades.

‘‘Everybody is on the same page here,’’ he said. ‘‘One of the factors have been the guys who moved up from my program into the coaching ranks. Guys who learned the sport through me and my philosophy.’’

In the early 1980s, Oak Glen was in Class AAA and struggled to keep up with powers like Parkersburg, Parkersburg South, Weir, Wheeling Park and John Marshall.

‘‘It took a few years, but things evolved,’’ Shaw said.

The Golden Bears didn’t have another state champ until the Crains—John and Frank—led Oak Glen to a third-place showing at the 1986 state tournament.

‘‘That may have been one of the best teams I’ve ever had,’’ Shaw said.

Oak Glen remained solid for the rest of the decade. But for one reason or another the Bears weren’t able to get over the hump and claim a state title.

‘‘During that time, I realized how hard it is to put together a championship team,’’ Shaw said.

But when Oak Glen dropped to Class AA/A in 1996, the Golden Bears claimed their first team title. And its been the same old, same old since.

Many of those title teams could have contended for the triple-A crown. But the Golden Bears didn’t worry about what class they were in. They just went out and performed to the best of their abilities.

‘‘One of the things I’ve talked to my guys about is let’s worry about ourselves,’’ Shaw said. ‘‘Let’s worry about what we’re doing and do it the best way we can.’’

Shaw admits it’s a challenge to produce a state championship-caliber squad year in and year out. But he credits the devotion of his wrestlers for keeping the winning tradition alive.

‘‘The kids are proud to be Oak Glen wrestlers,’’ he said.

Shaw is also proud of the support he’s received from the community and from the parents, who have lent support during the offseasons.

‘‘Wrestling is a sport that, when the matches are over, it’s not over,’’ Shaw said. ‘‘It takes an enormous amount of commitment.’’

Shaw also gets plenty of help from his family, especially his wife of nearly 28 years, Cindy.

‘‘She’s stuck by me and has given up an awful lot,’’ Shaw said. ‘‘I’m tremendously thankful for her support.’’

All in all, Shaw is pretty pleased with where his program is — on and off the mat.

‘‘I want to make sure we’re doing things the right way, and I think we’re doing that,’’ he said. ‘‘We want to teach more than wrestling, we want our wrestlers to be good people.’’
 

BOBBY "The FREAK" SAMSA

There aren’t too many people who can say they hold a world record. Bobby ‘’The Freak’’ Samsa can now say he holds five.

On Dec. 2, Samsa competed in the 100 Percent Raw Powerlifting Federation World Championships at West Shore High School in Melbourne, Fla., where he established himself as one of the best raw powerlifters in the world.

Samsa competed in the 20-24 age group and the 220-pound weight class as opposed to the 198-pound weight class where he broke two world records in August.

? In the bench press, Samsa lifted 440 pounds, breaking the previous world record by 40 pounds.

? In the squat competition, Samsa lifted a staggering 605 pounds breaking the previous world record by 75 pounds.

? In the overall lift, which totaled his bench press, squat and deadlift (595 pounds), he posted a combined total of 1,640 pounds, shattering the previous world record by 105 pounds.

‘’I feel really excited,’’ Samsa, a 2004 graduate of Shadyside High School, said.

‘’This one feels like more of an accomplishment. Now I’ve proven myself, not only in the U.S., but all over the world.’’

The two-day event saw lifters from as far as Estonia and the Ukraine compete for the world championship.

‘’I wanted to hit a number that I had never hit before in a competition,’’ Samsa said. ‘‘I had lifted this much weight in the gym before, but it’s not legitimate until you do it in a competition so I was determined to do it.’’

Samsa, who took the 14-hour trip to Florida in a car, knows he couldn’t have accomplished this without some help.

‘‘Matt Coffland of Matt’s Tiger Pub in Shadyside helped finance most of the trip,’’ Samsa said. ‘‘I just want to thank my friends and family and the community of Shadyside for giving me all of their support.’’

As if five world records isn’t enough, Samsa still feels that there is more to accomplish in powerlifting.

He has been invited to compete in the Raw Unity Competition at Tampa, Fla., in Jan., where they take the top-10 raw lifters in the world in every weight class to compete.

‘‘This is the strongest I’ve ever been or felt in my life,’’ Samsa said. ‘‘I think winning this competition would validate me as the best raw powerlifter in the world.

West Liberty wrestlers take to the mat

By BRIAN COOK, Times Leader Sports Writer

Tuesday evening the mats will be laid down at the Academic, Sports and Recreation Complex on the campus of West Liberty State College as first year coach Brian Davis sets to host West Virginia Tech.

“I am not really as nervous about opening the season as I am anxious about getting started,” Davis offered as the Hilltoppers will take on the Golden Bears in their first year as a program. “We have some talent on our team this year and a lot of hardworkers. This is a good match for some of our younger guys to get out those early jitters.”

Davis’ squad is full of diversity with starting grapplers from all over and three of those were once wrestling in the Ohio Valley Athletic Conference.

“It’s good to have local guys competing at this level,” Davis said. “A lot of the time many people in the valley don’t set their sites on wrestling at the college level, but West Liberty has a strong tradition of wrestling and it’s is great for wrestling folks in the valley to some out and see.”

Getting the nod, after competing in a set of tough wrestle offs, are River graduate Lucas Huffman, St. John Central standout Kayne Melko and Wheeling Park product Kevin Staub.

“Each guy who is starting earned his spot and needs to keep working hard as the season goes on,” Davis said.

At 125 pounds, Huffman will begin his senior campaign in search of All-American status.

“The past two seasons Lucas has been in the mix to be an All-American at nationals, but unfortunately injuries have kept him from being 100 percent at regionals, which is our qualifier,” Davis said. “He has beaten some nationally-ranked kids and is looking to start a great season.”

At 149 pounds, Melko has battled some stiff competition in earning his varsity spot.

“His entire weight class is tight. Anyone of them can be college 149 pounders any night,” Davis said the four individuals slated in the 149 pound class on the Toppers roster. “It is a shame not all of them can more experience, but having depth is always a good thing to have as a coach.

“They will continue to keep each other sharp in the room this year.”

At heavyweight, Staub will face a personal battle to keep injury free this season.

“He battled injury last season,” Davis said about redshirt sophomore. “If Kevin can stay healthy and can stay in the room he can win matches.”

At 133 pounds, Ryan Pape will get the early nod in the starting rotation filling in for injured Matt Mossor of Groveport, Ohio.

Pape, a Carrollton High School product, will get the first varsity action of his collegiate career.

“Ryan (Pape) will provide a solid backup this season,” Davis said. “It is nice for him to get varsity experience and be ready for the upcoming years early.”

At 141 pounds, junior Doug Surra will anchor the Toppers’ squad as the only returning All-American candidate from last season.

“He wouldn’t be pleased with anything except winning it all this season,” Davis about Surra’s wrestling, with the best still to come. “Last season, he lost a one point heartbreaker and he’s ready to bounce back.

“Mentally he is ready, he just needs to be able to put it together at the right time.”

At 157 pounds, Brian Leggett will wrestle at his approximate weight this season. Being a light-weight in his bracket, Leggett hit the weight room this summer and is a solid 157 pounder this season.

At 165 pounds, Brandon Neifield, a Hollywodd, Fla. native, is back in the lineup.

“He’s a strong, physical kid. He relied on strength and weight training this past season,” Davis said.

“I want to see him improve and beat some good wrestlers.”

At 174 pounds, Chris Gibbs of Huntington, W.Va. gets thet start.

Not getting to wrestle his desired weight the past two seasons because of two-time All-American teammate Tommy Clarkson, Gibbs is ready to breakout this season.

At 184 and 197 pounds, West Liberty will be throwing the pups to the dogs as true freshman JD Ramsey and Mitch Kapp will see their first-ever varsity experience at the collegiate level.

“We are throwing the two out there as true freshman and hopfully they develop quickly,” Davis explained.

“They look as though they will win some matches as they struggle.”

The Hilltoppers will get under way Tuesday evening at 6:30.

Cook can be reached at b'>bcook@timesleaderonline.com'>bcook@timesleaderonline.com

 

Bertolino cracks national rankings

By BRIAN COOK, T-L Sports Writer

Every wrestling season consists of ups and downs. This season is no different for former Buckeye Local graduate David Bertolino.

The current Iowa State 197-pounder, who bumped up two weight classes from last season, took nationally ranked T.J. Morrison of Rider University (N.J.) down to the wire and claimed a 5-4 victory.

“It was a close match,” Bertolino said to the Iowa State sports information department. “I knew that my conditioning was better than his and that he would break before I would.”

The Mount Pleasant native struck first with a takedown midway through the first period and added an escape at the start of the second period for a early 3-0 lead.

Morrison retaliated with a takedown of his own, 3-2. Choosing to go down in the third, Morrison took a 4-3 advantage with a reversal. With 17 ticks on the clock remaining, Bertolino escaped from the Bronc to make the match, 4-4.

“I wanted to push the pace and I knew he was hurting more. I’ve been waiting to wrestle someone tough and to have the chance to prove myself at this weight. I knew that it was a matter of time before someone tough came along. This is definitely a confidence-builder for me,” Bertolino said about Morrison, who is currently ranked No.14 nationally.

Instead of going into overtime, Bertolino’s riding time of 1:15 was the difference in the match, giving him a point and a 5-4 victory.

Fueled by the big victory, Bertolino’s trip was far from over as the Cyclones still had the Binghamton (N.Y.) Duals left on this east coast trip.

The high-octane Cyclones swept Clarion (40-0), Binghamton (30-15) and West Virginia (24-9).

“Today was a tough day with how this tournament was set up,” associate head wrestling coach Cody Sanderson said. “Wrestling three, back-to-back-to-back matches forced our wrestlers to go hard each time and they responded well.”

Bertolino was more than able to handle his opening two matches, pinning Clarion’s Dixon Jordan and handing out a technical fall to Corey Waite of Binghamton.

The Ohioan’s last match wasn’t quite as easy as the senior Cyclone hit the Mountaineers’ Jared Villers – currently ranked 16th in nation.

Villers struck first with the opening takedown. Bertolino responded in under 30 seconds with an escape, 1-2. However, an illegal move cost the Cyclone a cheap point giving Villers a two-point advantage, 1-3.

Choosing down in the second frame, Bertolino was quick off his feat for another escape, 2-3. The Akron native didn’t let Bertolino’s escape bother him, nailing another takedown in the period and continued to rack up riding time before Bertolino could add on another escape, 3-5.

In the third period, Villers would add two more marks on the score sheet with an escape and with his riding time for a 6-4 final.

The strong weekend showing bumped Bertolino into the national spotlight in the 197-pound weight class with a 17th place ranking while his Cyclones continue to sit at No. 2 behind Minnesota.

The Cyclones earn a chance to change that ranking as they trek north Dec. 2 to take on the Golden Gophers in Minneapolis.

OVERTIME

FORMER WHEELING PARK standout Abbie Rush has taken a jump in weight this season moving to the 133-pound weight class.

The true sophomore dropped an early season 6-3 decision to Wagner’s Mike Tutunjian at 141-pounds while trying to help the Terriers earn a dual victory, but has decided that 131-pounds is where he wants to be the remainder of the season.

On the mat this weekend in Philadelphia, Rush was blanked 3-0 by No. 17 nationally ranked Zac Cunliffe of Rider University. The former OVAC standout was able to bounce back in the consolation bracket picking up a 3-1 decision over Brown’s Eli Harris and a cut-throat 5-4 decision over Virginia Military Institute’s Tyler Anthony.

One match away from placing, the show-stopper came in the form of Appalachian State’s Terreyl WIlliams. The senior grappler worked Rush around the circle with 14-6 major decision.

Rush and the Terriers will be back in action again on Saturday, Dec. 2 as they travel to the Penn State Open.

DOUBLE OVERTIME

MAKING HIS collegiate debut in the 144-pound weight class this past weekend was another Buckeye Local product in Willie Saxton.

The redshirt freshman leaped up one weight class this season for the University of Missouri as he placed fourth in the Open Division of the Missouri Open in Columbia.

Saxton trail to placing went through Northwestern’s James Kohlberg (3-1), Indiana’s Caleb Lockyer (8-7) and Indiana’s Alex Warren (14-7) in the winner’s bracket. After dropping a 2-0 nail-biter to Ryan Williams of Old Dominion, Saxton defeated teammate Vince Hannon.

In his medal round bout, Saxton wasn’t as lucky, falling to Tigers’ teammate Marcus Hoehn 8-4.

TRIPLE OVERTIME

STEUBENVILLE’S David DiCicco (285) will be working into the starting rotation for Muskingum College this season.

In the Muskies’ opening show at the 14th Annual Harris Auto Center Open hosted by Ashland University, DiCicco dropped in the second round to Rashard Goff of Cleveland State, who was the runner-up for the weight class. In the consolation bracket, DiCicco was defeated by Cody Ruffur of Findlay.

Along with DiCicco, Barnesville’s Paul Jefferis is listed on the Muskie’s wrestling roster. Probably playing a back-up roll mostly this season, Jefferis was an Ohio high school state runner-up last season at the 215-pound class for Shamrock coach Luke Johnson. His work ethic and high standards of athleticism will make him an asset in the year’s to come for Muskingum mat mentor Joe Montgomery.

Cook can be reached at bcook@timesleaderonline.com
 

Here is a great article from Brian Cook! I'm sure we will here more from him as the season goes along.