High school wrestling: Elyria's Jake Evans sets school pin record on way to district semifinals; 6 other Pioneers also make semis

PERRYSBURG — Elyria senior Jake Evans wasn't expected to break a sweat Friday night during the first two rounds of the Division I district wrestling tournament. That doesn't mean the 182-pounder's two wins on the mat weren't meaningful. Evans opened with a pin in 1:11 over Oregon Clay's Zach Kraus, then pinned Lakewood's Nistor Krizan in 1:29 in the quarterfinals. The pins gave him 118 for his career — tying and then passing Kevin Vough for the program record. "I've been looking forward to this my whole high school career," Evans said. "Ever since I started my freshman year and I got 27 pins, and I was looking at it and I was like, 'Yeah, if I get this many pins every year I might be able to get close to him. I'd really like to get that.' It's something I really was looking for." Evans was one of seven Pioneers to advance to the district semifinals and one of 10 wrestlers to go 2-0 on Day 1 from Lorain County. The other Elyria wrestlers still alive in the championship brackets are Alex Green at 106 pounds, Colin Noel at 113, Nate Burnett at 145, Erich Trinski at 152, Enrique Munguia at 160 and JoJo Norwood at 170. Also advancing to the semifinals were North Ridgeville's Zach Orseno at 120, and Avon's Cael Saxton at 132 and Mason Bingham at 285. While Evans was excited about setting the program record for career pins, he was subdued when it came to advancing to the district semifinals for the fourth straight year. "It feels like it's kind of normal after so many years of being with (Elyria coach) Erik (Burnett). You're kind of expected to (get there)," he said. "If you lose, then that's a problem. I'm not really happy until state's over and I'm on the podium and I've got what I got. No matter what it is, I'll be happy with it because I know I put all my work in and I left nothing on the table." Evans said it's been fun chasing the guys in front of him en route to the record. Before overtaking Vough on Friday, he passed Ben Darmstadt, who had 103 pins, earlier in the season. "I have a lot of respect for Kevin and Ben, they're really good wrestlers," Evans said. "Just a lot of love and respect for them." Green kept alive one of the more surprising stories of the postseason. The Pioneers sophomore didn't expect to win a sectional title last weekend at Midview and said he was stunned again after advancing to the district semifinals. He opened with a pin in 1:24 of Parma's Bobby Tupa before pinning Anthony Wayne's Zachary Bergman in 1:42 in the quarterfinals. "I'm pretty excited just to see how I do tomorrow," he said. "It's very exciting and I hope I do good." Not as surprising but still considered an underdog to reach the semifinals was Trinski, who opened with a 17-1 technical fall of North Royalton's Brock Mason before winning a 5-2 decision over Westlake's Aiden Ashburn, who upset Oregon Clay's Dominico Migliori — ranked No. 13 in the state — in the first round. "I've had a bad year," Trinski said. "I've been dinged up a little bit, slept on a little bit, so it felt good to just get out there and show people that I'm here. "I don't really pay attention to those (state rankings), that's just not me. I just wrestle. I'm here." Saxton will be looking to earn his second straight trip to the state tournament this morning after pinning Anthony Wayne's Bobby Vossen in 1:45 in the first round and winning a 12-1 major decision over North Olmsted's Mahdi Shoman in the quarterfinals. "The postseason's about wrestling smart, accumulating points and knowing a lot of situational wrestling," Saxton said. "I went into today trying to wrestle smart and put up points." Being a huge favorite in both of Friday's matches didn't mean Saxton didn't take time to savor the wins as his senior season nears its end. "You get up for every match," he said. "In the district tournament you see so many upsets, you see guys letting it fly and that's the beauty of it. I'm not holding anything back and I'm not leaving anything in the tank." Orseno is looking to earn his first trip to state after going 2-2 and missing the district podium as a sophomore. He opened with a 13-5 major decision over Toledo Start's William Zaborski, then pinned Normandy's Joshua Lampa in 4:00 in the quarterfinals. "I'm ecstatic, man, I'm just so excited to have this opportunity," Orseno said. "It's a big moment, a big goal for me and now I have the opportunity to handle business tomorrow. "I feel like I've been working hard now for two years and I'm starting to get on the same level as these guys and advancing today is letting me know that I'm doing something right." Contact Shaun Bennett at 329-7137 or sbennett@chroniclet.com. Like him on Facebook and follow him @ShaunBennettct on Twitter. TEAM STANDINGS: St. Edward 125.5, Perrysburg 90, Elyria 85.5, Olmsted Falls 54, Oregon Clay 53, Toledo Whitmer 48.5, Brunswick 35.5, Anthony Wayne 33, Strongsville 33, Avon 30.5, Berea-Midpark 30, Maple Heights 27, Fremont Ross 25, North Ridgeville 25, Findlay 24, Sylvania Northview 23.5, St. Ignatius 23, Westlake 23, North Royalton 21.5, North Olmsted 21, Parma 20, Toledo St. John's Jesuit 19, Shaker Heights 12, Normandy 11, Avon Lake 10, Bedford 10, Midview 8.5, Amherst 8, Lima Senior 7, Garfield 6, Holland Springfield 5, Toledo Start 5, Lakewood 4, Valley Forge 3, Lorain 1. SEMIFINAL PAIRINGS 106 — Ryan Avalos (Perrysburg) vs. Ray Lewis (Strongsville); Ryan Bennett (St. Edward) vs. Alex Green (Elyria) 113 — Diego Chavez (Perrysburg) vs. Colin Noel (Elyria); Wyatt Richter (St. Edward) vs. Nick Rodriguez (Oregon Clay) 120 — Zach Orseno (North Ridgeville) vs. Hudson Goebel (Findlay); Sean Seefeldt (St. Edward) vs. Brayden Biedermann (Anthony Wayne) 126 — Patrick Andosik (St. Edward) vs. Jeremy Ginter (Toledo Whitmer); Kenneth Lambert (Strongsville) vs. Myles Takats (Perrysburg) 132 — Mike Daly (Oregon Clay) vs. Richard Delsanter (St. Edward); Allenson Denkins (Perrysburg) vs. Cael Saxton (Avon) 138 — Joey Blaze (Perrysburg) vs. Daniel Eggleton (Maple Heights); Carson Atkins (Olmsted Falls) vs. Shane Heil (Berea-Midpark) 145 — Tommy West (St. Edward) vs. Nate Burnett (Elyria); Anthony Grecol (Strongsville) vs. Jack Haskin (Toledo Whitmer) 152 — Evan Bennett (St. Edward) vs. Erich Trinski (Elyria); Alex Garee (Perrysburg) vs. Daniel Devera (Parma) 160 — Padraic Gallagher (St. Edward) vs. Derek Fields (Brunswick); Nate Urry (Olmsted Falls) vs. Enrique Munguia (Elyria) 170 — JoJo Norwood (Elyria) vs. Luke Geog (St. Edward); Conner Liber (Sylvania Northview) vs. Curtis Jenkins (Maple Heights) 182 — Andrew Liber (Sylvania Northview) vs. Jake Evans (Elyria); Hudson Hightower (St. Edward) vs. RJ Simon (Olmsted Falls) 195 — Aris Dashiell (St. Edward) vs. Ryan Musgrove (Perrysburg); Trent Thomas (Bedford) vs. Zach Porch (Berea-Midpark) 220 — Cameron Piercy (Toledo Whitmer) vs. Jonny Slaper (St. Edward); Wyatt Shiverdecker (Anthony Wayne) vs. Ty Cobb (Oregon Clay) 285 — Evan Sevastos (Brunswick) vs. Mason Bingham (Avon); Ethan Green (Fremont Ross) vs. Jerry White (Olmsted Falls)