State Wrestling Notes: Bennett brothers enjoying another memorable state meet

COLUMBUS — Ryan and Evan Bennett lived out a fantasy last season when the brothers reached the finals in the Division I state wrestling tournament. The St. Edward stars and Avon residents know it could be another fairy tale finish this year. "It's a new experience for all of our guys," Evan said Saturday of wrestling at Value City Arena. "We have 12 guys wrestling here and none of us have competed in this arena. So we're all just soaking it in." Evan is a senior and three-time state qualifier. The coronavirus pandemic led to the cancellation of the state tournament his sophomore year and he finished as the 152-pound state runner-up last season when the tournament was held at Hillard Darby High School. He will wrestle for the 165-pound championship tonight. "Going out there for each match, my mindset is one match at a time and to just take my time, one second at a time," said Evan, who won 7-2 vs. Nordonia's Jeremy Olszko in the quarterfinals and 5-1 vs. Hudson's Aidan McStay in the semifinals. "I've used that mentality since the season started and it's been working out pretty well so far." Ryan Bennett won the 106-pound state championship last season as a freshman. He moved up 20 pounds and three weight classes this year, and came to Columbus ranked No. 6 in the state. "I was at 106 last year and maybe I'm not being respected because people consider that a freshman weight class," said Ryan, who beat Mayfield's Vinnie D'Alessandro 5-1 in the quarterfinals before losing 5-3 to projected state champ Brennen Cernus of Pickerington Central in the semifinals. "At the beginning of the year I kind of had to adjust to my body … but I'm here now to wrestle. Whoever is in front of me is going to get my best for six minutes." The Bennetts expressed happiness with being able to wrestle in the same lineup the past two seasons. "It's been awesome," Ryan said. "I can't even put it into words, but it's my last tournament with him so I'm just enjoying these last couple of days." STAYING ALIVE Wellington senior Jeremiah McKee upgraded his status to state placer after splitting his two matches during Saturday's morning session. He opened with an 11-9 loss in sudden victory overtime to projected state champion Hunter Long of Wayne Trace. "That was a pretty disappointing loss and I knew it was going to be a tough one," McKee said. "I just got caught at the end of that shot. He had very nice timing on his high crotch and just caught me in overtime. "I was just trying to push the pace and I guess I should have been smarter and just stalled out the last half-minute (of the third period) because I didn't have any stall calls and could've won. It's disappointing." McKee rallied with a 7-4 win over Johnstown Northridge's Michael Fister in the consolation second round that guaranteed his first career podium finish at the state tournament. He lost in his consolation quarterfinal Saturday night by a 9-1 major decision to Marion Pleasant's Daxton Chase. "It's pretty sweet because I wasn't able to place my last two years and it's my first time at the Schott," said McKee, who will wrestle for seventh-place this morning. ** Firelands junior Ruben Pina-Lorenzana had his sights set on becoming the program's first state finalist and first state champion this season, but after a quarterfinal meltdown against Cincinnati Wyoming's Malachi O'Leary, he is aiming to become the Falcons' all-time highest placer. Pina-Lorenzana built a sizable lead on O'Leary midway through the second period, but was then taken down several times before O'Leary finally caught him on his back for a pin late in the third period. "I was getting tired but I think it was more of a mental thing," Pina-Lorenzana said. "I was up like 9-3 and I thought I had it in the bag. I quit doing what I was good at, let my foot off the gas and he began to dictate how the match went." Pina-Lorenzana bounced back for a 5-2 victory over Ashland's Roman Parobek to guarantee his second straight state placement, then won 7-5 over St. Mary's Memorial's Trevor Hisey in the consolation quarterfinals. "I was happy that I was able to bounce back, keep a short-term memory," Pina-Lorenzana said. "We came down here to win it all, but now we have to look at the next best thing we can accomplish. We just have to keep climbing as high as we can." ** Elyria freshman Kaiyon McKinney won his second straight consolation match Saturday morning — a 2-1 victory in ultimate tiebreaker overtime against Solon's Kevin Grunzweig — to earn a podium finish. "I've been counted out since the beginning of the year, they have me at ninth (place in the state), not even placing, yet I put in a lot of training and knew I could do better than that," McKinney said. McKinney beat Grunzweig due to his strength in the top position. He rode the No. 7-ranked wrestler for a total of three minutes — the entire second period, Grunzweig's half of the tiebreaker and throughout the ultimate tiebreaker. "I've been riding very good this whole year," McKinney said. "I just had to put it to work when I had the chance." McKinney was pinned in 1:23 in his consolation quarterfinal by St. Edward's Wyatt Richter and will wrestle for seventh place this morning. ** Elyria senior Peyton Fenton stretched his state tournament winning streak to three matches with a pair of victories Saturday. After losing his Division I 120-pound opener to projected state champion Jaxson Joy of Wadsworth, he rallied Friday night to win his consolation opener. He won 4-3 in the consolation second round over Cincinnati LaSalle's Tanner Spalding, then won 10-3 over Vandalia Butler's Noah Moreland in the consolation quarterfinals. "Once I lost that match, I just threw it in the back and just had to start moving forward again," Fenton said. "I just have to wrestle my match all day and all night long. I have to battle my way back and take third." ** Black River senior Travis Owen narrowly lost 5-3 to Allen East's Eli Criblez — ranked No. 2 in the state — in the Division III 285-pound quarterfinals, but bounced back by pinning Covington's Scott Blumenstock in the consolation second round to guarantee his second straight state placement. He will improve upon last year's eighth-place finish after beating Hanoverton United's Dallas McCracken 3-1 in the consolation quarterfinals. TOUGH FINISH Avon Lake junior Michael Valerino finished within a hair of landing on the state podium, losing a 3-1 matchup against St. Edward's Kade Brown in the 120-pound consolation second round. The nearness to the state-placer label increased the Shoreman's hunger. "I don't even feel like I'm done wrestling," Valerino said. "I plan on putting in a lot of work in the offseason and doing whatever I can to finish at the top of the podium next year." Valerino was unranked, and outside of the Avon Lake program many were surprised when he grabbed one of the four qualifying spots at Perrysburg. He knows that will all change during his senior year as he will be the hunted by those trying to make a name for themselves by beating a Division I state qualifier. "I'm excited (for the challenge) but I'm not going to change my mentality or anything like that," he said. "Just like I didn't let being unranked change anything about me. I just kept wrestling and that's what I plan to do next year." ** Avon senior Joe Roesch suffered a 7-0 loss to Wadsworth's Coen Grimm in the 190-pound consolation second round to see his state tournament run, senior season and high school career come to an end. "You know, it's anybody's match every time you step onto the mat down here," Roesch said. "The competition is so tough and just to get down here … it's fantastic." Roesch is on a very short list of area athletes who were able to compete in two state tournaments — the Avon football team advanced to the state semifinals in the fall — during their senior season. "That's always a great experience," he said. "Winning those close matches, playing in the football games … they are all better when you win. But just the experiences are nice in building for my future." ** Elyria junior Erich Trinski was a win away from a podium finish after winning his opener Friday, but he suffered a pair of losses Saturday and was eliminated. Trinski was pinned in 4:40 in the quarterfinals by Westerville North's Connor Euton's — the projected state champion — then lost a 5-4 matchup with Marysville's Erryl Will in the consolation second round. ** After bouncing back Friday night following an opening loss, Elyria senior Izzak Pedraza couldn't keep the momentum rolling as he was pinned in 1:18 by Reynoldsburg's Logan Smalley in the consolation second round. Contact Shaun Bennett at 329-7137 or sbennett@chroniclet.com. Like him on Facebook and follow him @ShaunBennettct on Twitter.