High school wrestling: Elyria's Kaiyon McKinney falls in battle of No. 1's at Maumee Bay Classic

OREGON — It was a dream matchup for those in attendance but it ended up being a bit of a nightmare for Elyria sophomore Kaiyon McKinney on Saturday afternoon. McKinney — ranked No. 1 in the state in Division I — went up against unbeaten Buckeye junior Colyn Limbert — ranked No. 1 in Division II — and couldn't get anything going during a 4-0 defeat in the 113-pound championship match at the Maumee Bay Classic. "Yeah, he's a tough kid," McKinney said. "Rankings don't really mean anything, anybody can lose, anybody can win. It's all just about who worked harder, just go out there and wrestle." McKinney got in on a shot attempt early in the first period but Limbert was able to get behind the Elyria wrestler to score a takedown and grab the early 2-0 lead. Limbert added a two-second nearfall on the edge of the mat a minute later and that was all he needed. The pair battled through two scoreless periods to finish the match. "It's just all motivation to go harder every day in practice with the end of the season coming up in a couple of months," McKinney said. "If you lose, you always want to come back for revenge. You stay hungry. So I just have to go out and wrestle harder." McKinney wasn't the only Lorain County wrestler to reach the finals at Clay High School on Saturday. He also wasn't the only one who left disappointed. Avon Lake senior Jack Marconi had a solid run to the 165-pound championship match where returning state champion and No. 2 nationally ranked Joey Blaze of Perrysburg was waiting. Blaze picked up the pin late in the second period after grabbing a 19-6 lead. "I've never really had the chance to wrestle anyone like that," Marconi said. "So I was really excited, but you know, it just shows that I have got to work even harder to get to states and get to where I want to be." Marconi pulled out several big wins to reach the final, including a 7-5 sudden victory overtime victory over Ashland senior Jon Metzger, who is ranked No. 11 in the state at 157 pounds in Division I, in the quarterfinals and a 6-2 win over Bidwell River Valley senior Justin Stump, ranked No. 19 at 165 in Division II, in the semifinals. Marconi, ranked No. 5 in Division I, had to navigate a bracket that included 15 state-ranked wrestlers. "I know I worked really hard for this," he said. "I was coming in here feeling a little sloppy, feeling like I was starting to get sick the day before. So it really gives me a nice confidence boost to feel that I can work really hard and keep going and push myself to be really good and get to the high levels in a really good tournament." Also finishing as Maumee Bay placers were Avon Lake's Nathan Perry, who finished fifth at 138 pounds, and Elyria's Connor Holm, who took fifth at 150. The Shoremen had a solid showing from several wrestlers during the two-day event and ended up finishing in ninth place in the 57-team field. "I love that our team is working hard, especially the freshmen and sophomores, those younger kids," Marconi said. "We're all working really hard, we're going after it, wrestling tough and we're just out there to have fun. I'm really happy with how everyone's been doing." Contact Shaun Bennett at (440) 329-7137 or sbennett@chroniclet.com. Like him on Facebook and follow him @ShaunBennettct on Twitter. TEAM STANDINGS: 1. Wadsworth 262.5, 2. Perrysburg 256, 3. Buckeye 183.5, 4. Springboro 163.5, 5. Wauseon 145, 6. Louisville 104.5, 7. Oak Harbor 104, 8. Mount Vernon 103.5, 9. Avon Lake 98, 10. Marysville 96.5 … 23. Elyria 68, 46. Firelands, 53. Vermilion. 106 — FIRST: Brock Blankenhorn (Mount Vernon) pinned Ayden Dodd (Perrysburg), 3:05. THIRD: Blake Bartos (Buckeye) def. Blake Frantz (Wadsworth) by forfeit. FIFTH: Ethan Dimos (Massillon Jackson) dec. Joshua Medina (Oregon Clay), 12-6. 113 — FIRST: Colyn Limbert (Buckeye) dec. Kaiyon McKinney (Elyria), 4-0. THIRD: Garrison Weisner (Oregon Clay) pinned Adom Sharpley (Solon), :34. FIFTH: Jaiden Sarabia (Toledo Whitmer) dec. Alex Denkins (Perrysburg), 3-1. 120 — FIRST: Marcus Blaze (Perrysburg) dec. Max Hermes (Edison), 6-2. THIRD: Larry Moreno (Wauseon) pinned Braden Hahlen (CVCA), :42. FIFTH: Zachary Bergman (Anthony Wayne) dec. Candio Deluna (Oregon Clay), 3-0. 126 — FIRST: Kade Mellon (Wadsworth) dec. Collin Twigg (Wauseon), 4-3 (TB). THIRD: Kolten Barker (Louisville) dec. Marshall Morency (Anderson), 3-0. FIFTH: Roman Parobek (Ashland) dec. Jackson Johnson (Brighton), 4-2. 132 — FIRST: Jaxon Joy (Wadsworth) tech. fall Hunter Vogus (Monroeville), 21-5. THIRD: Dylan Rhoads (Louisville) maj. dec. Cole Evans (Perrysburg), 12-0. FIFTH: Jack McCall (Lebanon) dec. Malakhi Sharpley (Solon), 5-3 (SV). 138 — FIRST: Jeremy Ginter (Toledo Whitmer) dec. Ashton Homan (Monroeville), 5-0. THIRD: Jayce Frymire (Fremont Ross) dec. Owen Miller (Oak Harbor), 5-3. FIFTH: Nathan Perry (Avon Lake) pinned Jeff Camp (Patrick Henry), 3:09. 144 — FIRST: Brodie Dominique (Archbold) dec. Marcus Medina (Edison), 7-1. THIRD: Nick Humphrys (Wadsworth) pinned Andrew Huck (Bidwell River Valley), 2:39. FIFTH: Ethan Mitchell (Findlay) pinned Wyatt Mathews (Swartz Creek), 1:38. 150 — FIRST: Wynton Denkins (Perrysburg) def. Dominic Hoffarth (Louisville) by forfeit. THIRD: Conner Kleinberg (Springboro) dec. Jake Keirn (Wadsworth), 3-0. FIFTH: Connor Holm (Elyria) def. Travis Richardson (Brighton) by medical forfeit. 157 — FIRST: Chris Earnest (Wadsworth) pinned Jake Wood (Perrysburg), 1:18. THIRD: Kaden King (Buckeye) dec. Andrew Supers (Medina), 4-2. FIFTH: Zak Knapp (Brighton) pinned Kale Waxler (Wauseon), 2:28. 165 — FIRST: Joey Blaze (Perrysburg) pinned Jack Marconi (Avon Lake), 3:57. THIRD: Dalton Wolfrum (Defiance Tinora) dec. LJ Hampton (Pickerington Central), 3-0. FIFTH: Justin Stump (Bidwell River Valley) def. Carson Mize (Marysville) by forfeit. 175 — FIRST: Myles Takats (Perrysburg) pinned Colton Powers (Marysville), 5:25. THIRD: Eddie Neitenbach (Buckeye) def. Hayden Buhro (Oak Harbor) by forfeit. FIFTH: Matthew Kowalski (Springboro) dec. Owen Berner (Ayersville), 8-2. 190 — FIRST: Max Ray (Tiffin Columbian) dec. Wyatt Ferguson (Oak Hills), 7-0. THIRD: Kyle Snider (CVCA) dec. Andrew Liber (Toledo St. Francis de Sales), 8-2. FIFTH: Abe Delano (Ayersville) dec. Coen Grimm (Wadsworth), 6-5 (UTB). 215 — FIRST: Myles Johnson (Springboro) dec. Alex Taylor (Mount Vernon), 5-2. THIRD: Wyat Ripke (Archbold) dec. Maverick Blackburn (Wadsworth), 3-1. FIFTH: Cody Fair (Massillon) dec. Cayden Spotts (Ashland), 3-1. 285 — FIRST: Aaron Ries (Wadsworth) dec. Todd Allen (Buckeye), 4-3 (UTB). THIRD: Richard Thornton (Springboro) dec. Alex Griffith (Galion), 3-1. FIFTH: Connor Garren (Olentangy Orange) def. Javen Gaines (Defiance Tinora) by medical forfeit.