High school wrestling: Jack Valerino, Avon Lake have three-for-all at SWC tournament

ELYRIA — Jack Valerino, and Avon Lake, had a three-for-all Saturday. The senior won his third straight Southwestern Conference tournament championship while helping the Shoremen win their third straight outright SWC title. Avon Lake finished with 215 team points, 60 more than anyone else to win its second SWC tournament title in the last three years. The school produced five individual winners and four runners-up when the dust settled at Elyria High. In the process, Valerino became the program's career wins leader, finishing the day with 143. Nathan Perry was the previous record holder with 141. "It feels great," Valerino said. "We won as a team three times in a row. (The record) is amazing. I've been thinking about it all day. It's pretty insane how many good kids I've passed in wins. It's pretty cool. At the end of last year I knew I needed 40 this year, so I knew it was doable. I just had to perform my best and work really hard." Joining Valerino (138 pounds) on the top of the podium were Nate Grieger (126), Brayden Patterson (144), Gavin Andrews (150) and Will Schnabel (165). Avon Lake produced the most individual champions followed by Elyria with four and Midview with two. Avon, Berea-Midpark and Olmsted Falls each produced one champion. Grieger's win against Brady Hexter of Olmsted Falls was easily the most intense final as the junior needed a takedown in the final second to secure the win. The pair were tied at three going into the final period when Hexter secured a takedown and Grieger a reversal. He let Hexter back up and then took an 8-7 lead, but was called for stalling with 28 seconds left. He took a gambit and let Hexter up with 10 seconds remaining. It paid off in the final second when he secured the necessary takedown for the 11-9 decision. "I was originally just trying to ride him out, but he was working really hard to get out," Grieger said. "I couldn't hold him. I knew there was short time left, and I knew I had to do a big move. I've been working on it a lot in practice. We got in the position, under-over, and I just threw it. Big move, bam, got the takedown and started celebrating like crazy." Elyria finished runner up with 155 team points and sent seven to a final. Bennett Wachter (106), Shamus Fogarty (113), Blake Cancel (132) and Terrell Calhoun (157) all brought home championships. Fogarty and Calhoun both won titles last year while Cancel became a three-time defending champion. Wachter denied North Ridgeville's Ian Rottari his second straight title at 106 with a 10-1 major decision in a battle of top 10-ranked wrestlers in Division I. "I beat him before, so I was just thinking bonus this match," Wachter said. "I won 4-2 last time and I knew I could wrestle him better. This match I wrestled, I was thinking bonus the whole time. Last match I was just trying to win. This definitely gives me some confidence (going into the postseason). He's ranked top 10 and I majored him. That just shows how good I am." Avon's Eian Englehart brought home the 285 title, pinning Avon Lake's Jackson West in just 43 seconds. It was the second straight championship for the junior. Midview's Carrson Morris was the only seed lower than three to win a title, pinning Avon Lake's Caden Bristow for the 120 championship. Senior Nathanial Schenberger brought home Midview's other title at 215 with a 17-1 technical fall against Elyria's Xaiden Natal. "It feels nice," Schenberger said. "I needed this in a way. The past couple of years I've placed, but I haven't won it. It's about time. It's a little bit of a motivation to keep on going. After having some hard matches, I know what I need to work on so I can do better in my upcoming matches." Contact Chris Sweeney at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Follow him @CSweeney1686 on X. TEAM STANDINGS: 1. Avon Lake 215, 2. Elyria 155, 3. Berea-Midpark 141, 4. Midview 105, 5. Olmsted Falls 83.5, 6. Avon 56.5, 7. Amherst 48.5, 8. North Ridgeville 47.5. 106 — CHAMPIONSHIP: Bennett Wachter (Elyria) maj. dec. Ian Rottari (N. Ridgeville) 10-1; THIRD: Gavon Honaker (Olmsted Falls) dec. Trae Thompson (Amherst), 13-10. 113 — CHAMPIONSHIP: Shamus Fogarty (Elyria) tech. fall Conall Gannon (Avon Lake) 17-2; THIRD: Devin Juristy (Amherst) pin Dominic Nofel (Berea-Midpark), 2:09. 120 — CHAMPIONSHIP: Carrson Morris (Midview) pinned Caden Bristow (Avon Lake), 3:53; THIRD: Marlon Charley (Elyria) tech. fall Collin Mikulka (Berea-Midpark) 19-1. 126 — CHAMPIONSHIP: Nate Grieger (Avon Lake) dec. Brady Hexter (Olmsted Falls), 11-9; THIRD: Blake Bernath (Elyria) pinned Logan Rottari (N. Ridgeville), 4:19. 132 — CHAMPIONSHIP: Blake Cancel (Elyria) maj. dec. Kaeden Lademann (Avon Lake) 17-7; THIRD: Brandon DeBlasis (Berea-Midpark) dec. Aaron Cole (Midview), 11-5. 138 — CHAMPIONSHIP: Jack Valerino (Avon Lake) pinned Pierre Greenhill (N. Ridgeville), 3:14; THIRD: Trey Daugherty (Avon) dec. Cannon Fritz (Amherst), 3-2. 144 — CHAMPIONSHIP: Brayden Patterson (Avon Lake) dec. Garrett Crowley (Berea-Midpark), 11-5; THIRD: Gage Barbeau (Midview) pinned Ryan Roberto (Olmsted Falls), 3:31. 150 — CHAMPIONSHIP: Gavin Andrews (Avon Lake) tech. fall Zavier Stephens (Elyria) 18-3; THIRD: Kane Sparks (Avon) dec. Caleb Crawford (Amherst), 6-2. 157 — CHAMPIONSHIP: Terrell Calhoun (Elyria) maj. dec. Xaviere Harden (Berea-Midpark) 14-4; THIRD: Dylan Hasenohrl (Olmsted Falls) dec. Luke Peace (Avon Lake), 4-1. 165 — CHAMPIONSHIP: Will Schnabel (Avon Lake) pinned Austin LaForce (Berea-Midpark), 1:21; THIRD: Jack Schumacher (Avon) dec. Lucas Hewett (Olmsted Falls), 2-0. 175 — CHAMPIONSHIP: Noah Finley (Berea-Midpark) dec. Kemarion Wimberly (Elyria), 1-0; THIRD: Gavin Range (Olmsted Falls) dec. Landen Kunzelman (Avon Lake), 8-3. 190 — CHAMPIONSHIP: Don Johnson (Olmsted Falls) maj. dec. Cameron West (Midview) 10-2; THIRD: Ian Stewart (Berea-Midpark) def. Aide Omoijunanfo (Avon Lake) by default. 215 — CHAMPIONSHIP: Nathanial Schenberger (Midview) tech. fall Xaiden Natal (Elyria) 17-1; THIRD: Leonidas Lavdas (Berea-Midpark) dec. Pablo Secin (Avon Lake), 10-5. 285 — CHAMPIONSHIP: Eian Englehart (Avon) pinned Jackson West (Avon Lake), 0:43; THIRD: Makai Massey (Midview) pinned Tyler Visnic (Berea-Midpark), 2:19.