High School Wrestling: 30-second pin by Aiden Kyser puts Vermilion over the top vs. Firelands

HENRIETTA TWP. — When Vermilion's Aiden Kyser stepped onto the mat for the final match of Wednesday's dual meet against Firelands with his Sailors trailing by three points, there was only ever going to be one outcome. It took Kyser just 30 seconds to pin Firelands' Michael Wilson, giving Vermilion six points and a 41-38 win. "I had maximum confidence in him," said Vermilion coach Brandon Gilbert. "He's just that way, and I've had four years of that. What you saw out there is pretty much what he is. He's on a mission." Kyser is now 29-1 this season after Wednesday's win, and many of those wins have come in a similarly dominant fashion to his victory over Wilson. "I just had to keep my head clear and do what I knew I had to do," Kyser said. "I collared him, snapped him down, and once I did that, I got to my bread and butter, balled him up, cradled him and got the pin." With an incredibly deep and difficult sectional coming up once the postseason gets underway, stacking up wins like Wednesday's is exactly how Kyser needs to be preparing. "With how stacked my sectional is," Kyser said. "It's nice to know I can go out and beat a kid in 30 seconds." "Come sectionals, it's a barn-burner," Gilbert said. "And then districts is no different, so it's going to be a doozy, and he's ready to rock." While Kyser recorded the second-fastest pin of the night, it wasn't even the fastest by someone named Kyser. Aiden's younger brother Isaac, a sophomore, won his match against Kane Meinke at 190 pounds with a pin in just 23 seconds. "It's just dedication, practice, and working hard," Isaac said. "It definitely helps having a good team to drive me and push me to my best. It felt nice being able to walk out there and show who the Vermilion Sailors are." Isaac is the latest in what has become a Kyser wrestling dynasty at Vermilion, which began with Owen, who graduated a few years ago, continued with Aiden, and is now moving on to Isaac. "It's been a blessing," Gilbert said. "They just pass the proverbial baton from one to the next. All of them are hammers, they're incredibly strong, they work incredibly hard, and that family is what you want in the program." Adding to the Kysers' victories were Ashton Juszczyk with a pin at 132, Mack Mooney with a technical fall at 175, and forfeits at 106, 113, and 144. While the Falcons ended up losing the dual, they did have plenty of success as they celebrated their senior night. The two most dominant showings came from seniors Matthew Bednar and Clifford Stull, who both recorded first-round pins in their final home matches. "It felt really good to come out and win one more in the regular season in my final home dual," Stull said. "I've put in a lot of work in these four years, and to do it with all my teammates here, it was exciting." "I've been wrestling here since eighth grade," Bednar said. "I've won some and I've lost some, and I'm just really glad I could end it on a win. I've wrestled here for a minute now, and I just love doing it. Just being out here, even if I didn't win, I'd still be happy wrestling for the last time this season." In addition to Bednar and Stull, Firelands got a pin from D'Mari Campbell at 150 and a decision victory from Kase Rogers at 165, as well as forfeits at 120, 126, and 285. Vermilion 41, Firelands 38 106: Julien Lind (Vermilion), forfeit. 113: Triston Wood (Vermilion), forfeit. 120: Anaiyah Campbell (Firelands), forfeit. 126: Dane Vanderpool (Firelands), forfeit. 132: Ashton Juszczyk (Vermilion) pin Avery Wilson (Firelands). 138: Matthew Bednar (Firelands) pin Brenden Breudigarm (Vermilion), 1:28 144: Gabriel Bailey (Vermilion), forfeit. 150: D'Mari Campbell (Firelands) pin James Henkel (Vermilion), 2:24. 157: Aiden Kyser (Vermilion) pin Michael Wilson (Firelands), 0:30. 165: Kase Rogers (Firelands) dec. Chase Jackson (Vermilion), 5-4. 175: Mack Mooney (Vermilion) tech. fall Joah Vale (Firelands), 16-0. 190: Isaac Kyser (Vermilion) pin Kane Meinke (Firelands), 0:23. 215: Clifford Stull (Firelands) pin John Miller (Vermilion), 1:30. 285: Alejandro Flores (Firelands), forfeit. Exhibition — 144: Colby Wnoroski (Oberlin) pin Gabriel Bailey (Vermilion), 1:42.