District Girls Wrestling: Five advance from tough Findlay event

FINDLAY — Many Lorain County girls battled through the district wrestling tournament at Findlay High on Sunday and the event was as tough as advertised. While no area wrestlers were able to come away with a district title, five were able to advance to the state tournament by finishing in the top four. Seniors Destiny Cabot (100) of Avon Lake and Gianna Sanfilippo (115) of North Ridgeville led the area effort by finishing as district runners-up and will head to Columbus as No. 2 seeds. Cabot — a state placer last season — earned her third straight trip to Columbus after advancing to the final and then being pinned in the first period by Tinora senior Bella Graziani. "I think I wrestled very well in my first three matches," Cabot said. "For my finals match I messed up. I was not prepared for that throw. I think it was out of an underhook. I was more worried about working on my offense where I should have been more worried about defense. That throw completely caught me off guard. I'm definitely going to be working on that. "I'm ready for the state tournament. If I end up wrestling her again, I'm going to be better prepared. I'm going to practice the next couple of days and get ready for the state tournament." Sanfilippo's advancement to state is nothing short of stunning.Only a fourth-place finisher at the Avon Lake sectional, Sanfilippo pinned her way to the district final including a first-round pin of Fremont Ross senior Jaden Long, the Findlay sectional champion. Sanfilippo, North Ridgeville's first girls state qualifier, lost 8-2 to Wauseon junior Kaelynn Hartsick in the final. "I'm still in disbelief," Sanfilippo said. "It feels unreal. I wasn't expecting it, even though I first started wrestling three years ago. I wasn't expecting to get to state. Just having my family here and all my coaches made all the difference. My friends were texting me and supporting me. I think it was just luck." "Gianna can really be a hammer on top and that's what she did," North Ridgeville coach Dustan Fair said. "She fought each match and got into the road in a position where she was comfortable. She took advantage of the opportunities when they came and put herself in that finals match. She came up short in the finals, but put in a lot of work." In consolation finals, Lorain High sophomore Cali Otero (100) and Black River junior Taylor Owen (155) placed third, while Vermilion senior Cora Frederick (125) was fourth. Owen — a two-time state placer — and Frederick are both three-time state qualifiers. Otero is a two-time state qualifier. Otero won her consolation final by injury default over Fremont Ross junior Malaya Hughes, who forfeited because of a sore knee. Otero was knocked into the consolation bracket by Graziani, losing to the Tinora wrestler by a first-period pin in the semifinals. "This is the hardest district there is," Otero said. "I'm just so happy that I was able to get the best chance to go to state. It just warms me up. I just want to let everyone know that I'm coming for them. I'm placing this year. I just really hope people are ready. I'm coming. I got a lot of good training and coaching in. I'm excited. "I've been working very hard for this since last year since before I got into high school. It's all about taking one match at a time, being humble like I always am and just ready to wrestle the best that I can. I just need to go out there and wrestle my match. I want to place at state. I definitely deserve it." Owen also won her consolation final by injury default. She was leading Valley Forge senior Joanna Torres 8-1 in the third period when the Patriots wrestler defaulted. Owen was still upset about her 2-1 semifinal loss to Archbold sophomore Vivienne Legato, which derailed Owen from making the championship final. The match was a virtual stalemate. Owen and Legato each were assessed a penalty point for stalling, Owen in the first and Legato in the third. An escape point by Legato late in the third period was the difference in the match. "That should have been the finals match," Owen said. "I know I got her (Legato) if we face each other again. Those were tough calls by the ref but I know I got her. I can beat her. If I can beat her I can beat anybody." After a scoreless first period versus Torres, Owen scored with an escape, stalling point and then a takedown in the second to break the match open. Owen then scored another takedown halfway through the third before Torres used up the remainder of her injury time. "I wrestled (Torres) at sectional finals. I knew I had her," Owen said. "I wanted to pin her this time, but I wasn't able to do that." Legato went on to win the 155-pound title match by pin at 1:04 over Sandusky sophomore Britoriah Rollinson. "(Legato) was a tough match," said Black River coach Blake Owen, Taylor's father. "We knew that coming in here today. We wanted to get that win, but it's going to matter more next week. If we see (Legato) next week we feel that we're going to be in a good position to get that win down in Columbus. "Since the second half of the year, she's really turned it on. I can't be more proud of her. She's coming in and peaking right now. I couldn't be happier." Frederick fell by a 13-0 major decision in the consolation final to Paulding sophomore Civil Pumphrey, who earlier knocked Frederick into the consolation bracket with a third-period pin in the quarterfinals. "It was definitely tough," Frederick said. "I was not predicted to get out at all, so I'm glad that I did. Today was tough. It was a good challenge. It was probably one of my hardest tournaments. My goal is to place at state, but it's going to be little tougher, that's for sure, but we're on track. Contact Paul Heyse at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. TEAM STANDINGS: 1. Archbold 93.5; 2. Tinora 90; 3. Fremont Ross 86.5; 4. Gibsonburg 70.5; 5. Clyde 69.5; 6. Vermilion 68; 7. St. Mary's Memorial 63.5; 8. Findlay and Lakewood 55; 10. Seneca East and Wauseon 52.5; 12. Elmwood 51.5; 13. Valley Forge 43.5; 14. Woodmore 43; 15. Liberty-Benton 41; 16. Avon Lake 39; 17. Brunswick 34.5; 18. Normandy 33.5; 19. Fostoria 33; 20. Lorain 32.5; 21. Delta 32; 22. Salem 31.5; 23. Napoleon, Sandusky and Sherwood Fairview 31; 26. Ashland Crestview 30; 27. Brecksville 28.5; 28. Midview 26; 29. North Royalton and Oregon Clay 25; 31. North Ridgeville 24; 32. Delphis St. John and Madison Comprehensive 23.5; 34. Defiance 23; 35. Black River, Liberty Center and Port Clinton 22; 38. Antwerp, Medina Highland, Paulding and Perrysburg 21; 42. Tiffin Calvert, Cuyahoga Falls and Shelby 20; 45. John Adams 19. 100 — FIRST: Bella Graziani (Tinora) pinned Destiny Cabot (Avon Lake), :26. THIRD: Cali Otero (Lorain) def. Malaya Hughes (Fremont Ross) by injury default. FIFTH: Lilly Ziefel (Gibsonburg) pinned Carys Jacobs (Archbold), 1:55.105 — FIRST: Tinley Thieroff (Woodmore) pinned Kailani Long (Fremont Ross), 4:54. THIRD: Avery Gaskalla (Clyde) tech. fall Brooke Yontosh (Normandy), 18-0. FIFTH: Cecilia Claypool (Liberty Benton) dec. Jersey Mayes (Bellevue), 10-3.110 — FIRST: Triniti Bechstein (Elmwood) pinned Anna Tsirambidis (North Royalton), 5:46. THIRD: Lindley Crow (Liberty Center) def Lillian Kendel (Gibsonburg) by injury default. FIFTH: Azlyn Pagan (Tinora) pinned Skye Price (Midview), 1:26.115 — FIRST: Kaelynn Hartsock (Wauseon) dec. Gianna Sanfilippo (North Ridgeville), 8-2. THIRD: Bri Popovich (Cuyahoga Falls) maj. dec. Hope Timko (Shelby), 15-5. FIFTH: Sophia Swanson (Toledo Central Catholic) pinned Mackenzie Feltis (Vermilion), 2:28.120 — FIRST: Meredith Greenslade (Clyde) pinned Riley Robertson (Lakewood), 1:14. THIRD: Allison Schroeder (Gibsonburg) pinned Kayah Montague (St. Mary's Memorial), 2:30. FIFTH: Elana Quigley (Lutheran West) dec. Addilyn Delarber (Tinora), 11-9.125 — Anna Madi (Brecksville) maj. dec. Isabella Jordan (Defiance), 16-2. THIRD: Civil Pumphrey (Paulding) maj. dec. Cora Frederick (Vermilion), 13-0. FIFTH: Kendyll Sayler (Seneca East) def. Stella Januszewski (Strongsville) by injury default. 130 — FIRST: Marisa McCartin (Brunswick) pinned Savannah Mulkey (Perrysburg), 2:59. THIRD: Estella Koppert-Smith (Madison Comprehensive) pinned Hannah Richards (Toledo Start), 2:03. FIFTH: Mallory Meggitt (Clyde) tech. fall Tamia Bounds (Fremont Ross), 18-0.135 — FIRST: Ela Tha (Lakewood) pinned Libbie Tyson (Elmwood), 1:25. THIRD: Ryllie Taylor (Delta) pinned Audrey Whitener (Findlay), 2:00. FIFTH: Abbie Meyer (St. Mary's Memorial) def. Autumn Love (Sherwood Fairview) by injury default.140 — FIRST: Kiera Depinet (Seneca East) dec. Paige Menough (Salem), 11-5. THIRD: Bridgette Rice (Delphos St. John) pinned Kelsey Denholm (Medina Highland), :44. FIFTH: Nylasha Phillips (Lorain) pinned Miyah Makoski (Normandy), :42.145 — FIRST: Naomi Gearhart (Ashland Crestview) pinned Amya Hallett (Wauseon), 1:52. THIRD: Kayla Opperman (St. Mary's Memorial) dec. Kate Brenneman (Archbold), 12-9. FIFTH: Koren Stevens (Oregon Clay) def. Sophie Habermehl (Vermilion) by injury default.155 — FIRST: Vivenne Legato (Archbold) pinned Britoriah Rollison (Sandusky), 1:04. THIRD: Taylor Owen (Black River) def. Joanna Torres (Valley Forge) by injury default. FIFTH: Evie Pfleiderer (Tiffin Calvert) pinned Reelyn Montague (St. Mary's Memorial), 2:06.170 — FIRST: Martina Ebaugh (Napoleon) dec. Ariana Espinnosa (Fostoria), 5-1. THIRD: Paige Gamby (Tinora) pinned Eliana Rush (Eastwood), 3:16. FIFTH: Faith Sergent (Vermilion) maj. dec. Allison Dennis (Norwalk), 11-3.190 — FIRST: Evie Parmalee (Liberty-Benton) dec. Michaela Stork (Port Clinton), 4-0. THIRD: Maddilan Doster (Antwerp) dec. Tamiya Whittsette (John Adams), 12-7. FIFTH: Julia Bollenbacher (Findlay) pinned Madyson Smith (Montpelier), 1:37.235 — FIRST: Gabby Oregon (Archbold) pinned Hadeel Abuqbitta (Valley Forge), 2:37. THIRD: Keyonna Vann (Fremont Ross) pinned Dylan Ankney (Sherwood Fairview), 2:18. FIFTH: McKenna Hanes (Findlay) pinned Lilliana Bernal (Fostoria), :37.