The Heart of a Champion- Dave Rella Wills Himself to Victory over Ryan Patrovich in closing seconds for National Title: Lance Palmer adds National Championship to four state titles

All season long the controversy had been brewing.  Amateur Wrestling News had Dave Rella of Walsh Jesuit ranked ahead of Ryan Patrovich of New York.  The controversy stemmed from the fact that Patrovich finished 2nd at Junior Nationals last summer (“Fargo”) and Rella finished 3rd.  Many reasoned that this ranking had to do more with Ohio-bias than merit (one of the chief compilers of the rankings, Bob Preusse, hails from the Buckeye State).  However, while Patrovich finished higher, both lost to the same wrestler, the controversial Rocky Cozart.  On Sunday night, Rella and Patrovich were to settle it on the mat, with a National Title in the balance.  While Rella is known for his smooth takedown style and overwhelming power, on this night, those assets failed him- he would have to rely on sheer intestinal fortitude to fight out a win against Patrovich as the match went to double overtime. 

And fight he did.  The lanky Patrovich quickly sucked him back into a crab ride, eating approximately 15 seconds of the 30 second double overtime off the clock as the wrestlers went out of bounds.  Upon the restart Rella seemed to be getting sucked back into the same position quickly, and it occurred to me that things were looking very bad. However, Rella simply wouldn’t be denied- relying less on technique than sheer will to win in scoring a reversal with less than five seconds left in double overtime.
       
It was a given that Dave Rella would dominate all comers in Ohio.  Rella’s scores at the state tournament this year were 21-5, 25-10, 22-8, 18-6- with nearly all points yielded escapes.  However, perhaps even his biggest supporters did not forsee how much he would dominate at nationals, defeating highly regarded New Jersey State Champ Alex Caruso by a score of 9-2 (Caruso would go on to take 3rd), and nationally ranked 2x Indiana State Champ Paul Young by a score of 12-5.  Outside of Coaches Musser and Marchette, there couldn’t have been anyone happier than Preusse!  Look for Rella to add a Junior National Freestyle title to his collection before beginning what should be a sparkling career at Penn State.
       
Lance Palmer

Much like at state, the accomplishments of Lance Palmer may have been overshadowed simply because he is so much better than everyone he wrestles.  Indeed, while Palmer had several matches which were close on the scoreboard- he was never in danger of losing.  His finals match was 9-6 over Byron Kuhlen of Montana.  Kuhlen was a 3x state champion and 4x finalist who somehow did not land on anyone’s radar screen- unranked in all the major rankings.  Simply put, this was a dominating win despite the score.  Palmer notched three of the four takedowns- a set of backpoints, and certainly appeared to have another set of backpoints which were not awarded.  Four of Kuhlen’s points came via escapes and he was never close to mounting anything other than that one takedown out of nowhere.  

Frankly, this weight class was anti-climatic.  Besides Palmer, there were three big guns nationally at this weight: 4x state champion/Junior National Freestyle Champion Zack Bailey, 4x state champion Matt Vacanti (one career loss), and three time PA state champion/2x cadet freestyle champion Garrett Scott.  Scott would have been a 4x state champion in Pennsylvania but was suspended from school shortly before state this year.  Scott competed in the Dapper Dan instead (also held on the same night, in a victory of egomania over reason,), while Bailey and Vacanti were simply no-shows.  Kevin Lipp of Beachwood High was also a no-show, but would have most likely been a finalist had he attended.

Willie Saxton

Willie Saxton of Buckeye Local was simply brilliant on his way to the finals this weekend.  The high-point of his weekend was a 9-4 win over the rugged Tristan Deshazer Of Kansas (in his next match, Deshazer pinned Adam Kriwinsky (state runner-up to Saxton), while leading 5-1).  Kriwinsky would go on to finish a highly-respectable 5th place.

In the finals, Billy Murphy of California was simply too much for Saxton.  Saxton is an explosive takedown specialist.  Murphy is much the same but might be described as a “supercharged” Saxton- simply faster, stronger, and definitely more aggressive.  Murphy notched a duck-under takedown late in the first, and then quickly cut Saxton in the 2nd period.  Then came the pivotal moment in the bout: Saxton shot a perfectly executed head outside single- and Murphy simply didn’t move.  You could see it in Saxton’s body language that he was beaten at that point-attempting very little the rest of the bout.  Murphy added two more takedowns for an 8-3 final.

Tim Peskar and Pat McLemore

Peskar and McLemore enjoyed parallel tournaments, both losing in the quarterfinals, and then winning four matches to take third, avenging their loss in the third place bout.  In addition, both were a treat to watch with their exciting styles.  One match stands out for both.

One round after defeating Ohio Division III state champion Tyler Savage 5-2 (Savage finished 7th), Tim Peskar of Maple Heights would face Ryan Fullom of New Jersey.  It was a strange match that saw Peskar look to be clearly the better wrestler, but every break go Fullom’s way.  Fullom did score the opening takedown, and when Peskar cut him to start the 2nd, he found himself in a 3-0 hole.  A perfectly executed Peskar bear-hug cut the lead to 3-2.  However, a late escape made it 4-2 Fullom.  Peskar scored a reversal to knot the score at 4-4 early in the third.  Peskar then appeared to have the go-ahead near-fall in a scramble situation, but no points were awarded.  He then cut Fullom to make it 5-4, and again, appeared to have the takedown with about 20 seconds left but it wasn’t given.  With the bout winding down to the final ten seconds, Peskar hit an “airplane spin” of all things and found himself in on a perfect low single.  For those who don’t know what this move is- it’s where you literally do a “360” from your stance and immediately shoot.  Fullom seemed stunned and Peskar scored the winning takedown in the final ten seconds.  “I thought I kind of got ripped off twice, but I knew there was still time left on the clock for a takedown” Peskar said of the closing seconds of the bout. He also informed me that he had hit the airplane spin in every bout he’d wrestled that weekend.  I have a hunch that this move is not part of the Maple Heights system- but you can’t argue with results.

Peskar then avenged his prior loss to Jayk Cobbs with a decisive 6-3 win for third place.  Peskar scored three takedowns in that bout against three “kick-out” escapes for Cobbs.   I believe his college plans are still undecided, but Peskar certainly has the talent to make a college coach very happy at 125 if he can add some weight.  Peskar’s third place finish is a great story, considering he had not qualified for state prior to this season and only finished 4th at the state meet.

McLemore’s consolation semifinal bout against nationally ranked David Greenwald of New Jersey was one for the ages.  McLemore got the first takedown in a wild scramble that saw him almost wind up on his back in a cradle.  He chose the down position in the 2nd period, but quickly found out that Greenwald could wrestle on the mat as Greenwald tilted him for two backpoints, and once again came very close to cradling McLemore.  However, McLemore broke free just before the buzzer for the key go-ahead escape.  Greenwald tied the bout at 3-3 with his own escape and the score remained tied with about 30 seconds to go. 

And then, one of the most unbelievable flurries of action I have ever witnessed took place. Greenwald had a nice single leg, but McLemore hit a beautiful “broomstick” type counter to take Greenwald to his back.  However, from his back, Greenwald finally locked up and completed his cradle, answering right back with a five point move of his own to tie the score at 8-8.  McLemore looked to be in grave danger, but somehow broke the cradle and in an absolutely wild scramble reversed Greenwald to his back for the third five point move in 30 seconds- this one good for the 13-8 win. 

In his next match, McLemore avenged his only loss of the tournament, beating Adin Duenas of California by a 5-2 score.  What was particularly impressive about both McLemore and Peskar’s run to third place was that they wrestled four matches in about two hours on Sunday morning, while their final two opponents started in the consolation semifinals and therefore wrestled two less matches.

Josh Rohler

Coming off a state final where he was seemingly dominated by Colt Sponseller despite only losing by a point, Rohler clearly came to Pittsburgh with something to prove.  Those in attendance got to see the Josh Rohler of old compete.  Rohler scored four falls in his four matches preceding the semifinal.  In that match, he was defeated in double overtime by eventual champion Adam Hall of Idaho.

In Rohler’s next match, he had New Jersey state champion Thomas Scotton, who I can say without hesitation is the biggest 152 I have ever seen.  The match pitted Rohler’s funk against Scotton’s raw horsepower. Rohler drew first blood with a first period takedown, and added an escape early in the 2nd.  Scotton then scored a single leg takedown to cut the lead to 3-2.  A Rohler escape made it 4-2 going into the third.  In the third period, Scotton took a number of great shots, only to be frustrated by Rohler’s funk time and time again.  Eventually, Rohler converted one of Scotton’s shots to his own takedown to seal the 6-2 win over one of the nation’s best.  In his third place bout, Rohler dominated Jake Kerr in all three periods, scoring a takedown, a reversal, and a three point nearfall for a commanding 7-0 win.  Rohler completes his career with the unwanted distinction of being one of the best ever not to capture a state title.

“Santos-gate”

Over the last month, Tony Santos, the 171 from Hamilton Township, has become a lightning rod for controversy.  The controversy started when Santos could not continue in his 3rd place match at state, which he was losing with less than 20 seconds remaining.  Since his opponent was called for an illegal slam, he was declared the victor.  Santos advanced to the All-American Round this weekend, where he fell behind 2-0, only to have his opponent called for a slam again and win once again when he could not continue. I happened to see both moves and I will say this on the matter- neither looked like a slam to me, in both instances the official simply called it a slam because Santos was hurt.  The techniques for bringing Santos back to the mat after he stood up were perfectly routine in every way.  In the Marrero match at state, Santos had been hurt previously when he was headlocked.  I’m not saying he wasn’t hurt- that is between him, his doctor, and his conscience- just that neither was move was illegal in my view.  Sometimes, guys get hurt without anything illegal happening- that’s wrestling!

The Amazing Return of Joe Tymoszczuk

There has been much talk that there is no outstanding 215 lb. wrestler in Ohio this year.  As it turns out, there is one, he just wasn’t involved in the tournament process. Joe Tymoszczuk of Mentor Lake Catholic entered the District Finals undefeated his junior year, only to suffer a season-ending knee injury against Mike Pucillo.  Tymoszczuk’s bad luck continued when he suffered another season-ending injury in football.  Having basically not wrestled in a full year, when I heard that he was returning for High School Nationals, I foresaw a quick exit.  Boy was I wrong!  Tymoszczuk made a dramatic return, compiling a 7-1 record before defaulting before his 3rd place match.  If there was any doubt as to how Tymoszczuk would have faired at state, the champion of his weight failed to place and the state runner-up placed 8th.  Tymoszczuk may be the most powerful 215 I have ever seen. To sit out a year and place 4th at high school nationals, one must wonder what he could have accomplished if healthy.  Congrats to Tymoszczuk and all Ohio All-Americans!

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OhioWrestlingSite.com 2005