SWOWCA: Same Top Team, But New Kids On the Block Emerge

By Dan Ransick, www.ohiowrestlingsite.com

           As the annual SWOWCA Holiday Tournament came to a close a couple things were settled in the gym at Oak Hill High School in Cincinnati, OH- one of them being that Cincinnati Moeller is still the best team in the area followed by Lakota West.  However, the real story was the “new kids on the block”- as lesser-known wrestlers made big noise.

103- This is the first weight where there is definitely a new kid on the block- his name is Bo Touris of Lakota West.  For those who haven’t heard of him, he was the Cadet Greco National Champ and 5th in the Cadet Freestyle Nationals.  Touris, a junior who has yet to qualify for state, stormed into this season hot off his Fargo performance and rolled through this tournament.  Touris spent the weekend racking up takedown after takedown in every match- and making good wrestlers look like they were mere kids club wrestlers to him. The finals pitted Touris against returning state placer and district champion Alex Weaver of Moeller- many anticipated a close match between the two.  Apparently Touris didn’t get the message as he went on to dominate Weaver 16-4, racking up six takedowns along the way to none for Weaver. Touris worked him over like a broken penny-pony at Meijer!  Right now Bo Touris is the best 103 in Division I hands-down. As a side note, for his dominating performance
Touris was named Outstanding Wrestler at this tournament.

112-This weight qualifies as the same old-same old as Ryan Fields of Lakota West pinned four opponents and then tech-falled another opponent. Fields dominated start to finish- just taking opponents down at will and then simply turning them with the bar and figure-four for the pin.  Fields scored a fall over a state qualifier Justin McCoy of Elder in the finals.  Right now folks it looks like a collision-course between Ryan Fields and Collin Palmer for the state title!  That one will be worth the price of admission alone come March 4th.

119- In what wasn’t the greatest of weight classes, returning state placer Tyler Adams of Harrison easily dominated the field on the way to his 3rd consecutive SWOWCA title. Lanky and tough to wrestle, Adams stands a legitimate chance to be in the state finals come March.

125- Here another “new kid on the block” has emerged as a possible candidates for a spot in the state finals.  His name is Steve Grzebyk of Elder- and he just beat two state placers back-to-back. First Grzebyk knocked off returning state placer Josh Steele of Hamilton 7-5.  Then using some great athleticism and solid takedowns, he knocked off Eric Gobin of Moeller in the finals by an identical 7-5.  This was one of the best matches of the night!  With the score tied 5-5, and Gobin was riding, Gobin was penalized for locking hands. He then cut Grzebyk but was unable to score the tying takedown.  Fans can look forward to a rematch- as these two will see each other in a dual meet and at their conference championships.

130- In what was one of the toughest weights, another “old stud” emerged in the form of Michael Lybarger- a two-time state qualifier from Mt. Vernon.  Lybarger prevailed against a stacked field that included another two-time state qualifier, Alex Flake of Lakota West. In a great finals match, Lybarger held on for the win over Flake 6-5.  A lot of great scrambling was seen in this match by both wrestlers.  Flake is a scrambling machine- nothing fast, just nice and methodical in his actions. In his semi-finals match against returning state placer Eric Meyer of Oak Hills, Meyer got in deep numerous times but Flake would simply worm his way out of the takedown and convert Meyer’s attempts into his own takedowns.  Lybarger is just another name to throw into the pot along with Flake and Meyer in what is one big crapshoot of a weight class at 130 this year in Division I. The big question is whether Lybarger will still be here, as rumor has it he may drop down to 125.

135- I don’t know how to classify this weight class as an “old stud” or a “new kid on the block”- as Germaine Lindsey of Moeller stormed into many wrestling fans eyes as someone to really look out for last week at Ironman, taking a very impressive 4th place (in what may be the toughest tournament in the nation). Germaine simply dominated everyone he faced,  including majoring a state qualifier- Don Carraher of St. Xavier- and then pinning Ty Davis of Mt. Vernon in what one can only describe as Davis pinning himself as he tried of funk out of a single leg.  If Lindsey continues to wrestle like this he is the favorite to win state at this weight class.

140- Simply put, this weight was the toughest of them and all.  The best of what Ohio could offer here wasn’t enough as the Mater Dei wrestler Nick Dewig pinned Tommy Weinkam of Moeller in the first period off a very nice chest block. The real action of this weight took place in the rounds before as Jedd Moore of Mt. Vernon is back from injury and ready to make his impact felt on the high school scene.  Already a Cadet National All-American, Moore unseeded knocked off former state placer Ryan Brownlee of Western Brown 6-3 with some slick singles and just dominated the match.  Moore looked like a great choice to win the tournament- but he was knocked by the upstart Weinkam, by a score of 3-2.  Weinkam took 7th at Ironman last weekend.  Returning state placers Nick Bohl of Lakota West (who took 8th at this weight last year) knocked off Kyle Ruff of Beavercreek 6-4 in OT for 5th place. When you have the returning state placers wrestling for 5th place you know you have a tough weight class!

145- At this weight you could say there are two new kids on the block- the champion Muhammad Abdur-Rahman of Princeton, and runner-up Steve Holley of Lakota West.  Both wrestled way above their seed and showed they will be forces to reckon with come tournament time. Abdur-Rahman came out ready to wrestle against Holley and came out on top 13-8.  Holley really had to be the surprise of the tournament as he came in only a #6 seed and then went on to pin the #2 seed Cebastion Hilton of Moeller (a returning state qualifier).  In that match, there was a wild flurry in wihich Holley came out on top and double-grapevined Hilton for the pin. Watch out for both Holley and Abdur-Rahman as the season progresses.  

152- In what can be called a ho-hum weight, Mike Mahon of Moeller steam-rolled his way into the finals, where he dispatched Cody Quick of Mt. Vernon in workman -ike fashion, 10-3.  Mahon, fresh off his 5th place finish at Ironman, continues to show people why he is the leading candidate to win 152 this year at the Schott.  Very strong and quick, Mahon may be able to simply overpower anyone in the state- keep an eye out for this young man.

160- In a final that lived up to its billing, Dean Gaier of Moeller (a returning state placer) out-funked two-time state qualifier Tony Bradberry of Lakota West 10-4. Bradberry may be the best wrestler in Ohio who has yet to place at state, but this simply wasn’t his match.  However, the score really isn’t an indicator of the closeness of this match.  Bradberry was winning 4-3 in the second period when he spun behind Gaier and went for the lift to the mat for the takedown- but a beautiful Granby to Peterson by Gaier took the wind from the upset-minded Bradberry.  Neither of these fine wrestlers were at full health, and I look for the rematch of these two spectacular wrestlers to be amazing.

171- Eric Cameron of Moeller out-wrestled the muscular Tony Santos of Hamilton 7-4.  In a battle of state qualifiers (Cameron took 8th last year at this weight),  Cameron- won Ironman last weekend, upsetting the #1, #4 and #6 seeds along the way- showed that last weekend’s spectacular performance was no fluke.  Santos was a strong and worthy competitor but just couldn’t seem to find a way to stop Cameron- who may very well be the best 171 in the state regardless of division. 

189- This weight looked to have a great matchup in the making with Lou Miller of St. Xavier and Brian Porter of Mason.  Apparently no one gave Brandon Naylor of Western Brown the message- as he stopped Porter dead in his tracks with a 4-3 decision. Unfortunately for Naylor he was just simply out-wrestled by Lou Miller in the finals losing 8-3, as Naylor never really stood a chance.

215- Returning state placer Sean Jameson of Elder dominated here, winning in the finals by fall. Jameson had one close match as former Junior High State Champion Oney Snyder of Hillsboro took him to the limit before falling in OT 6-4.

275- A great heavyweight match took place here between David Wade of Beavercreek and Frank “The Tank” Becker.  Both are very athletic heavyweights- and Becker is on a roll coming off a very impressive runner-up finish at Ironman. On this night, however, it was Wade who won with very solid double leg by a score of 5-2.  Both Wade and Becker are returning state qualifiers who stand a legitimate chance to be on top of the podium  in Columbus with Ben Kuhar out for the year. .

Some general notes on the tournament:
- Four of Ohio’s Top 10 Division I Teams were in attendance: #2 Cincinnati Moeller, #3 Lakota West, #7 Mount Vernon, and #8 Beavercreek, along with Indiana’s top team (Evansville Mater Dei).  
- The tournament featured 14 Ohio state placers and 32 Ohio state qualifiers.
- The Best Finals was right out of the gate at 103, where Bo Touris crushed Alex Weaver 16-4. With Weaver being a returning state placer, no one expected this large of a margin- as the saying goes “Bo Knows (Wrestling)”
- The biggest move in the finals had to be Dean Gaier and his standing Granby to Peterson for 5 points.

Please feel free to comment on this article on the message forum!

OhioWrestlingSite.com 2005