Tony Jameson Lights up Pelton and Lybarger: A recap of Brecksville

One day after the always-attacking Colt Sponseller laid to rest the issue of whom Ohio’s top senior was, Tony Jameson vaulted to the marquee status of probably the top junior in this state.  Jameson is a wrestler who few expected to win four state titles after he won state his freshman year.  Jameson hasn’t lost a match since, but has always seemed to be in the shadow of other wrestlers in Ohio’s great junior class, and even more so, in the shadow of Collin Palmer, who won state one weight class below him last year.  After his performance at Brecksville, Tony Jameson is in the shadow of no one.  Like the senior year class, the top junior in Ohio is a wrestler who is pure action for the entire six minutes- even if his attacks could not be more dissimilar from Sponseller’s.  All great wrestlers need what you might call a “foil”- an  outstanding opponent to defeat by which wrestling fans can measure their greatness- much as Sponseller finally got his due by beating Nemec.  It was at Brecksville- where Jameson dominated state runner-ups Michael Lybarger and Jeffrey Pelton- that his greatness simply became impossible to ignore.

Perhaps the most entertaining high school match I have ever seen, this match was non-stop action from the opening whistle.  Pelton shot a low single that was like a laser in the first five seconds of the match. A scramble, and then a stalemate ensued.  Pelton went right back to the low single, and Jameson went to his “funk.” Pelton maintained position brilliantly and was awarded the takedown, as he locked up a tight near-side cradle- and appeared to be about to go up 5-0, or even pin the two-time state champion. 

That was to be the high point of the match for Pelton.  Defying all laws of wrestling, Jameson somehow found a crack of daylight, and with his great strength and mat awareness, reversed Pelton to his back to go up 5-2. 

The second period was more of the same, with Jameson scoring another reversal and putting Pelton to his back in the same sequence.  When Pelton scrambled off his back, Jameson immediately threw in the legs and went to a “banana split” to extend his lead to 11-2.  

The third period saw Pelton shoot in time and time again on rock-solid low singles and be in great position, only for Jameson to frustrate him with acrobatic counters.  Jameson added another takedown off a nice Pelton low single to extend his lead to 13-2, which was the final.  No words can really do justice to possibly the most impressive display of counter wrestling and scrambling this writer has ever seen from a high school wrestler.  At the press table, some of the comments I heard were:

“He’s the second coming of Ben Askren”
“He’s like a gymnast”
“The best way to wrestle Jameson would be not to touch him”. 

This win came on the heels of an 11-5 semifinal win over state runner-up Lybarger, who was himself fresh off a 12-5 win over #2 Germaine Lindsey (up a weight class) at the SWOWCA.  The Lybarger/Jameson match was also absolutely incredible, with Jameson attempting, among other things, a lateral drop from the down position.  The outstanding Pelton had scored a decisive 8-2 win over state runner-up Casey Thome in the opposite semifinal. 

Tony Jameson:  The Scrambling Master

There is some truth to the half-joking comment “The best way to wrestle Jameson would be not to touch him”.  From the moment the whistle blows, to the moment the match ends (usually with the official slapping the mat or a technical fall), no matter what position on the mat he is in, Jameson is looking to put his opponent on their back.  I’ve written before of wrestlers who have a “sixth sense” of how to win scrambles that simply cannot be taught- no wrestler exemplifies that more than Jameson.   Speaking with Jameson after the match, he agreed that much of what he does in scrambles is by sheer instinct.  Both the Pelton and Lybarger matches showed that an opponent can have the most solid technique, yet Jameson can find the most minute window of opportunity and convert it into points for himself. 

As Ohio wrestling fans know, one of the three biggest matches of the year will take place at the Top Gun on January 13th when Jameson meets fellow two-time state champion Ben Jordan of Graham.   In some ways this will be the most interesting match-up of the year; the ultimate scrambler (Jameson) versus perhaps the most technically solid wrestler (Jordan) in the state.  Jameson had this to say about a potential meeting with Jordan: 

“I know he’s obviously one of the best in the nation, But I don’t think that people give me enough credit.  A lot of people think that his solid style can shut down my funk, but I think I can get him into scrambles and go from there.  I guess we’ll see soon enough.”

My feeling is that whichever wrestler wins, it will not be close.  Either Jordan shuts down the Jameson “funk” and controls the action completely, or Jameson’s attack is too much for him as it was Lybarger and Pelton.  If I have to pick a winner of this match I will take Jameson- his great strength, conditioning, and constant attacks make it impossible to stay away from the scrambles where he excels.  As Jameson said, we’ll see soon enough.

112 Madness

Like at the Ironman, Brecksville featured a 112 weight class that was absolutely loaded weight class with no clear favorite.  You had the top three wrestlers in Division I, the #2 ranked wrestler in Division II, and a junior national champion all in the same weight.  Despite all the great wrestlers in this staet at this weight class; Kyle Lang and Bo Touris have separated themselves from a great grouip (though Kyle Gilchrist might take exception to that statement) as the class of the 112 weight in Ohio. 

Lang opened the action by scoring a fall (while leading 10-0) over returning 3rd place state finisher Johnny Papesh in the quarterfinals.  That set up a semi-final showdown with returning state champion Steve Mitcheff.  Coach Todd Haverdill remarked to me before the match that Mitcheff was the only loss from Lang’s freshman year that he had not yet avenged.  Lang made it a clean sweep by opening a 6-0 lead on Mitcheff with about :30 to go, before Mitcheff closed the gap to a deceivingly close 6-4 final with an escape, takedown, and stall call in the closing seconds.  In the opposite semi, Touris used an inside trip to score the only takedown in a 3-2 win over Ben Sergent, the second straight year he has defeated him at Brecksville.  Sergent- who was much maligned after the junior national champ failed to place at Ironman- showed he is still a force by defeating Papesh and Mitcheff in consolation action to take 3rd.

As exciting a competitor as Lang is- with his combination of solid takedowns, dangerous counters, and ability to turn opponents- Touris seems, in my view, to “have his number.”  Their first match was a barnburner won by Lang that was not nearly as close as that score indicated.  Lang took Touris to his back with two big moves in that match in short period of time to build a huge lead, and then shut it down as Touris closed the gap but never really had a chance to win.  Their second meeting at Ironman (for 3rd) saw Touris wrestle a bout where he focused on controlling positioning and attacking when he had a sure-thing to win 5-2.  Touris seemed to have learned his lesson from Ironman- as he wrestled a very similar bout to their Ironman consolation match and won 3-1, with the lone takedown coming on an explosive second period double that did not give Lang an opportunity to create a scramble situation.   While state runner-up Dan Genetin looked great at M.I.T., pinning Nick Sulzer of St. Edward in a near-side cradle- Lang handled him at Ironman and Touris dominated him last season at state duals.  It’s been pointed out that Mitcheff started slow last year, but I think Bo Touris and Kyle Lang will meet for the fourth time in the state finals. 

Troy Christian Captures Team Race

Featuring a number of vastly-improved wrestlers, Troy Christian won by a stunning 43.5 point margin (over the host team, Brecksville) and established themselves as the favorite over Marion Pleasant in the Division III team race.  Most notable for Troy Christian was the performance of Chris Burns. Head Coach Steve Goudy gave me a heads up on this wrestler as one to watch in the preseason- and that certainly proved true when he stunned previously #1 ranked (Division III) Trevor Davis of Marion Pleasant by fall in the quarterfinals. Burns followed that up with a win over Division I state qualifier Scott Lowe in the semis,  before the wheels came off in the finals against Matt Reedy of Ravenna.  An even more brilliant performance was turned in by sophomore Zach Hancock.  Hancock showed the move from 130 to 125 was a good one by handling the #2 ranked (Divison II) 125, Brian Dean, 4-0 in the finals. 

Coach Goudy was philosophical when I asked him how it felt to win Ohio’s second-toughest tournament.  “It feels good to some extent…but I can’t help but think about some finals match-ups that I wish we had won, and think we could have won.  That’s the thing about this sport, no matter what you do it’s never enough it seems.”  With basically the entire team back next year, the best has yet to come for this program.

Steiber Destroys Outstanding Field

In a field that featured sixteen ranked wrestlers, you might have expected freshman Logan Stieber to face at least somewhat of a challenge.  However, the unseeded Monroeville grappler barely broke a sweat.  After wracking up four first period pins (including against #4 Kent Li of Reynoldsburg), Stieber faced 2nd ranked James Inghram of University School in the finals. 

I personally thought that Stieber looked a little tentative at the Ironman (though Jamie Clark and David Taylor had a little to do with that).  However, at Brecksville, the machine that I saw at freestyle states- that torched the field at Fargo- was back.  Stieber shot and scored a takedown within the first ten seconds against Inghram.  From there, Stieber immediately threw in an arm bar on one side and half on the other, jumping from side to side as both holds seemed to get tighter and tighter (for those who followed the sport in the 1990’s, the exact combination that Jimmy Johnson was so deadly with).  Stieber finally cranked him over and appeared to be in position for a fall- it was very close- but Inghram showed great heart it fighting it off for a lengthy time until the period ended.  The second period was “déjà vu” as Stieber shot in on a nice single, ducked the middle, and though it looked like there might be a stalemate, scored the takedown.  Stieber wasted no time in going back to the arm bar, this time locking up a double arm bar for a three point near fall.  Another double arm bar (each one easier than the last) made it 14-0 at the end of two periods.  A quick takedown early in the third ended it at 16-0.  With no disrespect meant to his competition- it would come as a surprise for any Stieber match to go the distance the remainder of this year.




ABOVE: Logan Stieber used this 'bar andhalf' combination to nearly pin James Inghram in the first period.Photo Credit: Bob Tuneberg, Villager News.







ABOVE: In a battle of two nationally ranked juniors, Eric Cubberly won a controversial 3-2 decision over Jedd Moore. Photo Credit: Bob Tuneberg, Villager News.







ABOVE: Just one of the many incredible scrables Tony Jameson and Jeffrey Pelton found themselves in. Photo Credit: Bob Tuneberg, Villager News.



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