M.I.T. Shockers: Straughn Tech Falls State Champ Spicel; Honeycutt stuns Weakley!!!!

The inventor of the first circus, P.T. Barnum, has two famous quotes:

1. ”The Greatest Show on Earth” (how Barnum referred to his circus).

2. “There’s a sucker born every minute” ( presumably referring to whom he marketed it to).

      Now in its 31st year, the Medina Invitational Tournament (M.I.T.) has long borrowed from Barnum (wisely, the first quote only) and styled itself “the Greatest Show in Wrestling”. On Dec. 28, 2005, the M.I.T. delivered on its lofty claim. The tournament featured both stunning upsets by driven young competitors and dominating performances by established stars.
      Two huge stories emerged from this year’s M.I.T. First, after pinning Division II State Runner-up Chris Andrews in the semifinals, 2x State Placewinner, junior Thomas Straughn of Massillon Perry was pitted against defending Division I State Champion Richie Spicel, a sophomore from Brunswick, in the finals. Straughn also defeated a Michigan State Runner-up from Davison in the quarterfinals. Spicel defeated another Division I State Champion, Shawn Harris, just to make the finals. This match was predicted by most fans to be the most hotly-contested bout of the night. There was an interesting subtext to the match in that Straughn was dropping from 145 to 135 lbs. for this tournament (one would imagine that 140 looked uninviting with Lance Palmer there).
      What transpired was simply jaw-dropping. Straughn struck quickly, converting a slick throw-by into a lift, dumping Spicel on his back for five point almost immediately. This bad start seemingly took Spicel out of the match from the get-go. Straughn would go on to convert several more throw-by’s into takedowns. By the end of the match, Spicel appeared to be completely broken by the onslaught- as Straughn began to score at will. Finally, he registered the unthinkable technical fall against the state champ in just under five minutes.
      State Champion/2x State Finalist Shawn Harris managed only a 5th place finish in this loaded weight class.
      As brilliant as Straughn was, his was not the most memorable match of the night- 189 was. St. Ed’s junior Chris Honeycutt placed at both the Ironman and Beast of the East, and is generally considered one of the best 189’s in Ohio regardless of division. However,most pundits gave him approximately a 0% chance in the finals, where he was pitted against the state’s most explosive wrestler, John Weakley. While he has yet to place at State in Division III, Weakley has acquired almost a cult following in the last few weeks- as he has crushed many of Ohio’s and some of the nation’s best 189’s in winning Solon and Ironman crowns. Possibly the quickest 189 you will ever see, Weakley looks like he is chiseled out of granite- it’s almost inconceivable that he is a junior in high school. Weakley literally blows right through helpless opponents with his blast double.
      Weakley drew first blood with a blast double almost immediately. It appeared that yet another Weakley rout was to follow- but Honeycutt quickly answered by converting on his own high single. That single seemed to send a message that Honeycutt was not intimidated or awe-struck, but rather had come to wrestle. Weakley added two more takedowns, but the bout was sent into overtime due to a penalty point against Weakley for lining up incorrectly, and a controversial stall call with approximately 20 seconds remaining.
      As the bout wound down with a tie score it appeared that Weakley was tiring. In overtime, visibly tiring, everyone in the building knew that Weakley would focus all of his energy on one last blast double attempt. Honeycutt showed savvy defense in fighting off the attack, and wisely launched his own sucessful attack immediately afterward while Weakley was recovering from their prior flurry. Weakley fought it off furiously, but Honeycutt was in too deep- and converted the winning takedown for the stunning win.
      It should be noted that both wrestlers received several standing ovations from fans mid-match for their performances- this bout was truly worth the price of admission. If you missed it- take heart in the knowledge that these juniors could meet again several times next year. As a sidenote, Honeycutt defeated Weakley for the Jr. High State Title in 2002.

Other noteworthy performances:

      Colin Palmer scored five falls in five matches. It looked like he was toying with his finals opponents- he turned him with complete ease. Palmer entered the tournament unseeded- since criteria was based on past state and M.I.T. performance. I can appreciate the need for criteria, but at some point common sense needs to prevail! Not that it mattered anyway. Brother Lance Palmer won by technical fall in the finals.
      Although not an Ohio guy, Jonathan Reader of Davison (MI) simply put on a show. Reader did not appear to be a level above his finals opponent (Greg Heinz of Painesville Riverside); he appeared to be about ten levels above him. Practically off the whistle, Reader score five points with a barrel roll to arm bundle, and it appeared he might finish off Heinz in under 30 seconds. Heinz gallantly fought it off, only for Reader to catch him in the same arm bundle combination again, this time notching the fall at 1:16. Heinz is no slouch himself, majoring St. Ed’s Derek Tomasone in an earlier match. A Reader matchup with Dave Rella (which won’t happen until Senior Nationals) would be very interesting.
      171 was a great final, as state 3rd place finisher Nick Purdue of Genoa gave nationally ranked Kyle Chittick of Davison a tough match. Cleveland-Area fans will be seeing more of Chittick as he has signed with Cleveland State.
      State Champion Colt Sponseller scored four falls and a major en route to the title. In the finals, he stuck the unseeded Justin Van Fossen, who pinned the #2 and #3 seeds to advance that far.
      Far from being “suckers”, the M.I.T. delivered all that it promised this year- truly living up to its billing as the “Greatest Show in Wrestling!”

Results
Here are the complete placement and semifinal results:

Final
  275: David Wade(Beavercreek) dec. Antonio Jeremiah(Hill. Darby) 2-1
  215: Scott Weber(CF Northwest) dec. Nick Maxworthy(Buckeye) 7-0
  189: Chris Honeycutt(St. Edward) dec. John Weakley(CVCA) 10-8
  171: Kyle Chittick(Davison) dec. Nick Purdue(Genoa Area) 8-6
  160: Jon Reader(Davison) pin Greg Heinz(Paine. Riverside) 1:16
  152: Colt Sponseller(West Holmes) pin Justin VanFossen(New Philadelphia) 2:28
  145: Sean Nemec(St. Edward) dec. Kirk Tank(Oak Harbor) 5-4
  140: Lance Palmer(St. Edward) tech. fall Keenan Duffie(Davison) 15-0
  135: Thomas Straughn(Massillon Perry) tech. fall Richie Spicel(Brunswick) 21-6
  130: Zak Burns(Davison) maj. dec. Zach Mizer(Massillon Perry) 13-5
  125: Keith Sulzer(St. Edward) dec. Travis Salyer(Willard) 9-2
  119: Chris Romeo(Lake Catholic) dec. Sam Nighman(Paine. Riverside) 7-5
  112: Collin Palmer(St. Edward) pin Garrett Lay(Greenon) 1:23
  103: Danny Genetin(Massillon Perry) dec. Scott Mattingly(Uniontown Lake) 6-2

Third Place
  275: Shawn Harding(West Jefferson) pin Ricky Sizemore(Franklin) 1:25
  215: Tyler Rasho(Uniontown Lake) dec. Chris Iammarino(Brush) 4-2
  189: Jon Waggy(Wooster) dec. Zach McGrain(Olmsted Falls) 4-2
  171: Ryan Swift(St. Edward) dec. Cody Hamilton(Franklin) 10-7
  160: Kyle Henry(Claymont) maj. dec. Alex Meiser(New Philadelphia) 13-5
  152: Kyle Bertin(St. Edward) dec. Marc Hoff(Liberty Center) 7-4
  145: Matt Coleman(Massillon Perry) dec. Andy McNamara(North Olmsted) 9-7
  140: Lawrence Cavello(Willard) dec. Max Wyse(Grandview Hts.) 5-3
  135: Kyle Kidder(Davison) dec. Chris Andrews(New Albany) 6-5
  130: Ben Fondale(New Lexington) maj. dec. Nathan Ells(Grandview Hts.) 12-3
  125: Matt Dennis(Holl. Springfield) dec. Drew Kapper(CF Northwest) 9-7ot
  119: Neil Birt(St. Edward) dec. Kevin Byers(Holl. Springfield) 6-2
  112: Seth Horner(Massillon Perry) maj. dec. Zach Davis(Davison) 10-1
  103: Zack Neibert(Beavercreek) over Kyle Ciccarello(Brush) default

Fifth Place
  275: Steve Humphreys(Medina) dec. Deneb Foote(Liberty Center) 7-2
  215: Jarrid Rodriguez(Willard) dec. Aaron Schecter(Olmsted Falls) 4-2
  189: Richard Kirksey(Davison) dec. Dan Canfield(Lakota East) 5-3
  171: Joey Inks(West Jefferson) over Justin Tripp(CVCA) forfeit
  160: Aaron McCune(Oak Harbor) dec. Nick Cummings(Lakota East) 8-6
  152: Ross Tice(Brookfield) dec. Keith Witt(Oak Harbor) 3-2
  145: Jason Lorenz(New Philadelphia) dec. Nick Sills(New Albany) 6-2
  140: Casey Wells(Greenon) pin Zack Triplett(Claymont) 3:29
  135: Shawn Harris(St. Edward) maj. dec. Brian Connelly(Lake Catholic) 12-1
  130: Ryan Sigurdson(Oak Harbor) dec. Chad Rhoades(Uniontown Lake) 7-0
  125: Dave Wingard(Medina) dec. Matt Morris(West Holmes) 3-0
  119: Sean Lloyd(Olentangy) dec. A.J. Scarberry(Liberty Center) 9-3
  112: Joe Danielson(New Lexington) dec. Rickey Garrett(Cloverleaf) 8-3
  103: Jimmy Householder(West Jefferson) dec. Kyle Ditcher(Claymont) 4-2

Semifinal
103: Danny Genetin(Massillon Perry) pin Jimmy Householder(West Jefferson) 0:37
    Scott Mattingly(Uniontown Lake) maj. dec. Kyle Ditcher(Claymont) 12-3
112: Garrett Lay(Greenon) pin Rickey Garrett(Cloverleaf) 3:24
    Collin Palmer(St. Edward) pin Seth Horner(Massillon Perry) 1:31
119: Chris Romeo(Lake Catholic) dec. Neil Birt(St. Edward) 7-6ot
    Sam Nighman(Paine. Riverside) dec. A.J. Scarberry(Liberty Center) 7-3
125: Keith Sulzer(St. Edward) maj. dec. Matt Dennis(Holl. Springfield) 13-0
    Travis Salyer(Willard) dec. Drew Kapper(CF Northwest) 5-2
130: Zach Mizer(Massillon Perry) pin Ben Fondale(New Lexington) 4:36
    Zak Burns(Davison) pin Nathan Ells(Grandview Hts.) 5:03
135: Richie Spicel(Brunswick) dec. Shawn Harris(St. Edward) 8-5
    Thomas Straughn(Massillon Perry) pin Chris Andrews(New Albany) 5:09
140: Lance Palmer(St. Edward) maj. dec. Lawrence Cavello(Willard) 9-0
    Keenan Duffie(Davison) dec. Zack Triplett(Claymont) 6-4
145: Sean Nemec(St. Edward) maj. dec. Matt Coleman(Massillon Perry) 14-4
    Kirk Tank(Oak Harbor) pin Andy McNamara(North Olmsted) 1:38
152: Colt Sponseller(West Holmes) maj. dec. Ross Tice(Brookfield) 15-6
    Justin VanFossen(New Philadelphia) pin Marc Hoff(Liberty Center) 0:51
160: Jon Reader(Davison) pin Alex Meiser(New Philadelphia) 1:26
    Greg Heinz(Paine. Riverside) dec. Kyle Henry(Claymont) 4-3
171: Kyle Chittick(Davison) maj. dec. Cody Hamilton(Franklin) 15-5
    Nick Purdue(Genoa Area) dec. Justin Tripp(CVCA) 6-5
189: Chris Honeycutt(St. Edward) tech. fall Richard Kirksey(Davison) 15-0
    John Weakley(CVCA) pin Jon Waggy(Wooster) 1:35
215: Nick Maxworthy(Buckeye) pin Tyler Rasho(Uniontown Lake) 2:59
    Scott Weber(CF Northwest) dec. Chris Iammarino(Brush) 4-1
275: Antonio Jeremiah(Hill. Darby) dec. Ricky Sizemore(Franklin) 7-3
    David Wade(Beavercreek) pin Deneb Foote(Liberty Center) 2:41

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OhioWrestlingSite.com 2005