A half-hour drive on 480 East initiated the 2017-18 season for the Saint Ignatius varsity gold wrestling team.
The Wildcats participated in the Solon Comet Classic on Friday and Saturday evening. With several Mat Cats finishing the transition from football to wrestling, the men of Mark Sullivan performed well, taking fifth place as a team.
Four wrestlers finished in the top four in their weight classes once the dust settled on Saturday.
Johnny Novak claimed second place at 106 pounds for the Wildcats. The sophomore started off with a quick victory over his foe from Barberton, winning by fall in 35 seconds. Novak then defeated Anthony White of Mayfield, 12-5, before defeating Brett Szuhay in a narrow 5-4 decision. Novak battled hard, but lost by tech fall to Jacob Moon of Oregon, Ohio in the finals.
DJ Huff, who has worked all year to return to the mat healthy, took third place. The junior vanquished opponents from Garfield Heights and Nordonia before falling to the eventual champ, Matt Fields of Brunswick, in the semifinals. Huff won the 132-pound third-place match, 16-0.
Unlike the previous two Wildcats, Patrick McGraw did not receive a first round bye at 138 pounds. McGraw won three straight matches, two by fall, before being dealt a 5-2 decision by the favored Mitchell Collica, who won the title for Nordonia. McGraw also dropped the third-place bout by a narrow margin of 5-3.
Fellow sophomore Najee Lockett also starred for the Wildcats. Lockett notched third at 160 pounds for the men from Ohio City. Lockett defeated opponents from Walsh and Strongsville in impressive fashion. However, Lockett fell in the semifinals to the eventual champ, Lake's Kevon Freeman. Lockett finished the day on a great note, with a 4-0 victory to snag third.
Other placers for the Wildcats were Matthew Whipkey (6th at 126 pounds), Logan Toth (7th, 170), Josh Dinya (8th, 182), Tommy Gill (7th, 195).
The Mat Cats return to action on Friday, as they will participate in the vaunted Ironman Tournament at Walsh Jesuit High School.