As the basketball squad traveled to Lakewood, the Saint Ignatius wrestling team celebrated Senior and Alumni Night in Sullivan Gym. The Wildcats celebrated the efforts and accomplishments of six seniors who have made a large impact upon Saint Ignatius wrestling in the last four years.
The evening went quite well for the Mat Cats, who secured two victories over the visiting Vikings of North Canton Hoover, 51-12, and the Bears of North Royalton, 56-17.
The Wildcats advanced to 9-2 on the season with the pair of dual wins. The squad returns home to the friendly confines of Sullivan Gym next Thursday to host Lake Catholic.
Saint Ignatius vs. North Canton Hoover
Johnny Novak began Senior and Alumni with a bang. Novak rolled to an early 5-0 lead with a takedown and a near fall in successive and impressive fashion. He stretched the lead to 8-0 by the end of the first. Novak finished off his Hoover foe in the second, tabbing a pair of near falls and a takedown to secure the tech fall victory with 19 seconds left in the second.
Jack Bush kept things going at 113 pounds. Bush worked quickly, building an early lead, eventually to 8-3, before pinning his foe with 1:10 remaining in the second period.
Matthew Whipkey worked even more rapidly for the blue and gold at 120. The junior fired out and took advantage of his opponent’s positioning to pin his Viking foe at the 1:17 mark of the match. Whipkey’s win granted the Wildcats a 17-0 lead.
The 126-pound bout was the first match to be dead even. Matt Isaac and Zac Evans duked it out for nearly the entire seven minutes. Isaac fell into an early deficit, but managed to regain two points with an aggressive takedown with 15 seconds left in the first. The score remained 7-5 Evans through the entire second period. Evans notched a point on an escape in the third, but things cooled off, with the referee calling a stalemate halfway through the period. Isaac attempted to roll over Evans at the end of the period, but ran out of space and time, falling, 8-5.
Team captain Patrick McGraw set things straight at 132, using quick feet to avoid allowing any points to Jonah Wakser, his opponent. McGraw and Wakser fought to a draw after one, but McGraw started to take control in the second. McGraw notched the first points with a takedown, rolling around Wakser. McGraw allowed an escape, but notched a pair of takedowns and a couple penalty points to carve out an 8-2 lead. McGraw kept the pressure on, nearly turning Wakser’s shoulders upwards, but settled on a takedown and a 13-4 major decision instead.
Heading into the 138-pound match, the first involving a Saint Ignatius senior, the Wildcats held a 21-3 lead.
Zach Tomford make his veteran presence felt, quickly notching a 2-0 lead on a takedown. His foe, Bailey Sullivan, soon settled in, keeping the score at 2-0 entering the second. Tomford started the period quickly again, notching two points on a reversal. Sullivan battled with an escape, and then the process repeated. Tomford led 8-2 after two. Tomford then ended it emphatically in the third 46 seconds into the third.
The Wildcats then took two wins by forfeit to place a grapplehold on the lead. Zach Morgan and Michael Caldwell took the victories at 145 and 152, respectively.
Najee Lockett and Luke Reicosky battled to a draw in the first period of the 160-pound match as Lockett fired and Reicosky hung back. The dance continued into the third, with Reicosky only notching one point to grab a 1-0 lead on an escape. Lockett returned the favor to start the third and tie things up. The two then circled for most of the third, with Reicosky hanging back and avoiding shooting to avoid Lockett’s quick attacks. Lockett kept shooting to start the extra time, with fans shouting for stalling calls. The match continued into a second overtime period, with Lockett starting on bottom. Lockett almost escaped, but did not, sending it to a third. Reicosky managed the escape early in the third OT, and Lockett could not tally any points despite firing. Lockett drew the 2-1 loss despite outshooting Reicosky by a huge margin.
Senior Logan Toth then took the mat for the Wildcats at 170. Toth fired out rapidly for a takedown and tallied another to take a 4-2 lead into the second. Toth completed the victory, via pin, with 34 seconds left in the second. Toth managed to get his foe’s ankle, enough to get superior positioning.
Tommy Gill then notched a surprise forfeit win at 182 to advance the Wildcats’ lead to 51-6 heading into 195 pounds.
Ben Smith from Hoover proved to be a difficult foe for Michael Drobnick at 195 pounds. Drobnick surrendered a takedown with two seconds left in the first and then allowed an escape to start the second, falling behind 3-0. Drobnick managed to escape with 59 seconds left in the match before beginning a desperate attempt to land a takedown to tie it. Drobnick fired multiple times, but could not land anything, losing 3-1.
Aidan Gill used a smart and loose approach to gain the early lead with a takedown for two points. Gill allowed an escape with 49 seconds left in the first, and then a takedown to Ben Destefano. Gill trailed, 3-2, heading into the second. He tried to make something of the upper position to start the second, but could not, eventually giving up an escape. Destefano’s 4-2 lead lasted into the third, until Gill used a reversal to tie it with 1:15 left in the third. Destefano then tabbed a reversal with just less than a minute left, followed by a Gill escape. Unfortunately, Gill ran out of time to score, and was handed a 6-5 decision defeat.
With neither team sending out a 285-pounder, the Wildcats walked away with a 51-12 victory heading into the second match vs. North Royalton.
Saint Ignatius vs. North Royalton
Jack Bush started things off at 113. Bush fell behind 2-1 but notched a reversal to take a 3-2 lead into the second. Bush tallied an escape to carry a 4-2 advantage to the third. Bush lost the lead in the third, however, as an escape and another pair of late points with 10 seconds left led to a 5-4 loss Bradey Humble.
Matthew Whipkey then got the Mat Cats on the board with a victory at 120. Whipkey notched a pin with 1:29 left in the second, using a beautiful move to find positioning and his second win by pin of the night.
With a 6-3 lead, the Wildcats entered the 126-pound bout with Matt Isaac in the ring. The Mat Cats’ junior fell behind, 6-0, by the start of the second, with David Miller nearly pinning Isaac in both the second and the third. Instead, Miller took the win via tech fall in the third, granting the Bears an 8-6 lead.
Patrick McGraw stepped in to turn things around, however. The 138-pounder fired to a quick takedown and worked for a pin, earning a near fall by the conclusion of the first minute. A pair of near falls and a quick fire following his contender’s escape granted him a commanding 12-1 lead after one. McGraw finished it off with a tech fall in the second.
Senior Zach Tomford tallied a savage takedown late in the first to grab the lead at 138. Tomford nearly secured the pin at the end of the second with a wonderful move, but instead settled on three points. Tomford launched in the third, securing enough points for a major decision with a nice 11-0 victory.
The good times kept rolling at 145 pounds. Zach Morgan earned a well-earned victory via pin early in the match, using a well-executed maneuver to give six points to the Wildcats.
Michael Caldwell took the mat for the Wildcats on Senior Night at 152 with a 21-8 lead over the Bears. Caldwell battled hard for the entire seven minutes, but his efforts were eventually in vain, as Paul Twarog earned a 4-2 decision win for the Bears.
The Wildcats returned points to the scoreboard at 160, as Najee Lockett used his beautiful, Muhammed Ali-esque moves to fire out and pin his opponent with 34 seconds left. Lockett is a special athlete, ladies and gentlemen.
Two more pins followed for the Mat Cats, as both Logan Toth and Tommy Gill secured great victories for the hosts. Both Toth and Gill deserve kudos for the nice wins.
A Drobnick win by forfeit extended the lead to 45-11 heading into the 220-pound match. Aidan Gill started off with a 2-1 victory after the first period before his work paid off in the second. Gill pinned his opponent with just one second left in the second, securing six points for the hosts.
The night concluded with the 106-pound matchup. Johnny Novak secured the victory by tech fall to finish off a fun evening for the Mat Cats.