WADSWORTH: Want a preview of what the State Duals might look like in a few weeks?
You probably should have attended the Suburban League National Conference match between Wadsworth and Brecksville on Thursday.
Down 18 points with six matches left, the Grizzlies rallied to win 31-29.
It extended Wadsworth’s consecutive league win streak to 76 and all but wrapped up at least a tie for the Grizzlies’ 25th consecutive conference title.
“This is where we start making our stride,” Wadsworth 160-pounder Cody Surratt said. “We had one like this last year. We had a tough one against Brecksville and then we cranked it up. I feel like that’s what is going to happen again.”
In order for it to happen this time, the Grizzlies — who are ranked 35th nationally — had to dig deep to win five of the last six matches.
While the Bees (6-1, 6-1) — ranked 28th nationally — didn’t want to lose, they see nothing but improvement in the future as what really matters happens later in the end.
“The kids need it, man,” Brecksville coach Todd Haverdill said. “Our sport needs this. It was a packed gym. It was fun. Losing sucks, but this is what it’s all about.
“I’m not knocking other teams because I’ve been on the other side of it. Sometimes the 63-3 duals, I don’t know who is benefiting from that. I don’t have the answers on why and how that happens, but this was good for the sport. Both teams got better tonight.”
Wadsworth (9-1, 7-0) unquestionably got better as it fought back to put itself within striking distance of Brecksville after trailing 29-22 with two matches left after a win by Luke Strnad at 195 for the Bees.
Down seven points, the Grizzlies needed bonus points somewhere and really needed to score eight points as a tie would have gone Brecksville.
A pin at 220 by Clay McComas brought it to within one and then Jordan Earnest’s win at heavyweight put Wadsworth over the top.
It was the only time the Grizzlies led, but it was also the only time they needed to lead.
“I knew my opponent was tall, so I knew his legs would be open,” McComas said. “I knew I had to get to his legs first, so I was planning on running a half or bar to pin him.
“That pin was huge. We wanted to keep it rolling. It’s always pressure when it comes down to the heavyweights in the end. There’s always pressure on you to win it.”
After Julian Tagg (106), Gabe Tagg (113), Andrew Perelka (120), Marco Regalbuto (132), Jason Bronstrup (145) and Ethan Hatcher (152) pushed the Bees out early, the pressure was there with only Michael North (126) and Zain Tittle (138) winning early for Wadsworth.
But Surratt, Joey Baughman (170), Alex Jones (182) and McComas set the stage for the Grizzlies.
Earnest went up early on Zach D’Anna at heavyweight and nearly picked up the pin before winning 5-1.
“I just didn’t want to break the streak for us,” Earnest said. “I knew the team wanted it and I wanted it.
“This gives us a lot of momentum. I feel like we’ll all wrestle a lot better because we’re the champions right now and beat [Brecksville].”