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Local Sports from The CourierSunday, January 13, 2013Wrestling: NB's Ishmael is state's all-time pins leaderStaff Writer PERRYSBURG -- With the slap of the mat Saturday North Baltimore's Dalton Ishmael could breathe a sigh of relief. Ishmael pinned Perrysburg's Brady Clayton in 1:54 for his state-record 144th career pin in the 195-pound championship match at the Perrysburg Invitational Tournament. The fall pushed Ishmael past Mayfield's Derrick Bendau who held the state record with 143 career pins between 2000-03. Ishmael, now 31-0 on the season with 30 pins, is usually a cool customer on the mat. But Saturday night, after breaking the record, he admitted there were plenty of butterflies in the hours leading up to his finals win. "I was a lot more nervous than usual. There were a lot of people here to watch me tonight so I kind of just wanted to get it done," Ishmael said. "It was a little different, too, dimming the lights and wrestling out there under the spotlights. That probably added to my nervousness." The finals bout was the longest of Ishmael's three matches in the tournament. He wrestled for nearly a minute on his feet before using an ankle pick to take Clayton to the mat. Once on top, Ishmael used an arm bar to pry Clayton from his stomach to his back before putting him in position for the fall. "I just wrestled my style. I wasn't going to change anything. I just wanted to go out there and do the things I would normally do," Ishmael said, who was named the PIT's Most Valuable Wrestler and has won the outstanding wrestler award in every tournament he's competed in this season. After the match, Ishmael was greeted with a standing ovation as he stood at center mat with a specially made banner celebrating his achievement. Then, he was the center of a team hug from his North Baltimore teammates. Clayton, meanwhile, knew Ishmael would be gunning for the state record. "It was definitely nerve wracking, making the finals and wrestling against him," Clayton said. "I did my best, I tried to snap him down. But when he got that armbar, he just cranked me over and stuck me. I tried to fight the pin but there wasn't anything I could do." Fostoria's Tony Reynolds just missed a championship in a stacked 170-pound weight class. Reynolds, a sixth-place finisher in the Division III state meet last season, blanked Mohawk state qualifier Grant Price 5-0 in the semifinals. In the championship bout, Division II state qualifier Rocco Caywood from Perrysburg scored an early first-period takedown and made it hold up for a 2-1 win over Reynolds. Reynolds scored a point for an escape with two seconds left in the first period to make it 2-1. Both wrestlers rode each other out in the final two periods keeping the score 2-1. Several other area wrestlers put together top eight finishes. Fostoria had a solid day as Luke Leonard (120) and Salvador Cantero backed Reynolds with fifth-place finishes. Teammate Keegan Green was eighth. McComb's Devin Gonzales (120) and Nick Siferd (138) both finished eighth as did North Baltimore's Brice Bankey. TEAM STANDINGS 1, Perrysburg 253½. 2, Wauseon 214½. 3, Delta 103. 4, Oak Harbor 121½. 5, Hamilton 107. 6, Napoleon 106. 7, Toledo Whitmer 103. 8, Oregon Clay 91. 9, Sylvania Southview 80. 10, Defiance 71. 11, Edgewood 60½. 12, Fostoria 49½. 13, Hicksville 49. 14, Northwood 48. 15, Mohawk 38½. 16, Sylvania Northview 35. 17, North Baltimore 32. 18, Fremont St. Joseph 31. 19, Wooster 28. 20, McComb 18. 21, Findlay 0. Baker, 419-427-8409 jamiebaker@thecourier.com Subscribe to The Courier. |
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