NEWPORT —“Get the gauze ready!”
Blake Cosby was in the middle of a championship match in the 54th annual Monroe County Sheriff’s Wrestling Invitational on Saturday, Dec. 13.
He shouted to the coaches to alert them he was going to need attention when he got off the mat.
Cosby got hit in the eye a few days before the Sheriff’s. It was swollen nearly shut Saturday, but that wasn’t going to keep him from wrestling.
“He split it open during practice last week,” Dundee coach Garrett Stevens said.
Cosby didn’t become a state champion and one of the top recruits in the state by shying away from pain.
“There was never any question,” Stevens said when asked if he was worried that Cosby wouldn’t be able to compete in Monroe County’s wrestling showcase.
Cosby wasn’t there to help Dundee celebrate its team championship.
He left immediately after his match for the hospital.
Despite being less than full strength, Cosby was his dominant self on the mat. He spent a little over three minutes on the mat.
He got a bye into the semifinals where he won by a pin in less than a minute, then needed just 2:21 to record a 20-5 technical fall over New Boston Huron’s Josh Hubbard in the finals.
Cosby was one of 11 champions for Dundee. Joining him on top of the podium were Austin Miller (285), Braden Broderick (144), Bryan Sterling (126), Dom Sindone (106), Donny Beaufait (175), Haydn Nutt (120), Mason Haines (132), Mason Katschor (138), Rocco Redmon (215) and Stone Redmon (157).
Brayden LaPlante (113) was second and Ryan Williams (113) third.
Dundee finished with 314 points to 198 for runner-up New Boston Huron and 193 for third-place Bedford.
Monroe was fourth with 102.5 followed by Airport with 94, Jefferson 81.5, St. Mary Catholic Central 74, Ida 72, Milan 69.5, Flat Rock 44 and Erie Mason 25.5.
“I felt like the kids wrestled well,” Stevens said. “Last week we didn’t do well in the final round. It was nice to bounce back.
“We made some adjustments in the (practice) room. You can do things in practice, but sometimes it’s hard to come out and do it on the mat.”
And the Vikings showed some flair.
“We did it in a way where we scored a lot of points,” Stevens said. “We tried to entertain. Would you rather watch a 1-0 match or a 14-13 match? We try to entertain.”
Huron was happy to take second, but coach Logan Ritchie didn’t like the way his team finished. All eight of its wrestlers in the finals lost.
“I am not really happy about our last round,” Ritchie said. “We have some big expectations. We’re a little disappointed. This will humble us a little.”
Brayden Hall (144), Cayden Banko (138), Daniel Gemmel (126), Finnegan Grube (215), Jason Downs (150), Malik Al-Ziyadi (285), Nate Matsos (157) and Hubbard all were second for the Chiefs. Garrett Marentette (175) was third and Caleb Frazier (113) and Mason Slovik (175) fourth.
Landon Barron of SMCC was voted the tournament’s Most Valuable Wrestler after becoming the first Sheriff’s champion from his school since Kurt LaRoy in 1996.
He was the first finalist for the Falcons in three years.
“We are pretty excited,” SMCC coach Nick Eby said. “He was the sixth seed, but beat the No. 3, No. 2 and No. 1 seeds. He just kept wrestling.”
Barron came back from a 6-1 deficit to beat Downs 13-8 in the finals at 150 pounds.
His SMCC teammate Henry Wickenheiser (144) placed third.
Airport’s Evan Martin won both the Fastest Pin (20 seconds) and Hustler Awards (four pins in 4:32).
Cody Duvendack (120), Tristan King (132) and Zach Miracle (175) placed second for Bedford while Caden Merritt (150), Champ Baker (285), George Yockey (157), Griffin Tibai (132) and Nolan King (138) were third.
Ida’s Braxton Shaffer was the 113-pound champ and teammate Justin Crozier (190) grabbed third.
Samir Jomaa stood atop the 190-pound bracket for Milan.
Monroe’s best finish was a second by Myles Myers (190). Jakoby Heafler (215) was third.
Jefferson got a second from Cody O’Hern (106) and a third from Dina Gessner (106).
Andrew Marama (120) and Colin Booms (165) were both third for Flat Rock and matching the finish for Erie Mason’s Danny VanEeckhoutte (126).
TEAM SCORES
Dundee 314, New Boston Huron 198, Bedford 193, Monroe 102.5, Airport 94, Jefferson 81.5, St. Mary Catholic Central 74, Ida 72, Milan 69.5, Flat Rock 44, Erie Mason 25.5.
CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHES
106: Dom Sindone, D, p. Cody O’Hern, J, 3:46.
113: Braxton Shaffer, I, p. Brayden LaPlante, Dun, 3:10.
120: Haydn Nutt, D, d. Cody Duvendack, B, 11-7.
126: Bryan Sterling, D, d. Daniel Gemmel, NBH, 4-2.
132: Mason Haines, D, d. Tristan King, B, 6-3.
138: Mason Katschor, D, p. Cayden Banko, NBH, 2:57.
144: Braden Broderick, D, p. Brayden Hall, NBH, 1:155.
150: Landon Barron, SMCC, d. Jason Downs, NBH, 13-8.
157: Stone Redmon, D, tf. Nate Matsos, NBH, 17-1.
165: Blake Cosby, D, tf. Josh Hubbard, NBH, 20-5.
175: Donny Beaufait, D, d. Zach Miracle, B, 7-3.
190: Samir Jomaa, Mil, vs. Myles Myers, Mon, 9-5.
215: Rocco Redmon, D, vs. Finnegan Grube, NBH, 9-3.
285: Austin Miller, D, vs. Malik Al-Ziyadi, NBH, 3-0.
THIRD-PLACE MATCHES
106: Dino Gessner, J, p. Jaxen Straub, Mil, 10-5.
113: Ryan Williams, D, d. Caleb Frazier, NBH, 5-4.
120: Andrew Marama, FR, d. Mason Goltowski, Mon, 14-10.
126: Danny VanEeckhoutte, EM, tf. Maxim Benore, B, 16-0.
132: Griifin Tibai, B, won by default over Kyle Link, A.
138: Nolan King, B, tf. Evan Martin, Air, 17-2.
144: Henry Wickenheiser, SMCC, d. Landin Turner-Pomeroy, Mon, 13-9.
150: Caden Merritt, B, tf. Alexander Hopkins, Mil, 17-2.
157: George Yockey, B, d. Karson Petit, J, 15-7.
165: Colin Booms, FR, d. Kaleb Sims, A, 13-11.
175: Garett Marentette, NBH, d. Mason Slovik, NBH, 3-1.
190: Justin Crozier, I, d. Owen Motylinski, D, 3-0.
215: Jakoby Heafler, Mon, d. Maximus Anthony, Mil, 3-0.
285: Champ Baker, B, p. Sam King, I, 4:47.
FIFTH-PLACE MATCHES
106: Manuel Rodgers, A, d. Connor Baumgartner, B, 17-11.
113: Kenneth Wingate, A, tf. Grayson Vailant,17-1.
120: Trever Davis, NBH, tf. Ryder Shotwell, Mon, 19-1.
126: Austin Davis, J, won by default over Collin Assenmacher, Mon,
132: Patrick McShane, Mil,md. Antonio Ayala, A, 16-3.
138: Xzander McCoy, Mon, d. Brady Fox, SMCC, 10-0.
144: Reece Steffen, B, d. Noah Simpson, FR, 10-1.
150: Emmett Kruise, A, d. Armani Thomas, Mon, 3-0.
157: Tyler Bashaw, SMCC, d. Wyatt Bucki, A, 15-2.
165: Gage Duvall, J, d. Duce Johnston, B, 10-5.
175: Devin Earley, J, d. Trent Zdanowski, EM, 9-6.
190: Simon Montrie, B, d Beau Childress, J, 2-0.
215: Bret Stark, SMCC, d. Ryan Ashcraft, I, 6-0.
285: Jameson Layne, NBH, md. Dylan Lay, A, 16-5.
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Cosby leads Dundee to title in Sheriff’s Wrestling Invitational
Reporting by Niles Kruger, The Monroe News / The Monroe News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
