A hotbed of wrestling, the NOC has churned out some pretty impressive names as it gets ready for its fourth installment Friday and Saturday at Garfield Heights High School.
“I think it’s definitely a great tournament,” Twinsburg coach Dave Mariola Sr. said. “It preps us for the sectional and district.
“I think it’s harder than our sectionals. It’s 18 teams and the leaders from each division are very good.”
One of those leaders would be Medina, which had the lead after Day 1 last year only to fall to the Tigers, who had six finalists and four champions.
“We have to be on our game every match,” Bees coach Chad Gilmore said. “You look at this as your big finale of the season. You’ll be gunning for those people that will be standing on the podium (in Columbus).
“It gives you a better idea of where you are. Traditionally, Northeast Ohio is one of the strongest parts of the state in terms of wrestling. We’re taking the best teams and putting them in the same conference. These teams produce state placers every year.”
They also produce great team races as the NOCT has been won by Mayfield, Elyria and Twinsburg the last three years, proving how pliable it is.
“If you have 12 good kids in a weight class, you’ll have some battles there,” Mariola said. “Traditionally the kids that come out first or second have a real good shot at going to district.”
Medina, Elyria, Solon and Twinsburg look to be the favorites this year.
The one thing that remains constant is the confidence that grows from succeeding at the NOC.
While Medina proved it can come back in tournaments this season —it went from 17th- to third-place in a day at the Josh Hephner Memorial —the league tournament is more about boosting the confidence of individuals.
“From here forward, it is all about individual honors and pushing forward as a team,” Gilmore said. “It was a great confidence boost last year for Mike Griffith (the Bees’ only returning champion) when he beat (Solon’s) Anthony Collica in the finals. We were probably the underdog going in. Sometimes it takes that one match to move you along. It did for him.”
Contact Brad Bournival at sports@medina-gazette.com.
Northeast Ohio Conference Tournament
When: Friday 4 p.m./Saturday 11 a.m./6 p.m.Teams: Brunswick, Brush, Cuyahoga Falls, Elyria, Garfield Heights, Hudson, Lakewood, Mayfield, Medina, Nordonia, Normandy, North Royalton, Parma, Solon, Strongsville, Stow, Twinsburg, Valley Forge
Returning team champion: Twinsburg
Returning individual champions: Brandon Thompson (Sol), Mike Griffith (Med), Mike Labry (Twi), Tywan Claxton (Brus), Dan Yurkovich (NR), Tylan Coleman (May)
Outlook: There’s no doubt the Bees have festered over this one for a year. After holding a slim lead over the Tigers following Day 1 action, Twinsburg pulled away to win the tournament with six finalists and four champions. A good portion of that team graduated, leaving Medina right there in the mix this season. The onus falls on wrestlers like returning champion Mike Griffith, Matt and Teddy Hammer as well as Joe Gigliotti to pick up the slack. It should be a tight race again, but the Bees have the makings of putting it all together.
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