Westlake’s Nick Lawrence makes a move on Sam White of Massilon Perry in the 125 championship match last Saturday. Lawrence lost a tough 3-2 decision and was state runner-up for the second year in a row. (West Life photos by Daron Boyce)

Westlake’s Lawrence repeats as state runner-up
By Jim Horvath
Sports
Published March 11, 2009

During the regular season, senior Sam White of Massilon Perry, a former state champion, was ranked No. 1 in Ohio at 125. Westlake junior Nick Lawrence, a state runner-up at 119 last season, was ranked No. 2.

The two finally met on the mats last Saturday in Columbus for the right to be state champion.

Nick Lawrence

For the second year in a row, Lawrence fell one point short as White got a takedown in the third period and came away with a narrow 3-2 decision at the 2009 Ohio High School State Wrestling Tournament at Value City Arena.

“It was a great match between two great wrestlers,” said Westlake head coach Mike Antonyzyn last Sunday. “It was close all the way, and Nick was so close to pulling it out.

“The referee called both of them for stalling, but that was atrocious,” said Antonyzyn. “There was a lot of good hand fighting going on, and both of them were looking for their chance to take a shot. White took his shot, and it was so close to being out of bounds. Another foot, and it wouldn’t have counted.

“Both of them wrestled tough. Nick getting beat by two seniors two times in a row, both matches by one point…he has nothing to be ashamed of. He told the media afterward he was ready to work twice as hard for his senior season. That’s the type of kid he is,” he added.

Of the other four Westshore-area wrestlers who made it to Columbus, only Zach Laird of Olmsted Falls made it to the awards stand. The Bulldogs’ senior heavyweight battled back from an opening night loss to finish sixth.

Westlake senior Ryan Smugala went 1-2 on the weekend at 189, while teammate Conner Dempsey, a junior, went two and out. Falls junior Chaz McGrain also went 0-2 at 140.

Lawrence finished his junior season a sparkling 45-2. He opened up his title run with a pin in 1:25 against senior Tyler Rich of Hilliard Davidson. Rich was 35-9 going into that match, but fell victim to Lawrence’s first-ever state tournament pin.

On Friday, Lawrence continued to dominate with an 18-5 major decision over Tyler Weiskittel (37-3) of Cincinnati Oak Hills. Later that day, he withstood a strong challenge from Marysville’s Jake McCombs, who entered the semifinals with a 50-1 record. McCombs went on to finish third after a 5-3 loss to Lawrence.

In the finals, Lawrence and White exchanged escape points before White got the deciding takedown in the third period.

“That’s the first time Nick has allowed a point to be scored on him, other than kick-outs, since the Hudson tournament,” said Antonyzyn. “Nobody has been able to score a reversal, a near fall or anything else. That’s pretty impressive, if you ask me.

“If he had gotten pinned or anything else like that, it would be a different story. Last year as a sophomore, he won his state matches by one point. This year, he dominated. He wrestled super and finished one point away from a state championship against one of the top kids in the country.

“That’s pretty cool,” he added.

Olmsted Falls heavyweight Zach Laird had to fight his way back through the consolation rounds last Saturday in Columbus to finish sixth overall. (West Life photo by Daron Boyce)

Laird had to battle back after getting pinned by Wadsworth’s Ben Buzzelli on Thursday night. He came back with a pin in 2:53 against Jordan Beverly of West Carrolton, then scored a 10-5 decision over Paul Caldwell of Marion-Franklin.

After a narrow 2-1 win over Dennis Cox of Bowling Green, Laird got a rematch with Buzzelli. The Wadsworth junior escaped with a 1-0 win and wound up finishing fourth overall. Laird closed out his weekend with a 3-1 loss to Sean Brooks of Clayton Northmont in the heavyweight fifth-place match. He finished his season at 37-10.

Smugala lost his opening night match, 4-3 in overtime, to Wadsworth’s Caleb Busson. He regrouped to win a 6-2 overtime battle with Mason’s Andy Porter, but was eliminated by Nick Miller of Centerville with a pin in 1:32. He closed out his senior year at 40-5.

Dempsey went into the state championships with a 27-5 record at 135. He dropped a 7-3 decision to Mason’s Robert Shepherd, then lost his first consolation match, 3-2, to Massilon Perry’s Mike Hillock. Hillock moved on to finish fifth.

McGrain lost his 140 opener to Cincinnati Glen Este’s Tommy Fehring by a 3-0 decision. Jerrell Hodge of Bedford scored a 6-3 decision over McGrain in the consolation round and advanced to finish eighth. McGrain closed out his junior year at 34-13.