PPT Slide
Wrestling Saturday, February 19, 2005
Dominating at districts: Perry comfortably in front after Day 1
To hear Perry junior Chris Hartley, you’d think you were listening to an individual who had done nothing on the wrestling mat before. You certainly wouldn’t assume he’d already placed in the top four of the state tournament ... twice. “I’ve had a horrible high school career so far taking fourth (as a freshman) and third place (as a sophomore),” Hartley said after he won both of his matches on Friday night to reach the 119-pound semifinals at the Division I district tournament at Perry. “I don’t have much time left. I have to win a state title.” Hartley certainly took a big step toward that with a pair of pins Friday as he joined four other Panther teammates to advance within one win of a state tournament berth. Also moving into the semifinals for Perry were Zach Mizer (130 pounds), Thomas Straughn (140), Dustin Schlatter (145) and Cory Nelson (152). The Panthers had five others wrestlers – Dan Genetin (103), Scott Rooney (112), Adam Phillips (160), Dustin Shilling (189) and Devyn Hoffner (215) – win their first match of the night, only to fall into the consolations with a quarterfinal loss. That quintet must win three matches today in order to qualify for the state tournament. As a team, the Panthers were in first place with 61 points through the quarterfinals, with Wadsworth trailing behind in second with 50 points. Shaker Heights (38), Solon (34.5) and Strongsville (32) round out the top five. Perry wasn’t the only team to get multiple wrestlers through to the semifinals. Jackson has a pair – Dante Rini (103) and Ben Johnson (125) – within a win of the state tournament, while Mike Filicky (119) and Adam Haas (130) won their first match on Friday, but lost in the quarterfinals. Both of Massillon’s qualifiers – Terry Smith (130) and Mike Petrarca (171) – were defeated in the first round. As for Hartley, the start of 2005 has proven to be much more enjoyable than the end of 2004. After starting the season off 4-4 – including back-to-back losses to Lakewood St. Edward’s Lance Palmer and Lakota East’s Kent Pierson at the Medina Invitational Tournament in late December – he has not lost since January 1, winning 19 straight to improve to 23-4 on the season. One thing hampering Hartley initially was an elbow injury which prevented him from wrestling the first couple of weeks of the season. Then, after starting at 125 pounds, he struggled to work his way back to 119, where he competed a year ago. He finally started wrestling on a regular basis at 119 at the Ohio Duals in early January. “It was hard,” Hartley said. “It took a couple of weeks. After I got it down and maintained it the right way, it was good. It was a lot easier.” One thing the decision to stay at 119 will prevent Hartley from doing is trying to shed his past struggles against Palmer, the two-time state champion from St. Edward. Hartley has lost no fewer than eight times in his high-school career to the Eagle junior. “He’s a real good wrestler,” Hartley said. “He’s a tough kid. He’s expanded his horizons a lot. More power to him for moving up to 125. But he’s not at 119, and I don’t care who I have to beat to win the state title.” In a way, Hartley feels like the early time off my have been a blessing in disguise. Certainly, he feels like it will pay dividends in the tournament, where most of his competitors have been going full-go since the start of November. “I feel a lot more fresh because of the rest,” Hartley said. “I honestly take it as a positive. It makes me better, because I’m fresh when I came in. Then I was able to get my weight down.” Wrestling resumes this morning at 11, with second round consolations. The finals are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
