Westlake's Stuckart Shines In SWC Tourney

's Sheldon Stuckart showed nothing but heart and determination during Saturday's 152-pound championship match in the Southwestern Conference Tournament.

Holding a 3-2 lead with about 30 seconds left on the clock, Stuckart dug deep down and found a way to fight off Brecksville-Broadview Heights' Andrew Barr and hold on for the one-point win.

"This is my last year; I had to win it," said an emotional Stuckart. " I never wrestled him before, but I knew Brecksville has a lot of tricks up their sleeves, so I was ready."

Stuckart was exhausted after his match, and with good reason. After jumping out to a 3-0 lead, Barr made it a 3-2 match with just under a minute to go. Barr grabbed hold of Stuckart's leg and tried to bring him down. Stuckart's heart, not to mention some good conditioning, helped him keep his balance and stay off the mat.

"I didn't give up; I had to fight. I didn't care how much I was tired," Stuckart said. "Maybe it was spirit, the goal of winning conference, to do the best you can. I'm not sure. I just believed that whoever had the most heart was going to win it. We were both tired."

Stuckart (34-2 overall record this year), who also recorded a pin over Berea's Ryan Kolp in 2:18 and an 8-2 decision over Olmsted Falls' Adam Bingell, said the win gave him more motivation heading into sectionals next weekend.

The championship was even more satisfying because during last year's SWC tourney, Stuckart had the flu. In addition to Stuckart,  the Demons had four other placers on the day and scored 77 points - good for a sixth-place finish.

After falling in his first match to North Olmsted's Dominic Armstrong, Andrew Spreng (112 pounds) rebounded to take home third place with a pin of Amherst's Anthony Mendez in just 50 seconds. Spreng also pinned of Brecksville's Grayson Davis in 2:32 leading up to his third-place finish.

Zach Goodman, Steve Robb and Pat Hertl each took home fourth place awards. Hertl had one of the biggest upsets of the day when he downed the No. 2 seed in his weight class (171) from Midpark, Farris Aziz. Not only did he upset him, but he did so via a pin in 1:23.

"That was really good," said Westlake coach Mike Antonyzyn. "Then he came back and wrestled a tough overtime match and took home fourth."

As for how his team did, Antonyzyn said he was pleased, especially considering the youth of the team.

"We did alright. I think the conference went well," he said. "I knew it was going to be BBHS and Olmsted Falls. All I wanted was my kids to go out and wrestle their best matches today and that is what they did.  I wanted a couple of more wins, but I think every coach wants that. I wasn't disappointed. They did well. We have only two seniors who wrestled today. Our junior high won the conference, and we have some nice kids coming back."

Team results

How they finished: 1. Brecksville-Broadview Heights 224 points; 2. Olmsted Falls 190; 3. North Olmsted 103.5; 4. Midpark 100.5; 5. Amherst 99.5; 6. Westlake 70; 7. Avon Lake 58; 8. Berea 21.5.

Championship results
103:  Evan Krumheuer, Midpark Dec P.J. Mueller, Olmsted Falls, 6-2.
112: Chase DuPratt, Olmsted Falls M-Dec Dominic Armstrong, North Olmsted, 13-0.
119: Mark Matos, Amherst Dec Tommy Pruchinski, Brecksville-Broadview Hts., 5-2.
125: Kyle Biggs, North Olmsted Fall Anthony D'Amico, BBHS, 4:22.
130: Mitch Baran, BBHS Dec Brian Brunner, North Olmsted, 4-3.
135: Dylan Good, BBHS Fall Alex Bevilacqua, Olmsted Falls, 4:53.
140: Quinton Hiles, BBHS Dec C.J. Basinski, Amherst, 2-0.
145: George Saridakis, BBHS Dec Ryan Scholtz, Midpark, 7-1.
152: Sheldon Stuckart, Westlake Dec Andrew Barr, BBHS, 3-2.
160: Kyle Roddy, BBHS Fall Thaer Zayed, North Olmsted, 3:16.
171: Marshal Willet, BBHS Dflt Caleb Rojek, Avon Lake.
189: Jerimiah Roig, Olmsted Falls Fall Sam Huston, Midpark, 3:21.
215: Scott Sheffield, Midpark Fall Scott Linville, Olmsted Falls, 1:59.
285: Cory Frank, Avon Lake Fall Jake Bonfig, BBHS, 4:27.

Consolation
103: Christian Lough, Amherst M-Dec Zach Goodman, Westlake, 12-2.
112: Andrew Spreng, Westlake Fall Anthony Mendez, Amherst, 0:50.
119: Nick Asadorian, Olmsted Falls Dec Thomas DiMarino, North Olmsted, 9-2.
125: John Debth, Berea Dec Bryan DeRuchie, Amherst, 1-0.
130: Kyle Kokitka, Olmsted Falls Dec Alex Funderburg, Amherst, 2-0.
135: Ricky Kelly, North Olmsted Fall Bryce Williams, Amherst, 0:53.
140: Scott Ahern, Olmsted Falls Dec Steve Robb, Westlake, 6-2.
145: Brian Slater, Olmsted Falls Dec Mike Sliman, Amherst, 8-3.
152: Adam Binggeli, Olmsted Falls Dec Garrett Darby, Midpark, 5-4.
160: Kyle Koncek, Midpark Dec Nick Sommer, Olmsted Falls, 8-5.
171: Travis Devericks, Olmsted Falls Dec Pat Hertl, Westlake, 17-12.
189: Troy Lang, BBHS Dec Matt Sokolow, Avon Lake, 4-3.
215: Austin Linden, BBHS Dec Trevor Winston, North Olmsted, 5-2.
285: Jordan Lee, Olmsted Falls Dec Alex Bookshar, Amherst, 3-1 OT.

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