West Geauga held a one-point lead with two matches left against Perry in the Division II regional duals Feb. 7. Then, Antonio Bertone recorded a takedown at the buzzer that pushed Perry ahead. All the weight was on Blake Welker’s shoulders for West Geauga at 190 pounds. The junior delivered, scori ng an 11-2 major decision to secure the win, 33-31, and the Wolverines advanced to the state duals for the first time in school history. They will head to Bishop Watterson next weekend for the state duals. Seeds and pairings for the eight-team tournament will be announced this week. “I think it shows how hard our team has worked and how much they’ve progressed and learned,” coach Joe Joltin said. “Perry is a phenomenal team, very well-coached. They come to wrestle every single time, and we have to be ready. It just shows how hard we’ve been working here and how, most importantly, the kids have been working.” Welker added: “It’s a big opening for us. We’ve always been right there. We know we can do it. It shows that we’re a team and that we can make way for anyone.” West Geauga started the match with a win at 215. Cole Welker recorded an escape in the third period after riding out the second on top. But Perry controlled the next two matches. Trent Taylor recorded a 2-1 win at heavyweight, and returning girls state placer Abby Cornwell recorded a first-period fall at 106. Despite trailing, 9-3, Joltin knew the middle of the lineup was where the dual would be decided. “You just have to take it one match at a time,” Joe Joltin said. “We look at the lineups, and they came with a couple of changes in theirs. And at the end of the day, you got to go out and wrestle each match for what it is. Heads don’t go down, just keep grinding forward.” West Geauga picked up a pair of forfeit wins that put it ahead, 15-9, but Perry’s Cooper Schlauch picked up a major decision at 126, controlling his hips in a pair of scrambles for two take downs. Schlauch’s victory, plus a West Geauga forfeit at 132, made it a 19-15 Perry lead before state-qualifiers Zander Joltin of West Geauga and Landon Rusnak of Perry took the mat at 138. Rusnak recorded a takedown in the first and rode out Zander Joltin for the first period. Zander recorded an escape to start the second and a throw-by coupled with strong hips ended in a takedown for Zander Joltin. Rusnak battled back to tie the match at 6-6 and force overtime. Halfway through the extra period, Zander sprawled on a Rusnak shot and a spin to a mat return gave him the 9-6 win and cut the match to a 19-17 deficit. Daniel Russell followed with a second-period pin at 144 that West Geauga ahead, 23-19. The Wolverines’ Danny Sizler had a pair of takedowns against Dante Villalobos Pacheco in the first two periods of the 150-pound match. But the Pirates’ junior found a rhythm in the scramble. He had a reversal in the second to end the period on top and two takedowns in the third gave him the 9-8 victory and cut it to a 23-22 score with four matches left. Perry’s Chance Schlauch and West Geauga’s Brian Denamen recorded pins at 157 and 165, respectively, that made it 29-28 with two matches left. At 175, Perry’s Bertone and West Geauga’s Austin Wheatley traded escapes in the first 5:50 of the match, with both taking shots but unable to create points. Then, in the final 10 seconds, Bertone countered an arm drag attempt and broke Wheatley down to take the 4-1 win and put Perry ahead 33-31. Despite the sudden shift in momentum, the moment didn’t phase Wheatley, as he took the mat against Jackson Berzzeg. “I knew all my teammates were counting on me,” Welker said. “I knew I had to go out there and did it. We’re good at keeping our heads. We do team yoga, we work on our mental health all year round. Just to make sure we’re locked in all the time and keep our heads on straight.” Welker recorded a takedown late in the first and two more in the third for the major decision win and punched the Wolverines’ ticket to the state dual championships. “Austin wrestled a fantastic match at 175,” Joe Joltin said. “He gave up a takedown at the end, and that’s just going to happen in wrestling. We knew it was going to be a 2-3 point match at the end. Blake comes out as a junior and has been in that spot before. He kept attacking, looking for shots and got the job done. He remained poised and got the job done.” Perry defeated Padua in the first round, 39-31. The Pirates got pins from Rusnak (138), Villalobos Pacheco (150), Schlauch (157), Bezzegg (190), Keagan Cole (215) and Taylor (285). Cooper Sclauch added a major decision at 126. ...read more read less