Many CVCA Wrestlers are headed down to Orlando, Florida to compete in the Amatuer Athletic Union's

National Scholastic Duals held June 22nd-26th at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex. 

CVCA Wrestlers will compete as Team Ohio Lightning in the Community Division.  The Community Division is a separate division in which the most of the wrestlers on the team must be from the same school.  Ohio Lightning is competing in this division for the first time. The wrestlers spent an intense week of training at Ohio Elite Wrestling Camp in Aurora

with CVCA Four Time State Champion and Greco World Team Member Harry Lester to prepare for this week's festivities.  The wrestlers will gain a great deal of experience wrestling some of the best competition in the country and will have a great time enjoying the parks of Disney World during their free time.  The Disney Duals are a week long event where 100 teams from all over the nation go to compete for the championship ,and it is one of the toughest national events in the country.

OHIO LIGHTNING ROSTER:

          108 – Matt Dobben – 8th 2X Jr. High State Placer

          108 – Nathan Tomasello – 8th Jr. High State Runner-Up

          117 – Zack Nelson – 8th Jr. High State Runner-Up

          117 – Josh Decatur – 8th Jr. High State Qualifier

          124 – Neil Roff – 8th – Jr. High State 4th Place

          130 – Nick Havener – 8th Jr. High State Qualifier

          130 – Seth Powers – 10th OHSAA State 4th Place

          135 – Zak Vargo – 11th OHSAA State 3rd Place

          140 – Zane Nelson – 8th – Jr. High State Runner-Up

          145 – Tyler Powers – 12th – OHSAA State Champion

          150 – Pete Meadows – 10th – 2X CVCA Varsity Letter Winner

          157 – David Gray – 9th – OHSAA District Qualifier

          165 – Matt Meadows – 9th – OHSAA State Qualifier

          176 – Alex Utley – 10th – OHSAA State Runner-Up

          194 – Daniel Griffith – 9th – OHSAA District Qualifier

          220 – Beau Wenger – 11th – OHSAA State 3rd Place (Fairless)

          290 – Josh Morosko – 12th – OHSAA State Runner-Up (Tuslaw)

 

Photo From: http://www.flickr.com/photos/brookezumas/collections/72157619024802397/

CVCA Graduate Harry Lester became a member of the 2009 United States Greco-Roman World Team at the World Team Trials in Council Bluffs, Iowa on May 30th, 2009.  Harry won U.S. Nationals in Las Vegas in April, which automatically sent him to a best of three match up with the World Team Trials Challenge tournament winner. 

Harry defeated Jess Hargrave in two straight matches (4-4, 1-0, 1-0 and Pin 3-0, 0:29) in the 74 kg finals to earn his spot on his fourth world team.  Harry was a World Bronze Medalist in 2006 and 2007.  He will be wrestling in Denmark at the World Championships in September.  Harry will be running wrestling camps at Ohio Elite Wrestling Camp in Aurora this summer as he is training for this prestigious event. 

Visit Harry's Camp Website:  www.oewc.net

The CVCA Wrestling team finished in 3rd place in Division III at the OHSAA State Wrestling Tournament held at the Ohio State University's Jerome Schottenstein Center on March 5-7th, 2009.  The state tournament capped off an outstanding season for the team.  Throughout the year the team finished as the highest scoring team from Summit County at the prestigious Walsh Ironman Tournament in early December,  3rd at the North Canton Tournament, 3rd at the Medina Invitational Tournament, 5th at the Alliance Top Gun Tournament, Loudonville Gribble Tournament Champions, Undefeated PAC-7 League Champions, OHSAA Sectional Champions, and OHSAA District Champions!  It is amazing how much God has blessed this year's group of athletes.  Without the Lord guiding us in everything that we do on and off of the mat, none of the year's accomplishments would have been possible.  It is truly to our Savior that we give the glory for any recognition or honors that we have received.

This year many CVCA Wrestling records fell along with recognizing 7 State Place Winners and crowning CVCA's 12th State Champion.  7 State Placers is the most of any school in any division behind St. Paris Graham.  CVCA advanced 8 wrestlers to state which tied a school record from 2001, and the 7 state placers is the most ever in CVCA Wrestling history. 

2009 OHSAA DIVISION III

135 LBS. STATE CHAMPION

TYLER POWERS

Senior Tyler Powers became the school's 12th State Wrestling Champion at the 135 lbs. weight class.  Tyer finished in 8th place at last year's State Tournament.  This year Tyler lost two matches at the toughest tournament in the country, the Walsh Ironman, in the first event of the year; and he did not lose another match the rest of the season.  Tyler was Champion at the North Canton, Loudonville Gribble, PAC-7, Sectional, District, and State Tournaments this season.  Tyler entered the State tournament ranked 3rd in the Brakeman Report, but was determined to win a state title.  Tyler began the tournament by pinning Clint Boyd of Caldwell in 3:45 in the first round.  In the quarter-finals Tyler defeated Delta's Reid Rayfield 5-0.  Tyler advanced to the finals with a semi-final win over St. Clairsville's Dominic Prezzia 3-2.  In the championship match Tyler dominated Ben Kuzma of Bascom Hopewell-Loudon winning by a score of 7-1.  Tyler finished with an overall record of 37-2 for the season.

   

Sophomore State Place winner Alex Utley returned to the 160 lbs. weight class where he placed third last season as a freshman.  This year his sights were set higher.  Alex started the State Tournament by pinning Jarrod Zang from Columbus Bishop Hartley, then tech-falled Liberty Center's Jake Elling in the quarterfinals.  Belpre's Ashton Packard fell to Alex in the semi-finals 7-3.  Alex became only the third wrestler in CVCA history to make it to the State Finals prior to his Junior year.  In the finals Alex fell to the number five ranked wrestler in the country in three-time state champion Zach Toal from Troy Christian.  Alex has accumulated 86 wins in just his first two seasons, which is the second most in CVCA histroy behind Harry Lester's 88 wins (1998-1999).

              

Greg Hojnacki placed 7th at last year's State Tournament at 189 lbs.  He returned to start the season at 189 lbs., but at the end of January decided that he was more comfortable wrestling at 215 lbs.  That was a great decision.  Greg went on a tear the last month of the season racking up a PAC-7, Sectional, and District Championship.  He entered the State Tournament on a great winning streak and continued it in the first two rounds by defeating Andrew Wright of Galion Northmor and Sean Slee of Liberty Center.  Greg lost a very close match in the semi-finals, but bounced back to beat Manchester's Kyle Kelly and Milan Edison's Craig Ritz to finish in 3rd Place.

  

CVCA newcomer Zak Vargo came to CVCA for his junior year and did an outstanding job at the 125 lbs. weight class.  Zak came into the State Tournament also on a good run after winning the Loudonville, PAC-7, Sectional, and District Championships over the course of the past four weeks.  Zak advanced to the semi-finals of the State Tournament by defeating Josh Coulter of Cardington Lincoln and Kyle Burns of Milan Edison.  Zak lost a close 2-1 decision in the semis,

but battled back to defeat Marion Pleasant's three-time state place winner Riki Reynolds and PAC-7 rival Eli Donahue of Tuslaw to finish in 3rd place.

         

Seth Powers at the 112 lbs. weight class finished last season as a State Alternate, but came into this year

determined to take that extra step and wrestle in the State Tournament.  He did exactly that and came into the State Tournament after having a tremendous performance at Districts.  Seth finished 4th in the state having to defeat

Tim Arthur of Jamestown Greenview in the first round, and then after dropping to consolations Seth beat every other

qualifier from the Maple Heights District on his way to the 3rd place match.

   

Junior Brandon Sommers had a gutsy State Tournament at 130 lbs..  After fighting off bronchitis all week, Brandon defeated his first two opponents advancing to the semi-finals.  Brandon beat Joey Bodenbender from Defiance Tinora

in the first round, and then he beat Cinncinati Madeira's Johnny Carpenter in the quarterfinals, avenging a

loss from last year's State quarterfinals.  Brandon lost a close match in the semi-finals. Then, unfortunately,

a knee injury caused Brandon to default down to 6th place.

                  

Freshman Michael Ratay had an excellent State Tournament and finished in 7th Place at 103 lbs.  Michael had some very exciting matches and defeated  Luke Kern of Liberty Center, Cody Steiner of Waynesville, and Anthony Elchert of Arcadia on his way to 7th Place.  Michael is CVCA only the fifth wrestler in CVCA history to place at States as a freshman.  Fellow Freshman Matt Meadows made it down to the State tournament and did a great job wrestling at the 152 lbs. weight class.

   

CONGRATULATIONS CVCA WRESTLERS AND COACHES!!!

The CVCA Wrestlers brought home the District Title for the first time in school history this weekend.  The team scored an amazing 186.0 points for the tournament with the next closest team being Cuyahoga Heights with 113.0 points.  The Royals put on a dominating performance and advanced 8 wrestlers to the State Tournament. 

 

Senior Returning State Place Winners Tyler Powers (135 lbs.) and Greg Hojnacki (215 lbs.) led the way by finishing as District Champions.  Both wrestlers dominated throughout the tournament.  Also winning District titles were junior Zak Vargo (125 lbs.) and sophomore Alex Utley (160 lbs.).  These wrestlers also had an impressive tournament.

                  

The Royals also had three 3rd place finishers in Freshmen Michael Ratay (103 lbs.), Sophomore Seth Powers (112 lbs.), and Junior Brandon Sommers (130 lbs.).  Freshman Matt Meadows (152 lbs.) also qualified for the State Tournament by finishing in 4th place.  David Gray, Daniel Griffith, and Matthew Hickin also won matches and contributed to the team title,

but fell short of qualifying for the State tournament.

 2009 CVCA Wrestling

Eight to State!!!

The wrestlers will head to Columbus on Wednesday to get ready for the weekend's competition.  The 8 CVCA State Qualifiers ties the school record for most State Qualifiers in one year.  The wrestlers and coaches look forward to this weekend and are excited to see how God is going to work during this last tournament of the season.  Win or Lose the CVCA Wrestling family is extremely proud of these guys and their accomplishments.  We are proud to send the glory to God for blessing us with the opportunity and ability to honor Him in all that we do!!!

The CVCA Wrestlers carried their already successful year into the post season as the Royals won their third tournament in the last three weeks by winning the OHSAA Division III Rootstown Sectional.  The team scored an impressive

231.0 points and advanced 11 wrestlers to next week's District Tournament.  Leading the way for the Royals

were 6 Sectional Champions.  The team's 6 Sectional Champions is a CVCA school record

and the 11 District Qualifiers ties the record for most ever by a CVCA team.

Senior Tyler Powers took home his second straight sectional title with a win over Girard's Daniel Gainey

in the finals of the 135 lbs. weight class.  Junior Zak Vargo won his first Sectional championship for CVCA

by defeating Woodridge's Brad Norval in the finals at 125 lbs.  130 lbs. Junior Brandon Sommers also won his

second straight sectional championship pinning Girard's Tony Cardiero in the finals. 

Freshman Matt Meadows avenged an earlier season loss to Woodridge State Qualifier Lambert McElrath in the finals of the 152 lbs. weight class.  Matt won the sectional championship match by technical fall 17-2.  Sophomore Alex Utley won the sectional at 160 lbs., as did Senior Greg Hojnacki at 215 lbs. All six champions wrestled a great tournament.

                       

Also doing well for the Royals were Sectional Runner-Ups Michael Ratay at 103 lbs., Seth Powers at 112 lbs.,

and Matt Hickin at 140 lbs.  Also advancing to Districts were freshmen

David Gray, who took 3rd place at 145 lbs. and Daniel Griffith who finished 4th at 171 lbs. 

Fellow Freshman Tommy Dunkin finished in 6th place at 119 lbs.

                        

Congratulations Wrestlers and Good Luck at Maple Heights!!!

Results from the Rootstown Sectional can be found at: http://www.baumspage.com/nesect/ro3/index.htm

The Jr. High wrestlers dominated the PAC-7 tournament at Tusky Valley on Friday night February 6th, and were crowned League Champions!!  The team scored an astounding 191 points in the victory.  The teams advanced nine wrestlers into the championship finals and had all but two wrestlers place in the top four. 

                

The Royals were led by 5 wrestlers who finished as individual tournament champions.  7th graders Jimmy Coyne and Ricky Simonelli won the 86 lbs. and 92 lbs. weight classes respectively.   8th Graders Sherman Kortze at 116 lbs., Nicholas Havener at 122 lbs., and David Parker at 134 lbs. all won the tournament at their weight class.

                

Hayden Kaiser was tournament runner-up at 80 lbs., as was Jeffrey Hojnacki 104 lbs., Danny Tiley 150 lbs., and Jake Sziraky 205 lbs.  Also coming up big for the Royals were James Hammons 160 lbs., Avery McLean 142 lbs., and Jono Kontur 172 lbs. who all finished in third place.  Casey Claflin took home 4th place at the very tough 128 lbs. weight class.   James Staab, Calvin Christopher, Josiah DiPaolo, and Daniel Meredith also contributed to the team's championship.

This marked the first occasion where CVCA's Jr. High team has won the league championship in many years. 

Great job Jr. High Wrestlers and Good Luck in the off season!!

The Jr. High Wrestlers traveled to Philo to wrestle in the Philo Electric Jr. High Invitational Tournament.  Philo is located near Zanesville about 2 hours away from CVCA.  The team drove down, had a nice dinner at Bob Evans, and spent time together on Friday night the day before the tournament.  The wrestlers had a great time swimming in the indoor pool at the hotel. 

             

The Philo tournament is considered the toughest Jr. High in season tournament in the state of Ohio. 

The tournament hosted 44 teams from all over the state.  The Royals had an excellent showing finishing in 15th place overall.  The team was led by 8th grader Nicholas Havener at 122 lbs. who finished in 3rd place losing only to returning

Jr. High State Champion Bo Jordan of St. Paris Graham. 

7th grader Ricky Simonelli at 86 lbs. finished in a strong 4th place.  Danny Tiley lost only one match and finished in 5th at 150 lbs.  Jeff Hojnacki wrestled great at the 104 lbs. weight class.  Although he lost his first round match 8-7, he went on to win 4 consecutive matches, but could finish no higher than 9th place because of his first round loss. 

   

Other Royal wrestlers that won matches were Hayden Kaiser, Jimmy Coyne, Sherman Kortze,

David Parker, Josiah DiPaolo, Casey Claflin, Avery McLean, and Calvin Christopher.

     

CVCA hosted a 16 team middle school dual tournament on Saturday January 17th.  The Jr. High wrestlers finished

with a 3-2 dual meet record and in 7th place overall.  The team defeated Litchfield, Hyre, and an Extras team on the way to their 7th place finish.  The team had an outstanding accomplishment at this tournament in that every single wrestler on the team registered a win at the event.  Going undefeated on the day were Ricky Simonelli, Nick Havener, and Danny Tiley.

                   

Others scoring wins were Hayden Kaiser, Jimmy Coyne, Jeff Hojnacki, Sherman Kortze, David Parker, Casey Claflin, Josiah DiPaolo, Avery McLean, Daniel Meredith, Jono Kontur, Calvin Christopher, and Jake Sziraky.

Winning the tournament was the Pope Jr. Greyhounds a team who traveled all the

way from Georgia just to compete at CVCA.

The CVCA Wrestling team continued to excel at the Top Gun Wrestling tournament at Alliance High School held on Friday and Saturday January 16th and 17th.  Leading the way for the team was Sophomore Alex Utley at 160 lbs.  Alex became the tournament champion by winning 5 matches including 2 falls and 3 major decisions.  Alex won over Riverview's Brett Mellor in the finals by an outstanding 14-2 margin.  Alex also avenged his only loss from the Jr. High State Tournament two years ago (where Alex took third) by demolishing Graham's Kyle Ryan 12-3 in the quarterfinals.

160 lbs. Champion Alex Utley

Junior Zak Vargo placed an impressive 3rd at the 125 lbs. weight class.  Zak advanced to the semifinals before falling 6-1 to the nation's #3 ranked wrestler at 125 lbs. in Zach Neibert from St. Paris Graham.  Zak bounced back to win two close consolation matches to finish in third.

Freshman Micheal Ratay (103 lbs.) and Sophomore Seth Powers (112 lbs.) both finished a solid 6th place.  While Freshman Matt Meadows (152 lbs.) and Senior Greg Hojnacki (189 lbs.) both finished the tournament in 7th place.  Also winning matches for the Royals were Freshman David Gray (145 lbs.) and Senior Matt Hickin (145 lbs.) who lost an exciting 3-2 decision to University School's State Champion Harrison Hightower in the second round.

Overall the team finished in a very impressive 5th place overall with 114.5 points.  This feat was even more impressive considering the team was without two of its top point scorers in State Placers Tyler Powers and Brandon Sommers, both of which are recovering from injuries.

Results from the tournament can be found at: http://old.flyers.stark.k12.oh.us/Top%20Gun/tgt2009/TopGun09home.htm

Photo from:  www.chippewa-chipps.com

Several CVCA Wrestlers competed in the 29th Chippewa Invitational Tournament in Doylestown, OH on

Friday January 10th.  Wrestling was scheduled to continue on Saturday, but due to extreme weather conditions

the action was postponed to Sunday.  Being that CVCA does not participate in athletic events on

Sunday the wrestlers did not continue on in the tournament.

Winning matches at the tournament for the Royals were:

Tom Duncan at 119 lbs., Pete Meadows at 140 lbs., David Gray at 145 lbs., and Daniel Griffith at 171 lbs.

Results from the tournament can be found at:  www.chippewa-chipps.com

The Medina Invitational Tournament is called "The Greatest Show in Wrestling," and is one of the biggest and toughest tournaments in all of Ohio.  CVCA competed at this tournament Monday and Tuesday December 29th and 30th, 2008 at Medina High School.  The team has had a very strong 2008, and the last event of the calender year did not disappoint.  The Royals finished as Champions in Division III and in third place overall only behind Division I powerhouses Massillon Perry and Lakewood St. Edward.  The 151.5 points scored and 7 place winners is one of CVCA's best finishes ever.

The team was led by Junior State Place Winner Brandon Sommers, who joined the ranks of an elite few CVCA wrestlers who have been crowned champion of the M.I.T.  Harry Lester, Andy Vogel, Jarrad Turner, and Jared Kusar are the others.  Harry and Brandon are the only two who have accomplished this feat before their Senior Season.

                 

Brandon won the 130 lbs. weight class finishing 5-0 overall including an exciting 4 overtime thriller in the semifinals.  Sam Hazewinkel (4X NCAA All-American at Oklahoma and Ranked #2 in country in Greco at 55kg) commented on Brandon after the match saying: "The kid's a stud!"

The other CVCA Wrestlers did an outstanding job as well.  Senior Tyler Powers advanced to the semi-finals at 135 lbs. before being injured by an illegal slam.  This unfortunate situation advanced Tyler to the finals where he was unable to compete due to injury earning him 2nd place for the tournament.  Tyler had a slight seperation and partial tear in his shoulder, but should be back in action in a few weeks.

                

After a tough overtime loss in the semi-finals, Sophomore Alex Utley wrestled back to finish in 3rd place for the tournament at 171 lbs. Senior Greg Hojnacki won 4 matches on his way to a fourth place finish at 189 lbs. 

Seth Powers at 112 lbs. and Zak Vargo at 125 lbs. both finished as a strong 5th place, and Senior Matt Hickin wrestled great in the 140 lbs. weight class to finish in 8th place for the tournament.

Giving the glory to God for all of the team's accomplishments the CVCA Wrestlers continued to show improvement on what looks to be a promising 2009 for the CVCA Royals.

Results from the M.I.T. can be found at:  http://www.baumspage.com/medina/res08.htm

The CVCA Jr. High Wrestling team competed in the Green Middle School Tournament on Saturday, December 27th.  The team finished with 5 place winners including 2 Champions, a Runner-Up, a 3rd Place finisher, and a 4th Place Finisher.

Tournament Placers:  David Parker, Jeff Hojnacki, Ricky Simonelli, Danny Tiley, and Sherman Kortze

The team was led by 8th Grader Sherman Kortze who finished as tournament Champion at 116 lbs.  Sherman won 4 matches including an impressive 14-6 win in the championship finals.  The team was also led by 7th grader Ricky Simonelli who finished in 1st place at the 86 lbs. weight class.  Ricky continued to wrestle great and is still undefeated on the season. 

            

Also wrestling very well and finishing as tournament Runner-Up was Jeff Hojnacki at 104 lbs. 

Jeff, a seventh grader, advanced to the finals before losing a very close match 4-3 in the championship.  

8th graders Danny Tiley 150 lbs. and David Parker 128 lbs. finished in 3rd and 4th place respectively. 

Also scoring wins for the Royals were Hayden Kaiser, Jimmy Coyne, and Casey Claflan.  The Jr. High Wrestlers are continuing to look tough and are looking forward to the Medina Jr. High Tournament on Saturday, January 10th.

                     

                                 Champion Ricky Simonelli 86 lbs.                                Champion Sherman Kortze 116 lbs.

 

The Varsity Wrestling team competed in the North Canton Holiday Tournament on December 19th and 20th.  The team continued to look impressive bringing home the 3rd place team trophy.  The wrestlers scored a total of 148.5 team points which proved to be the third highest out of the 36 teams competing.

The Royals were led by Senior Tyler Powers at 135 lbs.  Tyler finished the tournament 5-0 with four pins to become tournament champion.  Tyler pinned Orrville State Placer Jeremy Maiwurm in the finals. 

                      

Also looking impressive for the Royals were Juniors Zak Vargo and Brandon Sommers. 

Both finished as tournament Runner-Up.  Zak wrestled great and defeated West Virginia State Champ

Aaron Majetich on his way to the finals.  Brandon came out of a loaded 130 lbs .bracket which featured multiple state placers including a win over State Placer Jake Strausbaugh (Orrville).

            

Sophomore Alex Utley finished a solid 3rd place at 171 lbs. finishing the tournament 5-1 with 3 pins and a technical fall.  Senior Greg Hojnacki wrestled great making it to the semi-finals in a very tough 189 lbs. bracket before falling to 6th place.  Other wrestlers scoring wins for the Royals were Michael Ratay (103), Seth Powers (112), Matt Hickin (140), David Gray (145), Pete Meadows (145), and Matt Meadows (152).

         

Results from the tournament can be found at:  www.ncholiday.com

The Jr. High Wrestling team was in action Saturday, December 20th at the Brown Middle School Invitational in Ravenna. 

The Brown Middle School Tournament is one of the biggest Jr. High Tournaments in the area featuring 19 teams and well over 200 plus wrestlers from throughout Northeast Ohio.

 

                      

The team wrestled very well advancing three wrestlers to the finals.  Finishing as tournament champion at 86 lbs. was seventh grader Ricky Simonelli.  Ricky advanced with three pins and an exciting double overtime 3-2 decision in the finals.  Ricky is now at 13-0 on the year.  Also advancing to the finals and finishing as tournament Runners-Up were Nick Havener at 122 lbs. and Danny Tiley at 150 lbs.  Also scoring big wins for the Royals were Hayden Kaiser and Jimmy Coyne.

                                

                  Nick Havener - 2nd Place                      Ricky Simonelli - 1st Place                       Danny Tiley - 2nd Place

The CVCA Wrestling team honored their Senior Wrestlers at Senior Night on Wednesday December 17th at the home tri-meet with Triway and Manchester.  The evening started with a wrestling family pot luck dinner in the cafeteria.  The dinner was an event planned for both the Jr. High and High School wrestling families and was a great time of fellowship together.  Thank you to all of the parents and families who participated and helped with the dinner.

Before wrestling began the Senior Wrestlers were honored along side their parents

for their committment to Christ, their school, and their sport. 

 

Senior Tyler Powers was honored with his parents Lenny and Martha Powers.  Tyler placed 8th in the state last year and has signed to wrestle at Campbellsville University next season.

Senior Greg Hojnacki was honored with his parents Jim and Nancy Hojnacki.  Greg placed 7th in the state last season and is a strong spiritual leader on the team.  

Senior Matthew Hickin was honored with his parents Joe and Debbie Hickin.  Matthew is returning District Qualifier and is one of the most dedicated and spiritually led wrestlers on the team.

Unfortunately Senior Paul Lattimer and his family were unable to be in attendance.

After a time of prayer together, the Varsity and Jr. High Wrestling Teams prepared to wrestle.  The Varsity wrestling team continued to wrestle well improving to 4-0 in dual meets on the season by defeating both Triway and Manchester. 

The wrestlers beat Triway by a score of 47-27 and Manchester by a score of 37-29. 

Winning matches for theRoyals were: Michael Ratay, Seth Powers, Zak Vargo, Brandon Sommers,

Tyler Powers, Matt Hickin, David Gray, Matt Meadows, and Alex Utley.

            

The Jr. High wrestling team also looked very impressive by winning both dual meets as well. 

The Jr. High Royals defeated Triway 62-18 and Manchester 56-36. 

Winning matches for the team were:  Ricky Simonelli, Jimmy Coyne, Jeff Hojnacki, Sherman Kortze, Nick Havener, David Parker, Casey Claflan, Daniel Meredith, Danny Tiley, James Hammons, Jono Kontour, Jake Sziraky, and Calvin Christopher.  Great Job Wrestlers!!

                               

                        David Parker 128 lbs.                              Jono Kontur  160 lbs.                     Daniel Meredith 142 lbs.

PAC-7 MATCHES UNDER WAY...

The Jr. High Wrestlers were also in action Wednesday night.  The team wrestled tough in both duals, but fell to both Tuslaw (36-42) and Fairless (42-54).  Registering big wins for the Royals were Ricky Simonelli, Jimmy Coyne, Jeff Hojnacki, Casey Claflan, Nicholas Havener, Josiah DiPaulo, James Hammons, Danny Tiley, Jono Kontour, and Calvin Christopher. 

Great Job Jr. High Wrestlers!

WRESTLERS OPEN UP REGULAR SEASON AT IRONMAN...

 

CVCA opened up the regular reason at the toughest high school wrestling tournament in the country. 

The team did not have to travel far to get to the event considering this prestigous tournament

is held annually right across the street at Walsh Jesuit High School.  

This year's Ironman featured over 400 wrestlers from 57 teams from 14 different states. 

The CVCA Wrestlers finished in 31st place scoring a total of 35 team points. The Royals were lead by

Senior Tyler Powers at 135 lbs.  Tyler finished with a 4-2 record finishing one match away from placing. 

Freshman Michael Ratay made his official CVCA debut with a 2-2 record at 103 lbs.  Sophomore Seth Powers

held down the 112 lbs. weight class finishing with a 2-2 record.  Junior Zak Vargo finished 2-2 at 125 lbs.

including a victory over Division III State Placer Pawlos Campbell from Troy Christian.  Junior Brandon Sommers

at 130 lbs. started off the tournament by defeating the #3 seed and Nationally Ranked Luke Goettl

from Mingus, AZ.  Freshman Matt Meadows wrestled extremely well at the 152 lbs. weight class pulling down

his first victory of what looks to be a very promising career for the Royals.  Sophomore Alex Utley finished

2-2 at 160 lbs. wrestling in an extremely tough weight class.  Senior Greg Hojnacki won his first two matches

at 189 lbs. making it to the quarterfinals before catching the #2 ranked wrestler in the country. 

Fellow Senior Matthew Hickin also wrestled tough at the 145 lbs. weight class.

Overall the CVCA Wrestlers had a solid showing finishing locally as the highest scoring school from Summit County.  Great wrestlers are made by wrestling the very best competition, and our CVCA wrestling team definitely is up to the challenge!  Good Luck this season wrestlers, everyone in the CVCA Wrestling family is praying for you!

Results from the tournament can be found at:  www.walshironman.com

  7th Grader Ricky Simonelli at 86 pounds finished with a 5-0 record to finish as tournament champion.  Also winning the tournament finishing 5-0 at 122 pounds was CVCA 8th grader Nicholas Havener.  CVCA had three other place winners in Danny Tiley (8th) finishing in Second Place at 150 lbs., Sherman Kortze (8th) finshing 5th at 116 lbs., and Casey Claflan finishing in 6th place at 128 lbs.  Also scoring big wins for the Royals were David Parker 134 lbs. and Jono Kontour 160 lbs. 

Congratulations Jr. High Wrestlers!!

CVCA KICKS-OFF SEASON WITH MASSILLON PERRY PREVIEW...

 

The CVCA Wrestling Team started the pre-season off by visiting Division One Wrestling powerhouse Massillon Perry High School on Monday December 1st.  The Royal Grapplers looked very tough in this pre-season contest against one of the country's best teams.  Congratulations to all of the CVCA Wrestlers!!

103 - Mitch Newhouse (Perry-9) dec Mike Ratay (CVCA-9)
112- Seth Powers(CVCA-10) M-Dec 8-0 Joe Lyons (Perry-12)
119- Nick Hannon (Perry-11) Pin Tom Duncan (CVCA-9)
125 Sam White (Perry-12) Dec 2-1 Zak Vargo (CVCA-11)
130- Brandon Sommers (CVCA-11) Dec 4-2 Zach Dailey (Perry-9)
135- Tyler Powers(CVCA-12) M-Dec 10- 0 Tanner Lemon (Perry-10)
140- Shane Foster(Perry-11) Dec 5-0 Matt Hickin (CVCA-12)
145- Seth Horner(Perry-12) Pin Pete Meadows(CVCA-10)
152- Brandon Clemons (Perry-11) Dec 6-4 Matt Meadows (CVCA-9)
160- Alex Utley (CVCA-10) Dec 3-0 Cortland Harrison (Perry-11)
189- Andrew Phillips (Perry-12) Dec OT Greg Hojnacki (CVCA-12)

CVCA Senior Tyler Powers signed an official letter of intent to continue his education and wrestling career at Campbellsville University in Campbellsville, Kentucky.   Tyler is projected to wrestle at 149 lbs. for coach Franky James and the Tigers.  Coach James (pictured above) joined Coach Mike Vash, Tyler, and his parents Martha and Lenny Powers for the signing.

Campbellsville University is a small Christian college that seeks to prepare students to enrich their own lives through life-long learning, to contribute to their respective disciplines through continued scholarship, and to improve society as Christian servant leaders.  Tyler looks forward to majoring in Sports Medicine/Nutrition while at Campbellsville.

To learn more about the Campbellsvile Wrestling Progam Visit:

 

The Campbellsvile wrestling program is currently ranked #18 in the nation in the NAIA Wrestling Ratings.  Campbellsville wrestling has produced multiple All-Americans year in and year out, and the CVCA Wrestling Family wishes Tyler and his family the best for him in his future at Campbellsville.  Congratulations!

Four-Time Ohio State Champion and Two-Time World Bronze Medalist Harry Lester returned to CVCA on Saturday,October 18th to run a wrestling clinic.  Twenty-four wrestlers from all over Ohio came to CVCA for the session.   These wrestlers committed to taking the time out of their Saturday to spend some time learning from one of the World's best.  Harry teaches some of the most valuable and unique technique in the country.

                    

It really was a great experience for all who attended.  CVCA High School wrestlers Brandon Sommers, Seth Powers, and David Gray were in attendance along with Junior High Wresters Jimmy Coyne and Jake Sziraky.   Thank you to Harry for taking the time to give back to the sport.

Kusar and Weakley Compete at the Ohio State Wrestle-Offs...

CVCA Graduates Jared Kusar and John Weakley made their 2008-09 Debut for the Buckeyes at the Ohio State

Wrestle-Offs on Thursday, October 16th down in Columbus. 

Jared Kusar wrestled teammate, 4X Ohio State Champion, and

2X NCAA All-American Lance Palmer in his wrestle-off at 149 lbs. 

Kusar schocked the crowd by coming out and getting the first takedown of the match.  He continued to wrestle tough the entire match.

John Weakley, who started last year for the Buckeyes, lost a close wrestle-off to transfer Cody Gardner at 197 lbs.  John is a 2007 Graduate of CVCA where he won Two State Titles for the Royals.  Both Kusar and Weakley look forward to a probable Red-Shirt Year for the Buckeyes.  It is great to see the wrestlers from CVCA going on to great things in the sport.  It really is amazing to see God working in these young men's lives.

 

Photos from Kevin Schlosser  the-ozone.net

buckeywrestling.com

 

 

CVCA will host the 2nd Annual Ohio Lightning Challenge on November 8th, 2008.  This tournament will be an Open Pool tournament.  All CVCA Wrestlers are strongly encouraged to participate.  All friends and family are also encouraged to come help with the tournament by working a table, concessions, admissions, etc.  This tournament is a great opportunity to get prepared to open up the season.  It is also a great opportunity to help support Team Ohio Lightning through this fundraiser.

Entry Forms and More Information can be found at :  www.teamohiolightning.com

If you have any questions or would like to help contact:  Coach Paul Charvat  (216)316-3897    pacharvat@msn.com

 

CVCA's JARED KUSAR FREESTYLE ALL-AMERICAN...

Complete Results from Junior Freestyle Nationals can be viewed at: