The Milan News-Leader
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Big Reds strong at two tourneys
Milan ties Jefferson for seventh spot at Sheriff's tournament
By Brian Cox, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: January 10, 2008
Milan sophomore wrestler Aaris Gruber must love Ohio, but the Buckeye State may not return the sentiment after Gruber dominated the 103-weight class at the Cardington Team Invitational late last month.
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Having spent the early part of the season wrestling at 112, Gruber came down to 103 for the first time at Cardington and came away with a 5-0 record.
"There are a lot of boys down in Ohio who wished they'd never seen her," said head wrestling coach Gary Jonseck. "She's a hard-nosed wrestler."
Joining Gruber with undefeated records at Cardington, where Milan placed fifth among 12 teams, were David Box (285) and Josh Pegouskie (189).
Jeff Fletcher (119), Dan Vivian (125), Eric Santure (130), Jacob Nelson (160), Dan Bailey (171), and Sean Domas (215) all went 4-1 on the day.
"It was a great experience," said Jonseck. "We saw a lot of good, competitive wrestling. The kids relaxed and wrestled aggressively, and when you do that good things can happen."
The Big Reds came away with several dominating performances, including a 78-6 trouncing of Smithville, a 66-15 drumming of Plymouth, and a 53-15 pounding over River Valley. Milan's narrowest margin of victory was a 48-24 win over Fredericktown.
Their only loss came at the hands of tournament host Cardington, a tight 33-30 defeat.
In their first tournament of the new year, Milan made a strong showing at the Monroe County Sheriff's Wrestling Invitational Jan. 8, tying league rival Monroe Jefferson for seventh place with 94 points.
Bedford was tournament champion with 246.5 points, followed by Dundee with 220 and Monroe with 214. Huron took fourth with 124.5 points followed by Airport with 122 and Ida with 104.5.
Coming in behind Milan were Erie Mason (87), St. Mary Catholic Central (78), Gibraltar Carlson (38) and Flat Rock (35).
"We knew it was going to be a physical tournament," said Jonseck, "but I think it's the most points we've scored at it since I've been here."
Box and Domas took second place honors.
Coming into the tournament, Box was undefeated at 20-0, but Jimmy Rowe of Monroe handed him his first defeat in a 9-1 decision.
"David and (Rowe) went at it," said Jonseck, "and David got caught in a couple turns."
Domas defeated a Gibraltar Carlson wrestler in the semi-finals before falling to Bedford's Tony Fye, but Jonseck was pleased with the sophomore's performance.
"Sean gets better week by week," said Jonseck.
Pegouskie took third in the 189 weight class while Jacob Nelson took fifth at 160. Cody O'Keefe (130) and Gruber, wrestling at 103 again, placed sixth.
Tim Sims (135), David Wilson (140) and Vivian each won matches but came up short in the standings.
The Big Reds also had an outstanding showing at a junior varsity tournament in Canton over the weekend, producing five champions, taking third place and seeing eight of their nine wrestlers place.
Earning top spots for the Big Reds were Santure (125), Steven Jones (130), R.J. Gaskill (135), Kyle Latta (189), and Warren Losee (215).
Fletcher placed third at 125 and Matt Schultz (171) and Mark Thornton (160) took fourth.
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