Westlake’s Conner Dempsey works his way to a pin over Cincinnati Elder’s Ryan Ruffing in a Division I consolation round match last Saturday. Dempsey got that pin in 2:23 and finished seventh overall at 140.

PODIUM PRIDE
Salupo, Kelly and Dempsey place at state
By Dan Gilles
Sports
Published March 10, 2010

Out of the five area wrestlers who qualified for the 73rd Annual Ohio State Wrestling Tournament this past weekend, three of them finished in the top eight in their respective weight classes.

Westlake senior Conner Dempsey at 140, North Olmsted senior Chriss Kelly at 189 and St. Edward senior Anthony Salupo - a Westlake resident – at 145 each reached the podium in their respective Division I weight classes after three days of some of the best wrestling in the country. And each of them used unique paths to earn their medals.

North Olmsted sophomore Brian Brunner at 125 in Division I and Fairview senior Drew Liechty at 125 in Division III each qualified, but were eliminated without placing.

Kelly placed third after losing his very first match of the tournament. Salupo reached the state championship match, but ended up being a state runner-up. And Dempsey suffered two one-point losses, but still finished seventh.

North Olmsted senior Chriss Kelly gets the upper hand over Kevin Hyland of Cincinnati Elder in their Division I third-place match at 189 last Saturday night in Columbus. Kelly earned a 7-3 decision, his fifth straight win after dropping his opening day match. (West Life photos by Daron Boyce)

Kelly, 35-6, was defeated by Uniontown Lake’s Jeff Wilson, 5-1, in the first round, putting him one loss away from being sent home. However, Kelly reeled off five consecutive victories to score an improbable third-place finish.

“It’s so physically and mentally tough (to win five straight matches here),” said Kelly, who became North Olmsted’s first state placer in roughly 20 years. “It destroys you. My knee’s all busted up. It’s just physically and mentally draining, but it all comes down to your heart. Whoever wants it more, gets it.

“It feels so good to accomplish this,” Kelly said. “It’s been a long time since North Olmsted’s had a state placer, but I really think wrestling’s coming back here.”

Kelly pinned Cincinnati Princeton’s Jeremy Stepp in 3:51 in the consolation first round, defeated Gahanna Lincoln’s Nick Brown, 5-2, in the second round, defeated Maple Heights’ Fred Robertson, 5-2, in the quarterfinals, defeated Springboro’s Taylor Franz, 3-1, in the semifinals and defeated Cincinnati Elder’s Kevin Hyland, 7-3, in the third-place match.

“He showed great heart, great tenacity, just a will to win,” North Olmsted head coach Kerry McWoodson said. “You really can’t call it a miracle. He just worked his butt off to accomplish this after losing his first. And, he did it with class.”

It’s rare for a wrestler to bounce back with five consecutive victories after dropping his first match at the state tournament. It’s even more rare for a wrestler to do it in his first career appearance at state.

“That first round loss, I don’t know what happened,” Kelly said. “I just wasn’t ready. I don’t know what was going on in my mind. But losing that match messed with me a whole bunch. I got really, really sad and was kicking myself.

“But, I knew going into that second match, ‘I gotta win.’ I didn’t want to double out of here my senior year. All I was thinking during the second match was, ‘Oh my God, my senior year, I’ve gotta be on that podium.’ That’s all that was going through my mind the whole time – podium.”

McWoodson felt Kelly, who only lost two matches in the entire postseason, could have wrestled for the state title had he won his first match.

“Truthfully, I thought he should have been in the finals,” McWoodson said. “But after that first loss, he kept his head up and I’m very proud of him.

“He’s been a great worker from day one of his freshman year. He’s a coach’s dream. I’m very honored to say I’ve had the chance to coach him. I’m very happy for him.”

Salupo (32-3) had the area’s only chance to win a state title. However, he was edged, 3-2, by Wadsworth senior and two-time state champion Brad Squire. The match played a key role in the Division I state team title race, which was won by Wadsworth, 172-167.5.

Salupo pinned Massillon Perry’s Tanner Lemon, 5:59, and defeated Harrison’s Tyler Giffin, 7-3, and Sandusky’s Jerrel Valliant, 5-2, to reach his first-career state final.

Dempsey (29-7), who’s attempting to go to the Naval Academy next season, lost to the eventual third- and fourth-place finishers in the weight class. He was edged by Mason’s Robert Shepherd, 2-1 in double overtime, in the quarterfinals, and lost to Pickerington North’s Alec Marsico, 4-3, in the consolation quarterfinals, which sent him to the seventh-place match.

He rebounded from those two defeats – the latter early in the Saturday portion – to pin Cincinnati Elder’s Ryan Ruffing in 2:23. He injured his knee just 13 seconds into the match, but continued. Coach Mike Antonyzyn called it a “cramp.”

Dempsey continued Westlake’s streak of getting a state placer to eight-straight years, joining the likes of Josh Kassil, Jeff Green and Nick Lawrence, who missed this year’s state tournament with an injury.

“It feels great to get a pin in my last match, especially against a kid that had knocked out some good wrestlers during this tournament,” Dempsey said. “I was disappointed in losing those close matches, but I was happy I could end it on a winning note.

“It’s great to represent Westlake down here. I’ve got 30 people in the stands all cheering for me. It’s a lot of pressure to succeed, but I wouldn’t trade that support for anything.”

Antonyzyn was proud of his latest state placer.

“A kid like Conner is a quality kid,” he said. “He’s a got a great GPA, he’s attempting to go to the Naval Academy, he’s just a top-notch kid. When you see a kid like him, and he’s your ticket down to state, you can be pretty proud.

“I pulled Conner aside at the beginning of the year, and I told him, ‘I know you’re going to be a state qualifier, but that’s not going to be good enough for us. You’ve got to be on the podium.’ I honestly thought he could have been a 1, 2 or 3 down here. But he’s on the podium, and that’s what we wanted.”

Liechty, 38-11, rebounded from a first-round loss with a 6-0 victory over Bloomdale Elmwood’s Westley Lee later Thursday night. However, his first career state appearance came to an end early Friday with a 9-4 loss to Bedford Chanel’s Jeremy Walden – a match in which he led, 4-2, in the third period.

Liechty dropped a 6-5 decision to Casstown Miami East’s Zane Goldberg, who wound up being the state runner-up in his weight class.

“I didn’t take the first match loss that hard,” he said. “I was like, ‘Whoa, I’m in Columbus.’ It did take me a while to get refocused for the next match, but it just made me want it more.

“This is my first trip to state, and it’s as big as I thought it would be, and more. I was really happy to be here, and I still am.”

Brunner (28-10) had his first state stint come to an end after just one day and two matches. He lost to Massillon Perry’s Nick Hannan, 4-0, in the first round, then was eliminated with a pinfall loss by Trenton Edgewood’s Nick McSorley in 1:22.

“It’s a big first-time experience,” he said. “It’s really going to help for next year. I want to achieve more, keep pushing more. I’ve got to work harder over the summer, lift more.

“Losing two here is a big motivator. It should intimidate people (that I’m a defending state qualifier), but I’ve got to keep working harder so I can get back here with the goal of placing next season,” he said.