Spartans Send Three Grapplers to State Tournament
Goshen, OH (February 21, 2004)— Last season, Matt Land and Brad Osborn got their feet wet at the State Wrestling tournament. This year both Spartans are returning, while fellow Spartan, jr. Billy Deeter, takes his first spot at the State tournament.
Deeter will join Land and Osborn at the state meet this year after claiming the 140 third place finish at the district meet, which was held in Goshen.
"I would say my other three guys that wrestled in the district (Brian Focht, Lucas Kramer and Brian Parker) were a little nervous. Kramer and Deeter were both on the bubble to go to state and the difference is that Deeter went to districts last year, so he was more relaxed and got out to state. I think the scenario can be the same this weekend with Brad and Matt, it will kind of be the feet wet process for Billy," coach Bill Miller said.
Miller was happy to see Deeter make it to state as a junior and he thought he handled things well when he got in a tight situation after his first loss during the districts. "He was such a pleasant surprise to both wrestle so well and become a state qualifier as a junior," Miller said.
Land, the 112-pounder, and was all smiles after taking the Division II district title last Saturday. "It feels great. I wanted a better placement at state and the bracket depends on districts," commented Land. Last season Land finished third in districts, but fell in his first two rounds at the state tournament.
"Oh Matt, you can't say enough. He had one of the toughest weight classes. He had a real disciplined week as far as coming down on weight. He practiced twice a week plus ran every morning. Matt really controlled his matches. In the finals, even though the score was 5-3, he really controlled the mat. He has a lot of potential. I won't put a lot of pressure on him because there's a lot of kids up there. He's Valley View's first District Champion since 1998 when Jimmy Wallace won district," commented Miller
Land is ready to get a spot at state and with more experience he has a great chance. "It feels great. Last year, I was more in awe. This year Iım ready and I want to place," Land said.
Land went undefeated at Districts after winning two matches easily and then heading on to some close wins against Milton-Union's David Penny and Hillsboro's Clem Artmann.
Against Penny the score was 0-0 after the first period, but Land recorded two escapes and a takedown in the second period while Penny had a takedown. Land was up by two going into the third round after both he and Penny scored another two points (Land had a takedown and Penny had an escape and a stalling point) Land eventually took the 6-4 win.
"We started wrestling Penny our freshman year. He's been one of the top five ranked for three years now. Last year he tech falled us twice. We weren't even close to him. This year we wrestled him at 119 and lost to him 12-8. At that point I think Matt realized how much he improved because he came up to me and said I can beat Penny," Miller said.
And Land could beat Penny.
"At Eaton he beat him 5-4. When we saw him again at districts we knew Penny was gunning for him. When we gave up the first takedown I thougy, uh oh, but Matt came back and once again he was in control of the match. I think he's made a believer out of me and I keep getting more and more confidence in him as we go. He hasn't lost in 2004. His last two matches he lost came to two Division I kids at Medina," Miller said.
After beating Penny, Land advanced to the final round and faced Artmann. Land, like Penny, had faced Artmann before and won the close match, 2-1 in overtime. Because Land had previously faced him he knew what to expect.
"I knew he was going to be strong and I knew he would be a slow wrestler, Land commented. In the first period neither wrestler scored, but after the second period Land was up 4-3. Land had two takedowns on Artmann, while Artmann recorded three escapes. In the final round Land escaped for a point and the two minutes ended with a 5-3 win for Land.
"I haven't have had as much fear about Artmann, but I think Matt likes Penny's style more . He's lengthy and he slows the match down. Artmann was fifth in state last year and he's a seasoned veteran. We wrestled him very similar to how we wrestled him last time, but last time we got caught in a throw and had to go into overtime. This time I think we were more in control. Artmann is like a Jason Cook, very lengthy and good. Hard to beat. It was great that Matt came and won the District. After a big emotional win over Penny. After such an emotional win he was still able to put a good match on and control the mat to win it," Miller said.
Osborn (189), took third place in the district tournament. Osborn grabbed an easy win in the first round, but fell to Western Brown's Chris Schneider in the second round.
"His draw is probably about the same as if he would've won the tournament. I felt bad for Brad. He stepped up and won five matches over the weekend. Brad was the best in the district. He deserved to win it. Cook beat the kid from Urbana 8-7, the same kid Osborn tore up. Our draw at state isn't to bad. I feel bad because Brad is first team in the area, but I really think he deserved the title," miller said.
Schneider opened the first round with a takedown, but Osborn took a point when he escaped. After Schneider had a takedown he started to run. He got one stalling penalty, but after the match the mat was worn from all the running Schneider was doing. In the second period Schneider recorded the lone point from an escape making the score 3-1. In the final round Osborn added two points from an escape and a stalling call and the boys headed into overtime. In the first overtime Schneider recorded two points from a questionable reversal call.
"I shouldıve attacked more in overtime, but I didnıt was to chase him," Osborn said. Miller knew what Osborn was trying to do and he understood why he did what he did.
"I think he didn't want to give up the takedown by diving at the kid. You can't put yourself out of position in order to get to him or else he's going to take you down on a mistake," Miller said.
After a hard loss Osborn cruised through his next two competitors with 17-4 and 13-4 wins.
"I though Brad stepped up the next day. As a senior and former state qualifier he had to win three matches and among those matches he had runner up from M-U who he beat 13-4. He really stepped up and did a great job."
Osborn who qualified for state last year is excited for this weekendıs big event and with a big smile on his face he said, "I'm on top of the world."
Bellbrookıs Jason Cook took the District title over Schneider in a 6-2 match. Osborn and Cook have battled it out all season, losing and winning from match-to-match. Although Osborn had a tough match with Schneider, he definitely has the potential to have taken the 189lb. district championship.
Now, to the newly State participant junior Deeter. Deeter (140) had an exceptional day has he opened his first round with a 15-0 technical fall win over Western Brown's Kyle Patrick. In Deeterıs second round he faced Graham's Lucas Ransbottom and had a close 8-9 loss. But soon he'd meet Ransbottom on the mat again for redemption.
"I rolled the cradle, which is stupid to do and I gave him five easy points," Deeter said.
In the first period Deeter recorded a takedown before Ransbottom had a reversal and a three-point near fall. In the second period, Deeter recorded a takedown and escape while Ransbottom got a takedown. The score was 5-7 going in the third period when Deeter earned another three points from a penalty call and a takedown, but Ransbottom received two points from separate stalling calls and the match ended 8-9.
"Deeter had him in a cradle, which is Deeterıs trademark move, but when you switch the cradle you want to remain in control, but he got out of control and gave up a five point move. He did a great job coming back and at the very end of the match he got the reversal to get up by one point, but the kid stood up and instead of bringing him back to the mat he got behind him and he got hit for stalling to tie the score. Then the kid got an escape. We just made some silly mistakes. In the long run, it may not have hurt him. He had a good draw and he stepped up and won four straight matches," said Miller
After placing a :34 pin on his next contender, Deeter joined Ransbottom on the mat again to take the win. "I knew I could beat him. The first time I wrestled him I had done some stupid stuff," Deeter noted. All the points were scored in the second period, when Deeter had a takedown and Ransbottom an escape. The match ended for a redemption 2-1 win for the ecstatic junior.
"He was smarter and wrestled a better match and so did Ransbottom, because it was close. He was able to hang on to him and it was a real nice revenge in the end," Miller stated.
Deeter's really excited about his third place finish at Districts and he can't wait to go to the state tournament for his first time.
"It feels really great. I'm going there to try to get as many matches as I can. I probably won't place, but that's what I hope to do next year," commented Deeter.
Brian Focht (135) fell in his first two rounds against two the first and fourth place finishers at districts. "He improved so much this year being a district qualifier and having 18 wins over the season. His final matches were the epitome of what Brian's season was like. He got down by 10 in his first match, but actually came back to tie it up. He lost it in overtime by a mistake that is understandable for a first time wrestler. But he did a great job and had a great season," Miller noted.
Lucas Kramer (145) had a hard 6-1 loss to Bellefontaineıs Aaron LaBatt after he suffered takedown's in each period and only recorded one escape during the last period. In Kramerıs second match, he took another hard loss against Logan Elm's Shaun Fraley, 7-5.
"He was 0-2. It was a disappointing districts for him because he lost two close matches, which he could've won. The biggest difference between Deeter and Kramer is that Deeter had been there before. Kramer wrestled tentative and didn't open up, but he did a good job. He closed his year out with two tournament titles and he'll be looking for state next year. He had 25 wins and it was a real nice season for him," added Miller.
Brian Parker took a 13-1 win during his first round against Shawnee's Nick Smith, but fell to Wyoming's Micah Vance. Parker fell out of the tournament when he took a close 14-10 loss to Goshen's Ryan McHenry.
"Brian again closed out an excellent season as a first year varsity wrestler. His final match was against a Goshen kid and Brian came out tentative and got taken to his back immediately, but escaped."
Brian was down 9-2 and fought his way back to a 10-10 tie. He got a little anxious and kind of gave a way the match in the last 10 seconds. It's probably not a mistake he'll make again. Heavyweight was a really loaded weight class for us but Brian is going to be in state for us sometime. He's a really good wrestler," Miller said.
Friday was a tough day for the Spartans and Miller could feel a shiver of fear, but Saturday things started to heat up and remained that way until three Spartans advanced to state.
"Districts was amazing. This weekend was a synopsis of that roller coaster. Friday couldn't have been worse. We lost four matches and I walked out going wow, we might not get anyone out. I was in shock and our team was somewhere around 23rd or 24th place.
The second day of districts, when only the best wrestlers were left, we went 10-1. You just can't go much better than that. The only match we lost was Parker's in the last three seconds and we sent three kids to state. Friday was a nightmare, but Saturday. Wow! We came all the way back and took seventh," Miller concluded.
