Twice as nice

Becoming a state champion is tough. Repeating as a champion is tough on a totally different level.

Mount Vernon wrestler Ashlynn Brokaw found out just how tough it is to be the hunted instead of the hunter this winter. Everyone was gunning for her, hoping to knock off the defending state champ. But Brokaw was able to not just survive, she thrived under the added pressure, winning her second straight girls state wrestling championship on Sunday.

“It definitely feels different. I feel like I was a little more mentally prepared and knew what was going to happen,” Brokaw said. “But I feel like, it almost feels better because previous year that was my main goal (winning state). My goal this year was I need to be a repeat champ, so there’s a little more pressure on my back and a little bit more expected of me. I knew people were going to be watching me, trying to figure out what I do and everything. It feels great. So amazing to be a two-timer.”

“It’s amazing. I knew she could do it,” said Mount Vernon coach Jay DePolo. “There was no doubt in my mind, but it’s the state tournament. The people you beat turn it up a notch and give you their best match ever and you never know what’s going to happen. I’m super proud of her. As a coach and dad, I couldn’t be more proud of her.”

Brokaw, who won the 105-pound state title a year ago, moved up to 110 pounds this year and found the road even tougher. In her first state match Friday, she took an early lead with two takedowns of Ashlynn Pennington of Alliance but watched as Pennington fought back and closed the gap to 6-5 with a surprise move that put Brokaw on her back late in the first period.

Brokaw responded as all champions do — ending the match just 24 seconds into the second period with a quick and decisive pin.

“I just think I got out of position, got reversed a little bit. Nothing like too crazy. It was like first match of the weekend, getting the nerves out. As returning state champ, there’s a little bit of pressure on me,” Brokaw said. “I just got scored on, but I wrestled through it. I took her down again, pinned her; did what I needed to do. Pretty much just don’t be on the mat any more than I needed to.”

The junior took out Anna Tsirambidis of North Royalton with a couple of takedowns to win 7-1 in the quarterfinal match Saturday, then had her toughest match of the tournament in the semifinals with Presley Sandobal of Maysville.

Neither wrestler was able to get much offense going and the match went into triple overtime before Brokaw pulled out an exciting, 4-3, victory.

“My semis match, that was a little bit rough. I thought I would have had a better lead on her, worked my offense a little bit more. I think I just wasn’t feeling the best and my nerves were getting me a little bit. I tried to shake them off. I went into quadruple, who knows how many overtimes, and then after I won that, I kind of relaxed a lot,” Brokaw said.

Getting back to the finals relaxed Brokaw just a bit, and she went back on the attack against Emma Gorrell of Warren. A quick takedown set the tone for the match and Brokaw was able to score a little more at ease, cruising to a 13-4 victory and her second straight state title.

“I beat the girl I was wrestling in finals twice already, decently, handily, and just being here already once, I kind of knew what it was like. So even if I did lose, I made it to the finals and everybody’s going to love me the same way,” Brokaw said. “I think I definitely could have worked some more things, but she was like pushing me to go, go, go. So, I was trying to slow the pace down a little bit, not trying to rush anything and compromising on her mistakes.”

Brokaw finished her impressive junior season with a 47-4 record. That put her record at 132-10 in her three-year high school career at Mount Vernon with two state championships and a third-place state finish her freshman year. It’s something the MV wrestling program has never seen.

The adversity she faced and overcame in making it two in a row was something her coach, and father, DePolo, was happy to see, both for Brokaw and for the future of girls wrestling.

“You want to see the work ethic; that hard work and the effort — she does that,” he said. “(At state) Everybody is giving you their ‘A’ game. (She) wrestled a couple of girls we had already beat. The one girl came out tough, but Ash wrestled that match perfectly. We had a plan going in and she wrestled it perfectly. Semifinals was a little tougher than I expected, but that girl is well-coached, she’s a good kid, she’s athletic and a good competitor, and she just brought her ‘A’ game. Ultimate ride out overtime, that’s what happens in the state tournament.

“That’s what you want to see is tough competition. Being her dad, I want to see her blowing everybody away, but for the future of the sport you want to see the girls having tough matches and not having a bunch of blowouts. It says something about her, too. She’s stepping up to that next level, too, along with them. I think there were three or four upsets that were freshmen over veteran competitors that were highly favored to win.”

Even her assistant coach, and sister, Megan Brokaw, was thrilled to be part of another special season.

“Watching her win, I cry almost every time. But it’s been fun and I’m really proud of her.”