Ramirez takes second at Lady Viking; Quakers sixth

Isabelle Ramirez, a New Philadelphia junior, had a stellar weekend at Akron North in the Lady Viking Invitational Jan. 10-11. The Quaker standout finished as 190-pound runner-up in the huge two-day event showcasing some of Northeast Ohio’s best girls wrestling talent.

Ramirez’s efforts helped the Quakers to 113.5 team points, which was good for sixth place among the 58 teams in attendance. Marysville won with 221, well ahead of runner-up Columbia’s 129 points.

Ramirez pinned her first two opponents, including one in a mere 15 seconds, then notched a semifinal win by decision before falling to Riley Albom, a junior from Carrollton, in the final.

Elsewhere for the Quakers, junior Easton Miller pinned three opponents to make it to the semifinals at 115 pounds but lost in the semis to Tempe Martinez of Eastlake North. Miller the pinned both of her consolation opponents to finish third in a 25-girl field. 

Junior Riley Jones notched two pins at 100 pounds to make it to the semifinals, where she lost to Aurora sophomore Giulia Zayas. Jones then lost both of her consolation matches to place sixth.

At 120 pounds, junior Devlin Harrington bounced back from a first-round loss to pin three opponents in one minute, 49 seconds, before being stopped in a tight loss. She notched a 54-second pin in the seventh-eighth match to bring home the seventh-place ribbon. 

Senior Annabell Rummell went 3-2 with three pins and found up placing seventh at 125 pounds. Sophomore Arazelia Ajanel competed well but won only one match at 130 pounds.

At 235, Zoey Eversole recorded back-to-back pins to reach the semifinals, where she lost to Berea-Midpark senior Deionna Borders, who was dominant on her way to the title. Eversole lost her consolation semifinal match before dropping a decision to Heylie Camacho of Waterloo in the fifth-sixth match.

Also at the Lady Viking invite, Tusky Valley competed with just five wrestlers but still did more than many teams. That included a championship, a runner-up and two other placements.

Winning was senior Tori Wilson, who pinned all five opponents on the way to the 145-pound title. Wilson’s first three pins came in the first round. 

Sophomore Olivia Whitlach was 100-pound runner-up. She notched three pins and a decision before falling to Zayas by technical fall in the title bout. 

Sophomore Sara Whitlach placed fifth at 105, notching four pins in six matches. She lost in the semifinals to eventual champ Aniya Polk of East Cleveland Shaw. 

Freshman Alanna Morrisson won her first-round match at 155 but could not sustain that momentum. Freshman Sidney Bosler won her first match to make it to the semifinals at 190, where she lost to New Philadelphia’s Ramirez. Bosler then won a pair of consolation matches to place third.

Elsewhere in wrestling events involving area teams: 

Led by a trio of runner-up individual finishes, Newcomerstown’s boys wrestling team finished seventh out of 17 squad competing at the Freddie Invite on Jan. 10 at Fredericktown High School.

Placing second for the Mustangs were Chase Norman, Colton Hudnall and Marshal Ellis. Chris Adamik was the team’s other placer, grabbing a fifth-place medal for Newcomerstown, which totaled 111 points, barely behind sixth-place Cardington-Lincoln, which finished with 113. Shelby won with 267 points. 

Norman, a sophomore, finished runner-up at 113 pounds. He won his first four matches before falling to Rocco Castricone, a junior from Mt. Gilead, in the final match.

Hudnall, a freshman, placed second at 120 pounds. He lost a tough 12-9 decision in the championship bout to Mt. Gilead freshman Camden Castricone. Hudnall won his first two matches to earn the spot in final.

Also finishing second was Ellis, a freshman 175-pounder. The youngster won his pool with a pair of victories, one a technical fall, the other a pin. He then won his semifinal match on the gold bracket before falling to Wyatt Denney of Cardington-Lincoln.

A sophomore, Adamik placed fifth at 138. He went 2-1 in pool play, then went 1-1 in the silver bracket to finish fifth. Adamik won his first two matches by technical fall and pin before getting beat by eventual champion Robert Dorsey of Philo.

Dover went 3-2 at its six-team dual-meet event on Jan. 10. Winning all five matches for the Tornadoes were Frank Ramirez, Mason Shull and Jackson Criner. Ashley Cica was 3-0, while Paris Ellis and Patrick Moran each went 4-1. West Branch was 5-0 to win the duals. 

At its own Super Duals tournament, Claymont swept its way to the team championship. The Mustangs’ matches went: Claymont, 59, Fairless 20; Claymont 52, West Holmes, 21; Claymont 45, Wadsworth 27; Claymont 66, Williamstown WV 12; Claymont 65, Union Local 13.