Tesny’s pin in final helps Falls win Hudson tourney

Pat Galbincea, Plain Dealer Reporter, December 20, 2009 12:50 a.m.

The holidays will be merrier than usual for Cuyahoga Falls wrestlers.

That's because the Black Tigers on Saturday night won their first-ever team title in the 43-year history of the Hudson Holiday Tournament, beating favored Aurora in the 17-team field, 1661/2 to 158. Westlake (157) finished third and Maple Heights, the tournament champ three of the past four years, was fourth (147).

Perhaps the Black Tigers' biggest star was senior Tyler Tesny, who won a pressure-packed final at 160 pounds by pinning Aurora's Danny McNamara in a cradle at 4:26. It was a match where the winning wrestler would enable his team to win the tournament.

"I knew that going in, and I was nervous," Tesny said. "But I have faced him twice before, last season and we had beaten each other. I was not expecting a pin, but a win. That's all we needed was a win to get that team title.

"This team title means an awful lot to us."

Cuyahoga Falls coach Tim Humbert, who also had a champ in sophomore Conner McMahon (135), agreed.

"The key for us was everyone contributed something over a two-day period," Humbert said. "We have struggled pulling together as a team until now. We also got a lot of pins instead of just wins, and that helped.

"It's a big thing and a big deal for us ... our team really came together."

The most valuable wrestler award went to Aurora senior Ty Mitch, who pinned Jordan Westfall of Norton in the 125 finals. He hit a pancake maneuver 29 seconds into the match, but the match judge told the head official one of Westfall's shoulders was not on the mat -- and the match continued. Mitch pinned him at 4:12.

"That first call was a bad call," Mitch said. "I was surprised the ref called a pin because [Westfall's] shoulder was four inches off the ground. But I managed to catch him in another pancake. ... That's been a good pinning combination for me."

Mitch became a three-time Hudson champion. He was beaten two years ago in a final at 103 by Westlake senior Nick Lawrence, who Saturday won the 130-pound title with a 23-8 technical fall over Alex Jacober of Beachwood.

Another MVP candidate was Beachwood senior Alex Dronzek, a Division III state runner-up who pinned his way to a title at 112. He caught Nick Montgomery of Madison in a wrestler's bundle at 1:14.

"I'm stronger than I was last year and I've been working on that bundle series," Dronzek said. "I learned those in youth wrestling, and I am using them a lot more. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about losing that close match [3-2 to Nick Goebel of Bloomdale Elmwood] in the state finals last year. ... I don't want that happening this year."

An "unluckiest wrestler" award could have gone to Westlake senior Conner Dempsey (140), who led top-seeded Kyle Marrone of Parma in the final, 1-0, but in the last 40 seconds was warned for stalling on top, called for an illegal slam which tied the match, then, to prevent a second stall call in the final 15 seconds relaxed his grip, allowing Marrone to get a match-winning reversal.

Other champs were Maple Heights' Kory Mines (119), Richard Robertson (145) and his cousin Fred Robertson (189) and Devin Williams-Revels (215); Cory Stainbrook (103) of Streetsboro; Sheldon Stuckart (152) and Conner Dever (171) of Westlake; and Norton heavyweight Mike Rutherford.