Cardinal grapplers open season

The Canfield High School wrestling team has high expectations as they kick off their season. The Cards have a tough act to follow. Last year’s team included eight senior starters and went on to post a 15-4 dual meet record, won the league championship, and saw seniors Robby Reed and Alex Benedict return from the state finals in Columbus with two second-place trophies.

It is a different story this year, as the team features just one senior. “While we have a very young team, we have a lot of talent," head coach Dean Conley said. "Most importantly, our kids put in a ton of work in the offseason, attending camps, tournaments, and open mat sessions. We will be very competitive this year."

The team kicked off the season on Dec. 3 traveling to Cuyahoga Falls for team duals. Canfield posted a strong 4-1 team record on the day. Canfield defeated Benedictine (63-18); Akron Hoban (65-16); Villa St Joseph (66-7), and Cuyahoga Falls (36-33). Canfield fell to a very tough Barberton team by the count of 25-44.

Individual performance on the day were: Stephen Daprile (106) 4-1; Korey Frost (113) 5-0; Zach Kay (120) 4-1; Anthony Spencer (126) 2-1; Matt Dunbar (126) 1-1; Jake Dunbar (132) 4-1; Ben Gleichert (138) 3-2; Shawn Williams (145) 4-1; Brian Batton (152) 2-3; Steve Hamilton (160) 3-2; Ed Curran (170) 2-3; Stan Socha (182) 4-1; Sam Connor (195) 3-2; Joe Kolesar (195) 2-2; Curtis Burns (HW) 4-1.

The JV Red team traveled to Uniontown Lake on Dec. 3 as well. Individual performance on the day were: Ross Duffet 3-0, Ben Seigle 2-0, Kyle Hido 2-1, Adam Nye 3-0, John Poullas 3-0, Matt Burns 1-2, and Tibor Baki 1-2.

Coach Conley awarded Wrestler of the Week awards to Frost for his 5-0 record at Cuyahoga Falls and Duffet and Nye for their 3-0 records at Lake.