Not in his wildest dreams could Pete Meadows have ever imagined that his championship match at 285 pounds would bring fans to their feet, or have a jam packed gym at Brooklyn shouting chants of 'Pete, Pete, Pete' in hope of a win over Wellington's Sam Rodgers.
It wasn't that CVCA needed the victory, they already clinched the sectional crown. Instead, it was the fact it was a match made for television, as the two heavyweights dueled it out to a draw in regulation, did the same after an overtime period and finally into a second overtime, where Meadows would eventually win a 3-2 overtime criteria.
"I just moved up to heavyweight a few weeks ago after losing a wrestle off, so this is incredible," Meadows said. "It was one of the toughest matches I have ever had. When he got on top of me it felt like 600 pounds, but I kept fighting. I never went this long before, I was tired but heard the cheers and kept going. It feels great."
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Both Meadows and Rodgers scored an escape in regulation as sweat rolled down the brows of each prior to overtime. Here the chants of 'Pete' got louder, but even so, the overtime period ended in a draw.
That brought on a second overtime, which is split into two 30 second periods. Meadows got two points off a reverse and although Rodgers got a point off another escape, Meadow's sheer determination kept him from getting a takedown and he won the match based on criteria.
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The senior, who upped his season slate to 20-9, wrestled only one other match in the sectional event, pinning Elyria Catholic's David Smith in 2:24.
As a team, CVCA dominated the Brooklyn Sectional tournament. Including Meadows, eight other Royal grapplers took home first place while every weight class had a placer. Overall, CVCA scored 293 points, more than 100 more than runner up Wellington who had 148.
Leading the way was Nathan Tomasello (103), who upped his record to 35-0 with his pin over Cuyahoga Heights Corri Pucci in just 53 seconds. His other two matches of the tourney were just as impressive as the sophomore sensation scored a 17-2 tech fall over Lutheran West's Bryce Deblock and Another pin in just 45 seconds over Independence's Kyle Polman.
Also taking home first for the Royals were Ricardo Simonelli (112) in one the closer matches of the night won 4-3 over Cuyahoga Heights Nate Frye.Josh Decatuar also took home first with yet another close match, this time a 6-5 win over Keystone's Brian Spangler. Mike Ratay also enjoyed a nice final round, as he pinned his opponent from Keystone at the 130 pound weight class in just 32 seconds.
Alex Utley (189) jumped out to an 8-3 lead and never looked back with a 19-4 tech fall over Oberlin's Mason Bremke, while Pete's younger brother Matt (215) also had an impressive meet. Meadows downed Wellington's Brandon Lowrey via pin in 2:10, them took his second match over Oberlin's Tyler Pigott also by pin, this time in 1:17. In his championship match, he pretty much toyed with Cuyahoga Heights Andrew Tesler jumping out to a 16-3 lead after a period, before eventually winning 22-3.
Matt Dobbin (140) and freshman Tyler Macclellan (145) also took home sectional championships. Dobbin (25-7) had perhaps the most impressive run of any CVCA grappler during the tourney, as he recorded all pins en-route to his championship. In his first match, he pinned Columbia's Corey Wiltrout in just 34 seconds. His second match, was not much longer as it lasted just 37 seconds against Brooklyn's Joey Gray. In his championship bout, he downed Cuyahoga Height's Ross Torgonson in 2:34.
Maclellan downed Brooklyn's Casey Bishop 10-6 to win his title. Also placing for the Royals was Seth Powers who took home second (135) while Michael Meadows, also Pete's younger brother was third. David Gray (160) took home third.
Danny Tilley (171) and Jimmy Coyne (119) each took home fifth place honors just missing a berth in district action. The Royals quest for a state title, continues next weekend when they head to Garfield Heights . The top four finishers there earn a trip to Columbus for state meet action.