Clay wrestlers shooting for eighth title in nine years

Clay wrestling has won seven of eight Three Rivers Athletic Conference championships, and the Eagles will be going for eight of nine this year.
        The only thing is, the rest of the TRAC seems to be keeping pace.
        “We are hoping finish in the top half of our conference and be competitive,” ninth year coach Ralph Cubberly said. “I think we have a well balanced league this season with eight well-coached teams. When you go to our conference championship you need to have all your wrestlers clicking on all cylinders to win the championship.
        “Our team’s strength is its experience and work ethic. We had a great summer training cycle and the kids worked hard, gained experience and improved their mental toughness. We learned how to win close matches and hopefully all these lessons transfer to this season,” Cubberly continued.
        “While we have five seniors, in the other nine weight classes I have four sophomores, two freshmen and three juniors. A lot of these guys are new in the varsity lineup and will be tested on our Gold Team schedule.” 
        Returning are four state qualifiers, including Jacob Moon, who placed third at 113 pounds in Division I and finished the season 48-5. Other returnees qualifying were Tony Pendergraff (106 pounds, 31-15), Jacob Meek (170, 42-11) and Ty Cobb (195, 42-11).
        Alex Szigeti, who placed eighth at 145 pounds and finished 38-18, is one of three lost to graduation. The other two are Troy Murphy (160, 36-16) and Josh Nagy (182, 40-13).
        The returnees are among 20 lettermen back from a team that finished 26-2 last year. Ninth-year coach Ralph Cubberly says his wrestlers are “hard working and very dedicated,” which leads to a quality season year-in and year-out.
        Meek (220) and Pendergraff (120) are seniors this year, Moon (113) is a junior and Cobb (195) a sophomore.
        They are joined by seniors Austin Thompson (126), Kameron Miller (152) and Ben Richmond (285), juniors Mike Daly (132) and Gabe Walentowski (138) and sophomores Dominico Migliori (145) and Tyler Weseman (160). Daly was a state qualifier in 2018. Thompson was 25-20 last year, Dlay 28-14, Walentowski 33-5, Migliori 36-3, Miller 32-17, and Richmond 28-19.
        In the TRAC last year, Pendergraff, Moon and Meek won championships, Daly, Miller and Cobb were runner-up and Thompson finished third. Pendergraff was a sectional champion and finished fourth at district, Moon won a sectional and district championship, Miller finished third at sectional, Cobb was third at sectional and fourth at district, and Meek was a sectional champion and runner-up at district.
        Cubberly calls Miller a “disciplined senior,” Meek “goal oriented and a tireless worker.” Walentowski “turned the corner last year and is looking good in the practice room.” Migliori is a “dedicated wrestler who wants to qualify for the state meet,” and Richmond “has worked hard on his strength and foot speed in the offseason.”
        He says there are many on his team getting interest from collegiate programs but none have committed yet.
        Sophomore Nick Rodriguez, who will wrestle at 113, “has been wrestling all year and has set high goals.” Another sophomore, Deakon Rivera (138), “improved his strength and technique in the offseason.”
        The Eagles proved their worth right out of the gate — finishing second out of 29 teams at the Solon Comet Classic and fourth at the 25-team Jim Derr Memorial Invitational hosted by Northwood. At Solon, the Eagles finished behind team champion Lake Catholic (217½) and at the Derr Invitational, they were behind Whitmer (282), Lake (211½), and Woodmore (190). Clay did not send all of its Gold Team wrestlers to the Derr Invite.
        At Solon, Moon went 4-0 and placed first, winning his championship by a 17-2 tech fall in over Revere’s Nick Gayner in four minutes. Meek also finished first, going 5-0, and winning a 6-5 decision over Lazar Gasic (North Royalton) in the championship. Clay’s third championship was Cobb, who went 5-0 and won a 5-1 decision over Eddie Sevastos (Brunswick) in the final.
        At the Derr Invitational, Walentowski placed first, going 8-0 and pinning Brett Sandwisch (Woodmore) in 2:48. Other placers were Cole Watson (second), Pendergraff (third), Logan Werner (fourth), Ashtin Latta (fifth), Daniel Cooper (sixth) and Camryn Williams (eighth). 
        Cubberly says his coaching staff is top-notched, too. Cubberly, who also won five Suburban Lakes League titles, four district championships, and three team state runner-up finishes as coach at his alma mater, Eastwood, says his coaching staff is top notched. Some of his staff wrestled at Eastwood, including Drew Lashaway and his son, Eric Cubberly.
        “Oregon Clay is lucky to have a great coaching staff,” Cubberly said. “We have three coaches with four Ohio high school state championships between them — Josh Lenix (1), Drew Lashaway (1) and Eric Cubberly (2).
        “These young men also have experience wrestling in NCAA Division 1 programs — Josh Lenix at Eastern Michigan University, Drew Lashaway at Kent State University and Eric Cubberly at Central Michigan University,” Cubberly continued.
        “I also have Northwest Ohio coaching legends Rich Wagner and Troy McLaughlin on the staff bringing many years of experience to the Clay wrestling mats. I believe this combination of youth and experienced coaching provides a solid base to develop young wrestlers and help them gain valuable experience in order to achieve individual goals.”
        As a result, Clay is 158-38 in dual matches under Cubberly’s watch, and in his 20 years of coaching, including two years at Defiance, his teams are 462-133. In total, his teams have finished in the top 10 in team scoring at the state meet eight times, he has coached 132 league championships, including 57 at Clay, 100 career state qualifiers, including 42 at Clay, and 48 state placers, including 20 at Clay.
        There have been seven state runners-up, including two at Clay, and eight state champions, including three at Clay. He is a nine-time league coach of the year, eight-time Northwest Ohio Coach of the year, two-time state coach of the Year, and a 2010 Ohio Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Fame inductee.