Staff photo / Preston Byers Canfield’s Cain Mlinarsik (left) and Austintown Fitch’s Chayce Kemble lock up during their 106-pound EOWL championship match Saturday in Austintown.

AUSTINTOWN — Despite being one of the several Mahoning Valley competitors to win an Eastern Ohio Wrestling League (EOWL) title Saturday in Austintown, South Range junior Tyson Seesholtz walked off the mat frustrated.

Much like he had done all weekend to his opponents, Seesholtz shut out Shawn German, of Salem, 9-0 in the final to win the EOWL of his career, but the South Range star came away from the match annoyed he had not done nearly as much as he wanted or planned to.

“I just felt like he routed the wrestling to where there was no wrestling happening. It was all controlled positions where he felt more comfortable than me,” Seesholtz said. “I like to push pace, I like to go get takedowns, I like to go out there and I like to dominate.”

Seesholtz admits he “tastefully threw a couple crossfaces” in order to create an opening, but he then ultimately decided to hang tight for the major decision victory in spite of his frustrations.

Others were left unsatisfied, and unlike Seesholtz, without a championship as well.

Tyler Scharrer, a three-time state qualifier from Canfield, lost in the semifinals Friday evening in a match vs. Louisville’s Alec Criss, during which Scharrer hurt his knee and was left with a cut on his brow after his head collided with Criss’s.

“It was tough,” Scharrer said of his match with Criss. “I went up 1-0 in the second, and then I tweaked my knee halfway through the second. So just wrestling through, that was kind of hard, got taken down, and then couldn’t finish at the end of it.”

Fortunately for Scharrer, he rebounded Saturday. In the consolation semifinals, he pinned Garrettsville Garfield’s Landon Andel. He also secured a pinfall on Poland’s Jakob DeLuca to earn third place, although DeLuca nearly pinned Scharrer himself in the second period after catching the Canfield senior, who was handily winning at the time.

While the likes of Scharrer and Seesholtz came away from Austintown with mixed emotions, some emerged from the EOWL tournament with titles and good feelings.

Aiden Stecker was among those who experienced the best of both worlds; the 175-pound Salem standout, despite admittedly not wrestling his best Friday, did more than well enough Saturday.

Stecker began Saturday much like he finished Friday – with a pinfall just over a minute into the match. The pin of Marlington’s Roman Albert slotted Stecker into the final, during which he defeated Hubbard’s Alex Hackwelder 7-2 to win his first EOWL title.

Like Stecker, Canfield’s Gabriel Miller took home the top prize in Austintown.

Miller, a 190-pound sophomore, shook off the rust this weekend after about a month out of action.

En route to the title, Miller defeated Howland senior Christopher Mijavec and Austintown Fitch senior Devin Phillips in the semifinals and final, respectively.

Despite the age difference between him and his opponents, as well as the extended layoff, Miller, a former state qualifier, was satisfied with his performance, particularly his pace and conditioning.

“I felt really good,” Miller said of his matchup with Phillips. “I put the time in the weight room, and I feel like I’m right there with everybody else, no matter the age.”

EOWL HALL OF FAME

Before the finals Saturday, the EOWL honored five former wrestlers and a contributor who became the latest inductees in the EOWL Hall of Fame: David Crawford, Canfield; Georgio Poullas, Canfield; Jordan Radich, Howland; Tyler Stein, Canfield; David Brian Whisler, Howland; and Henry Pearce, Poland.

Additionally, West Branch’s Marcus “Coy” Adelman was the recipient of the Brian Davidson Award, which is dedicated to the former Salem wrestler and 2008 EOWL Hall of Fame inductee who died days after his induction. The award is given to a member of the local wrestling community “who has been a strong, positive influence” in the sport.

Adelman suffers from Hirayama disease, a rare nerve condition which has sidelined Adelman from wrestling this season.

AREA PLACERS, AWARDS AND MVP

Of the nearly 30 teams in attendance, Louisville earned the most points this weekend, edging out Austintown Fitch for the EOWL team crown.

The Leopards similarly won the Division I trophy and were joined by divisional winners Salem (Division II), South Range (Division III) and Southern Local (Division IV).

The tournament MVP award went to Beaver Local’s Bobby Buchheit, who outscored his EOWL opponents by a combined score of 67-8 en route to the 138-pound title.

The local placers from each weight class are as follows:

106: Chayce Kemble, Austintown Fitch (first place); Cain Mlinarsik, Canfield (second place); Joey Klimenko, Girard (fourth place); Brayden Cortese, Howland (seventh place); Brayden Reed, Brookfield (eighth place).

113: Frank Quinlan, Boardman (second place); Logan Balla, Hubbard (fourth); Camron Lewicki, Garrettsville Garfield (fifth place); Tyler German, Salem (sixth place); Will Petrunia, Canfield (seventh place); Caleb Marrison, Pymatuning Valley (eighth place).

120: Markel Hackwelder, Hubbard (second place); Dominick Jezek, Salem (fourth place); Quinn Gaca, Canfield (fifth place); Dom Fantone, Austintown Fitch (sixth place); Donovan O’Brien, Brookfield (seventh place); Shakir Thomas, Liberty (eighth place).

126: Alessio Farrell, Austintown Fitch (third place); Sam Vivo, South Range (fourth place); Luke Kaufman, Garrettsville Garfield (fifth place); Isaiah Payne, Boardman (seventh place); Patrick Neff, Howland (eighth place).

132: Aidan O’Donnell, Howland (second place); Evan Protopapa, Austintown Fitch (fourth place); Caleb Burt, Salem (fifth place); Kayden Welker, South Range (sixth place); Bradyn Balla, Hubbard (seventh place); Jayden Scott, Jackson Milton (eighth place).

138: Tyler Scharrer, Canfield (third place); Jakob DeLuca, Poland (fourth place); Landon Andel, Garrettsville Garfield (fifth place); Jonathan Adamson, Hubbard (sixth place); Joey Janis, Austintown Fitch (seventh place).

144: Joey Kana, Salem (second place); Nick Joseph, Canfield (fifth place); Trevor McElhaney, Crestview (sixth place); Jaylin Danko, Austintown Fitch (seventh place); Jack McDevitt, Jackson-Milton (eighth place).

150: Tyson Seesholtz, South Range (first place); Shawn German, Salem (second place); Kai Cosa, Austintown Fitch (fourth place); Santino Slipkovich, Boardman (fifth place); Nolan Bentley, Hubbard (sixth place); Arius Gingerich, Canfield (seventh place).

157: Edward Stachowicz, South Range (third place); Justin Marra, West Branch (fifth place); Stephen Pontius, Austintown Fitch (sixth place); Bo Julian, Crestview (eighth place).

165: Zach Ward, Girard (fourth place); Tristan Miller, Canfield (sixth place); Johnny Tomaino, South Range (seventh place); Ryder Cain, Garrettsville Garfield (eighth place).

175: Aiden Stecker, Salem (first place); Alex Hackwelder, Hubbard (second place); Tucker Steiner, Girard (third place); Joey Pannunzio, Canfield (fourth place); Xavier Winner, South Range (seventh place).

190: Gabriel Miller, Canfield (first place); Devin Phillips, Austintown Fitch (second place); Christopher Mijavec, Howland (third place); Brennan Moore, Pymatuning Valley (fifth place); Benjamin Logan, Hubbard (seventh place); Brady Morgan, Liberty (eighth place).

215: Ayden Patchin, Salem (first place); Gavin Hang, West Branch (second place); Patrick Lally, South Range (fifth place); Owen Dreher, Howland (sixth place); John Finello, Pymatuning Valley (seventh place).

285: Noah Bolen, Austintown Fitch (first place); Donte Pipkins, Salem (second place); Joel Rogers, Canfield (fourth place); Cole Capelli, Jackson-Milton (fifth place).