Nice article on the Dispatch sports blog written by Jeremy McLaughlin:
Wrestling: Pickerington North earns top ranking with depth and experience
It’s rare to find a wrestling team loaded with experience from top to bottom. There are 14 weight classes to fill and the sport has a high turnover, meaning there are usually several spots where a freshman or a first-year starter must step in.
Those teams lucky enough to field a veteran lineup usually find themselves at the top. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that Pickerington North, which brought back a dozen starters from last season including three state qualifiers, is No. 1 in the area Division I coaches poll.
“We were suppose to be No. 1 in central Ohio and we’re living up to it,” senior Alec Marsico.
North has earned the top ranking because it has the depth to beat teams in a dual, and has enough top-tier talent to place well in tournaments.
The Panthers were fifth at the Solon Comet Classic to start the season. They then won their own dual tournament, beating West Jefferson, the area’s top-ranked Division III team, and Teays Valley, which is No. 2 in the area Division I poll.
Still, some uncertainty remained about how good Pickerington North was. Those questions were answered with a fifth-place finish at the Medina Invitational Tournament, one of the best tournaments in the state. Austin Marsico (103 pounds), Alex Marsico (140), Matt Ferguson (171) and Nick Justus (189) placed in the top four of their respective classes. Sean Bui (152), Alec Lamancusa (215) and Brandon Howes (135) placed in the top eight of their weights.
“It was rough, but it was a good test to see how far we’ve come and where we needed to go,” Justus said. “It helps because it’s a well-known tournament, we did well, got fifth overall and a lot of our kids placed. It proved we’re actually good and it’s not a bunch of talk.”
Any doubt is gone.
“That was kind of our big question mark. Everyone was saying how would we do in a big tournament like that,” North coach Brad Harris said. “But our guys stepped it up pretty good and I thought performed well.”
North has lived up to the expectations Harris had before the season. He sensed this could be a good team, especially with a half-dozen seniors. He liked the way it rebounded after some postseason struggles last year. North had high hopes after a successful regular season, but finished tied for 15th.
“Overall, the kids that wrestled performed well at the district tournament. We just had a lot of off-the-mat issues,” Harris said. “I think a lot of people were kind of regretting how we did and really wanted to make this year count.”
North is banking that it will do well this postseason. It will be challenged multiple times before the sectional tournament in mid-February. It heads to the Mentor Duals this weekend. It will also go to tournaments at Mason and St. Paris Graham.
“I think they feel they’ve got something to prove,” Harris said. “We see a lot of the top state-caliber teams and it’s a great reminder to these kids that even though we are ranked No. 1 in Central Ohio, statewide we still have a long ways to go.
“That’s our ultimate goal. We not only want to be a top team in Central Ohio, but we wanted to be a top state program and the kids are definitely motivated to keep working toward that.”
-- Jeremy McLaughlin
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...and Panthers!!!
