State wrestling: Big Blue senior grabs win

Ralston battles through overtime but finishes triumphant in opening match at 215 pounds.

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By Jay Morrison, Staff Writer Updated 3:37 AM Friday, March 5, 2010

A.J. Ralston had everything working against him.

Except his will.

Wrestling in the first round of the Division I 215-pound bracket Thursday night, March 4, at the state tournament, Ralston entered the third, sudden-victory overtime in the top position against Twinsburg’s Matt Fechko.

“I’ve never won on top,” the exhausted yet exhilarated Ralston said after riding Fechko for 30 seconds to earn a 3-2 victory at the Schottenstein Center.

“I just wanted to win,” Ralston continued. “I just wanted it more.”

Neither wrestler scored in the first overtime period, and both scored easy escapes in the second OT.

Fechko nearly escaped twice at the edge of the mat in the third overtime, but Ralston managed to hang on each time.

“He held on for dear life,” Big Blue coach Nick Hensley said. “That doesn’t happen very often. It’s tough to be on top in that situation. It was either find a way to grind it out and ride him out or it was over.”

The win moves Ralston, who is 25-11 and making his first state appearance, into a quarterfinal match today at 10 a.m. against Wadsworth’s Nick Tavanello (44-2), who placed third last year.

Ralston will be joined in the quarterfinals by four other Butler County wrestlers.

Lakota West junior Ty Davis (36-2) and senior Konnor Blevins (37-5) each won easy first-round matches in Division I — Davis a 15-0 technical fall at 135 and heavyweight Blevins by pin in 3 minutes and 4 seconds — and Fairfield junior 135-pounder Austin Sams (30-5) survived Mayfield’s Connor Shaughnessy 9-5.

“It feels great,” Sams said after the win. “It’s nice to get the first one out of the way. Hopefully I’ll come back tomorrow and wrestle even better.”

In Division II, Ross senior 140-pounder Joe Conrad scored a takedown with two seconds left in the second period for a 3-0 lead, and he held on to beat Parma Heights Holy Name’s Erich Scheidel 3-1.

“I shot in for a double leg and I told myself, ‘I’ve got to finish this,’ ” Conrad said. “I knew there was short time on the clock, and I knew I had to finish it not only for me, but to get into his head and him think about being down 3-0 instead of 1-0.”

Conrad (39-6) went 0-2 in his first trip to state last year, but he came out strong against Scheidel.

Of the 10 area wrestlers who suffered first-round losses, nine are still alive — Hamilton junior Terrion Jackson (285), Edgewood senior Nick McSorley (125), Fairfield junior Domnice Day (130) and senior Ray Gordon (215), Lakota West seniors Craig McIntire (140) and Devin Purkiser (160) and Middletown senior Billy Malicote (171) in Division I; Ross junior Patrick McKernan (112) in Division II; and in Division III, Badin junior Eddie Sanders (130).

»Wrestling results, B2

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