By TODD REED
News Leader Sports Editor
www.tnl-news.com
With three wrestlers taking to the mats in Columbus, Minerva Head Coach Jeff Kullman had quite a busy weekend at the State Wrestling Championships.
"I was real proud of all of our guys," stated Head Coach Jeff Kullman. "Not one of them was awestruck by being in this arena. They all went out to win their matches."
Coach Kullman's son, junior Micah Kullman, had the best showing, finishing sixth at 160.
"I was very impressed with Micah and his poise through this whole process," stated Coach Kullman. "We (our staff) have been telling him how good we think he is and can be, but sometimes you're not really sure if a kid really believes in himself as much as you do. He left no doubt in our minds after this weekend.
"I saw some things in him this weekend that I had never seen before. I could see it in his eyes and I sensed it. He was ready to go from the outset. He wasn't fazed by this being his first trip down here. He had a goal to get to the finals, and now I know that he believed that he could get here."
Kullman opened the tournament with 14-11 win against Andrew Nealan of New Richmond.
"To come out in your first match at state, going up against a returning state placer, and get after it the way he did, was impressive," commented Coach Kullman."
In the quarterfinals, Kullman dropped a 6-3 decision to Anthony Nadeja of Hubbard.
"Losing in the quarterfinals was heart breaking, and very tough to come back from when you have a goal ripped away like that, but he did," stated Coach Kullman.
"Coaches can say whatever they want at this point, but ultimately it has to come from inside the kid himself to gather himself up and refocus on the next best thing. He did, and I was proud of him for that."
In the consolation bracket, Kullman major decisioned Mike Braun of Chagrin Falls Kenston 21-5, before edging Adam Kluk of Medina Highland 4-2 in sudden victory.
Kullman lost in the consolation semifinals 5-3 to Eric Hildenbrand of Franklin.
"After winning his next two matches, he faced a really tough kid in Eric Hildenbrand," noted Coach Kullman. "It was a great match. We had the lead, lost the lead, and then finally tied it up towards the end of the third period.
"I though we were gaining the momentum, when I think we got a little too aggressive and left ourselves open for a shot and Hildenbrand capitalized on it and took us down with about three seconds left. Hildenbrand, who lost earlier to the eventual state champion 8-5, went on to get third. It shows how close things were."
Wrestling for fifth, Kullman once again lost to Nadeja, this time by a score of 3-0.
"What was neat was the improvement that we saw in Micah even within the context of this tournament," noted Kullman. He went 3-3 to place sixth, and in all his matches that he lost, he was within one maneuver of winning. He was really figuring out how to wrestle against the highest caliber of competition.
"He's more relaxed and a much better wrestler right now than what he was one week, or even a couple days, ago. With another year left, we have a lot to look forward to.
"Micah really stressed to me that he wanted to thank all his coaches, especially Coach Jason Lutz and Coach Chad Hilliard, for all of their help."
Kullman finished up his junior year with a 38-6 record.
Senior Zach Lutes had a memorable weekend despite not reaching the podium.
Lutes (140) claimed a win in his opening match, his 100th career victory.
The historic win was a 9-6 decision against John Novak of Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit.
Lutes had a tough matchup in the quarterfinals, getting pinned by Felipe Martinez of St. Paris Graham at 3:41. Martinez went on to claim the 140-pound title.
In the consolation second round, Lutes (30-8) was pinned by Jake Cramer of Oak Harbor at 4:49.
"For Zach, it was great to see him reach a few milestones this year - qualifying for the state tournament, and getting his 100th career win in his first match at state," noted Coach Kullman. "He has come a long way, and many others would have cashed it in, but he stayed the course and rose to the occasion time and time again to get to this point.
"He had a tough draw in the sense that he had the number-one ranked kid in the country in his quarterfinals and then had a state placer coming back through. He's a little disappointed that he didn't go a little farther, but after some time, he'll realize that making it to the state tournament is a pretty lofty accomplishment in itself.
"He's been very fun to coach. He will be missed."
Sophomore Scott Boyce went 0-2 in his first trip to Columbus.
Boyce (152) lost to Konner Witt of Oak Harbor 8-5 and to Will LeBoeuf of Dayton Oakwood 10-8 in sudden victory. He ends his season with a 33-9 mark.
"Scott, being only a sophomore, gained valuable experience just by being here," commented Coach Kullman. "He lost two close matches (one to the eventual runner-up). This confirms that he belongs at this level and he can compete. With his work ethic, we're very excited about his future."
treed@the-review.com
www.tnl-news.com