Takedown Report

High school wrestling: Area champs revel in victories at Bill Dies Memorial Tournament

TDR Editor’s Notes ; This tournament news is from another state yet in a well written article by the ABJ it explains how meaningful this large, competitive local tournament is for the competitors. I knew Bill Dies and wrestled with his sons, and even coached against one. It mentions Bill as being a co-founder of the Ohio Youth Wrestling Association. Yet it does not mention how this organization grew from being a small local group of clubs to a massive structure that has developed many successful wrestlers and has supported the improvement in teams in northeast Ohio. When the group started I was skeptical that it would have much impact. Later I coached one of the clubs and gained experience while working as an official for the weekly Ohio Youth matches. The Association emphasizes instruction, growth and learning for students in grades 4-6. The Dies family of sons, daughters, grandchildren and many others are tremendous. Whenever I ran a tournament my goal was to do as well as they do each week. Once retired I will be at the next Memorial Tournament.
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Some tournaments mean a bit more to a high school wrestler.

The ultimate is the state tournament in Columbus, but the ones in your backyard have just as much meaning. For those in Summit County, the Bill Dies Memorial Tournament holds such status, and many of the champions didn’t hesitate to say as much after winning the 32nd annual event Saturday at Firestone Community Learning Center. The tournament was named after the co-founder of the Ohio Youth Wrestling Association, and many of the wrestlers of today worked the event when they were younger or came to the invitational as a kid imagining one day having their hand raised at the end. “This has been my dream since I started working this tournament in fourth grade,” Barberton 182-pound champion Gary Wokojance said. “I remember working it and watching all these wrestlers come through. To finally win it feels really good.

“I know how this tournament is, so to be in the finals and tech fall in the finals, it feels awesome. It’s really sweet. This is one step of plenty more to come. I’ve watched awesome guys wrestle this. I always thought to myself, one of these days I’m going to win this tournament. I’ve got to. It’s been a really big dream of mine. It’s awesome to be able to sign my name on the championship banner.” Rest of the story and pictures at https://www.ohio.com/sports/20190119/high-school-wrestling-area-champs-revel-in-victories-at-bill-dies-memorial-tournament

January 20, 2019 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized