Catanzarite helps power Generals to Wooster Invite crown

  • brian questel
  • January 26, 2011
  • 295
                        
013111 WoowrestleInvite Promo: Catanzarite, Generals get to celebrate together Catanzarite helps power Generals to Wooster Invite crown By Brian Questel Troy Worth spelled out his expectations in clear terms and his Generals’ wrestling team heard him. Without a title since winning the Ohio Cardinal Conference championship in 2005, the Generals put that drought to rest by winning the Wooster Invitational Jan. 22. The Generals topped defending champion Canton McKinley by piling up 177 points, well in front of runner-up Black River (142.5) and third-place Plymouth (135.5). “They wrestled well,” said Worth, who is in his third season as head coach. “It’s the best they’ve wrestle on the same day the whole year. A lot of the young ones stepped up and wrestled well. It’s good to see them do what they’re supposed to do along with the other varsity wrestlers.” The Generals didn’t post a win until 152 pounds when senior Anthony Catanzarite became the first four-time Wooster Invitational winner on the basis of his five pins. Classmate Zach Ellsworth (160), junior DeVonta Anderson (171) and sophomore Trever Chapman (WHT) all added blue-ribbon performances at the back end of the Generals’ lineup to help pull away from the field. As happy as Catanzarite was to win, the team title carried equal weight with him. “It feels awesome, especially for the team to win the title my senior year,” said Catanzarite. “It’s amazing how the team has progressed. Coach Worth has done a really good job helping the team get along and getting them to go out and do their thing. In the practice room, we see our potential all time, but sometimes in the matches we don’t go out and execute what we know. “The team pulled it out and a lot of younger guys helped pull it out for us.” Catanzarite won his first title at 135 pounds. He jumped up to 152 as a sophomore and then won at 145 a year ago, but this win is the one that stands out in his mind. “Probably this year’s just because it’s my senior year and my last tournament in front of the home crowd,” said Catanzarite, who improved to 25-3 overall with 18 pins this year. “Just to win it in front of the home crowd was amazing. There were some really good people in the weight class. The kid I beat in the championship match was a district qualifier from last year from Buchtel (Jarren Watts, 4:46). It was pretty nice. It’s a good confidence booster.” Catanzarite owns an 83-37 career record, “and one of my goals this season was to get to 100 wins,” he said. “To get there I’ll probably have to get to state to get that much mat-time in.” “He’s got OCC (Ohio Cardinal Conference) set in his sights,” said Worth. “He’s got (Kyle) Kinzel (of Clear Fork) and John Griffith (of Ashland), who he’s lost to in the league. … We’re working on a few things after we didn’t do as well at the (J.C.) Gorman (Tournament) as we’d liked. We’ve worked on finishing up shots, and coming back to our feet, and Anthony did that for the most part. He had one time where he came up a little flat and the kid threw him over, but Anthony had enough spunk to get the takedown. But, things are getting better.” Ellsworth won all four of his matches via pin to improve to 23-3 as he won his third title in a row, all of them coming at 160. “My freshman year I did not win, but that year I was only 150 pounds and wrestled up at 160,” said Ellsworth. “The lineup was stacked at my weight class, so I bumped up and ran into some big guys. Still, it was good go through that. “(Winning) definitely was the best thing about this weekend,” he added. “It’s nice to be an individual champion, but for the team to win was important because it proves to the younger guys the hard work we’re doing is paying off. We’re making strides and improving and getting a team championship is a reward.” Ellsworth has seen the team grow each season and he reflected on how his role has changed. “Back then we had all those talented seniors I looked up to and a bunch of young guys scattered throughout the lineup,” he said. “Now I’m in that position. It’s a cool feeling being the one looked at, remembering how I respected the other guys. I think for a lot of us the consistency of having the same coach three years now. We know what to expect in practice and what coach wants us to work toward and be more successful. Now we have a plan and know what direction we’re going in. “It’s cool to win as an individual and to help the team win. This definitely is the most rewarding. … I’m pretty happy how the weekend turned out.” Anderson has struggled to remain healthy this season, and this weekend was a snapshot of what he can do when semi-healthy as he is still nursing a knee issue. He pinned his way through the tournament (5) and now has 15 on the year as he improved to 15-3 overall. “We expect him to place in every tournament,” said Worth. “In football you get beat up as a running back and now you have these bumps and bruises. … He’s cleared to wrestle now and hopefully he’ll be OK with the new brace he has. “Trever Chapman wrestled really well. He was definitely up when he saw the Dalton kid (Larry Miller) on the other side of the bracket,” he added. “He made up for losing two (matches before) to the Miller boy (winning via pin). Trever was upset he didn’t wrestle as well as he could the times he met (Miller) before. Trever’s made huge improvements.” The Generals had another championship match, but 119-pounder Nate Stebbins finished second after falling in his championship bout. They had a trio of thirds from Drew Worth (125), Ethan Keck (135) and Matt Baumgartner, who earned his first tournament place of the season at 145. Wooster also had a fourth from Logan Gable at 112. “ Nate Stebbins lost to the Black River kid, who is very good, so I’m pleased he was second. He’s been consistent,” said Worth. “Drew had one loss to the Malvern kid by two points, then he tech fell another kid for third. It was a good tournament for him. “Everyone else, we wrestled very consistently and did what they were supposed to do. They kept their match close, we kept off our backs and … our movement from the bottom position was good. It was an improvement for all the kids.” The Generals had a tri-match with Waynedale at Mapleton Jan. 26 before moving on to the OCC Championships Feb.5, which will be held at Mansfield Senior. “We need to keep our momentum up, our spirits up and stay healthy,” said Worth.


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