Sunday, March 07, 1999
Scruggs wins state wrestling title
Hillsboro's Burns second at 135
BY MARK SCHMETZER
Enquirer contributor
COLUMBUS — Three area schools sent wrestlers to the mats Saturday night in search of their first state championships. One won the prize.
Sycamore's Omar Scruggs won a state championship by winning the Division I 140-pound title at the state tournament at Ohio State University's Schottenstein Center.
Previously undefeated Richard Burns of Hillsboro finished second in the Division II 135-pound weight class, and Winton Woods's Matt Thompson lost in the finals of the Division I 189-pound weight class.
While the OHSAA honored previous four-time state champions during a lengthy ceremony, Scruggs prowled the mat and tried not to throw up.
“I kept looking at the second-place spot on the podium,” Scruggs said. “I don't like that all. I started getting sick. I've never been that nervous before a match.”
Scruggs (30-2) overcame his anxiety to open up a 5-0 lead and hold on for a 10-6 victory over Mansfield Madison Comprehensive junior Nate Yetzer.
“I got a couple of early takedowns,” said Scruggs, Sycamore's first-ever state champion. “I knew that if I kept attacking, he wouldn't be able to catch up. His coach was telling him to kick out, which helped me. I knew if he did, I wouldn't be called for stalling.”
Burns beat the Marion district runner-up in the Division II state semifinals at 135 pounds Friday, but that district's champion, Bellevue senior Matt DePolo, came from behind to beat Burns, 8-5, with two takedowns in the last 30 seconds of their championship match.
“He has nice fundamentals and it paid off,” Hillsboro coach Dave Dietrick said of DePolo (39-4). “He got in there nice. He had nice penetration on both takedowns. Both takedowns came off the same scenario. He's a big, strong kid. We thought if we could get a leg in, we might get two points, but we couldn't get the leg in.”
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