Comets have another great showing at AAU duals

Press Sports Editor
sports@presspublications.com

In 2018 and ’19, the Genoa wrestlers won four state championships — two in the dual team tournament; and two in the individual tournament.
Now, Bob Bergman’s crew is building again in the hopes of returning to the summit of one of Ohio’s most popular and competitive sports.
Genoa recently got done competing in the AAU Scholastic Duals in Fort Lauderdale, going 7-2 in their pool, which included a victory over league rival Oak Harbor, 37-36, to advance to the Gold Pool Bracket.
The Comets finished in eighth place in Community 2 Division, outpacing nearly 30 teams from across the country. Genoa wrestled in 12 duals over three days in the weeklong event. It is the program’s highest-ever finish at the event.
“We wrestled well in our pool; I'm really proud of our kids. We had a barn burner with Oak Harbor, who’s top notch,” said Bergman. “In that duel, 10 times, it could go 5-5. It came down to bonus points. It was the wins, but also the quality of losses. If they can go the distance in a losing effort, that’s important. That was a fun one. It was a great way to get into the Gold Pool. We (faced) some real powerhouse programs from across the country.
“It’s pivotal; it’s been a huge shot in the arm to our kids. You do more, you get more. It’s a byproduct – if I have 100 reps, and you have 200 reps, you’re going to probably be better. A rolling stone gathers no moss.”
Six wrestlers earned All-American honors: Ethan Powell (106 pounds), Scotty Fuller (113), Trevor Wilcox (120), an Otsego alum, Zayden Dunn (126), Mikey Soto (132) and Kevin Ludwig (285).
Fuller went 11-1 and was a Silver All-American; Powell (10-2) was a Bronze All-American; Wilcox, Soto and Ludwig all went 9-3 and earned Copper All-American status, as did Dunn, who went 7-3.
“They’re just great competitors. We had probably the best starting lineup; it was hard not to get the ball moving in a positive direction,” said Bergman. “Mikey was a state alternate two years ago; it was great to see him compete. Ethan Powell had a great showing – he only lost to a Georgia state champ. Trevor was a four-time state placer for Otsego; he’s so methodical and consistent and great for our kids. Our kids get along well with him. I think Zayden’s trying to find his own, it’s nice to see him go from a reserve wrestler to a high school wrestler. Kevin wrestled superbly. He was once again our closer in our high-leverage duals and provided great leadership to our upper weights.
Tyler Abbey (157) and John Buffington (165) won seven matches apiece and Issac Soto, Noah Tipton, Nate Tipton, Hunter Bickel, Eli Smith, Xavier Verdugo, Ethan Sizemore, Anthony Work, Connor Cox, Christian Stokes and Jackson Pickron also competed for the Comets.
The Comets will look to win their third consecutive Northern Buckeye Conference and be one of the top teams in Division III.
“It’s going to be another great senior class with five starters, and some journeymen that will look to fill those roles. I think we can be a top-10 team (in state). We hope to go for a third straight NBC title,” Bergman said.