Five Avon High School Wrestlers Advance To Lorain District Meet

Hamza Kirresh was so excited, he could barely breathe, let alone talk.

Moments after winning the 215-pound Sectional championship at Medina High School on Saturday, the sophomore gasped for air and finally said, "I’ve never been so excited in my life."

Karresh earned an 11-5 decision over Tyler Mielcarek of Clearview High School for the title. He and four other Eagles advanced to next week’s District Tournament at Marion Harding High School.

Karresh was the only one to do so by winning a title. Zane Zeman was upset at 145 pounds in his title match, while Alex Shermak at 103, Jake Delorge (112), Ayoub Kirresh (135), and Matt Campo (152) advanced by being among the top four wrestlers in their respective weight classes.

The Eagles finished fifth with 116 points overall. Medina Highland had 244.5 points, followed by Parma Padua (226), Medina Buckeye (138) and Bay Village (130) in the 11-team field

Hamza Kirresh enjoyed a first-round bye on Friday, then steamrolled into the finals by pinning Jesse Singler of Rocky River in 37 seconds and pinning Habbakuh Woodruff of Bay in an even five minutes.

After both impressive wins, Kirresh then watched other matches intently. He enjoyed watching his older brother Ayoub earn wins, but was more concerned with trying to pick up information on opponents in his own weight class.

"You can always keep learning by watching, then try to do it in your next match," Kirresh said. "A couple of weeks ago, I watched a guy from Fairview that I knew I was going to face. He liked to throw his opponents, so I stayed low, kept my elbows down, and was able to keep him from doing what he wanted to do.

"My goal is to win as many matches as I can at the District. I can’t look any farther than that. From here on, it is one match at a time, go as hard as you can."

Zeman had his unbeaten season ended in the title match against Jim Klosz of Holy Name. Zeman had earned consecutive byes before beating Anthoney Budka of Vermilion on a 14-5 major decision in the semifinals.

Toting a 36-0 record into the title match, he quickly fell behind, 5-1. He earned a takedown by grabbing Klosz’s leg late in the match to get within 5-3, then let his foe escape for one point, knowing he needed to earn more takedown points.

Zeman got a two-point takedown with 40 seconds left to get within 6-5, but after letting Klosz escape again, made a mistake and got taken down with 20 seconds left, leading to a 9-5 loss. Klosz improved to 40-2 this season.

Shermak, a freshman, lost his third-place match to Stefon Inman of Buckeye, 8-0, but Delorge earned a third-place finish by beating Michal Hollingsworth of Clearview, 7-3. Campo was thumped by Jake Thayer of Buckeye, 16-0, and was fourth.

Ayoub Kirresh improved his overall record to 35-10 with a 14-7 decision over Zack Hollo of Rocky River to place third.