Local wrestlers impress at VISAA State Wrestling Tournament

ROBBY FLETCHER Sports Editor

While the Mechanicsville High School wrestling team was off at the Virginia Beach Sports Center competing in the Class 4 State Championships, a few local wrestlers were closer to home competing in another top tournament.

Mechanicsville locals Daniel Cozzolino and Corban Schmandt from Grace Christian along with Benedictine’s Brady Bollander were found squaring off against the top talent of the VISAA in the Benedictine-hosted VISAA State Wrestling Tournament.

All three made it to the finals of their respective weight classes, with Cozzolino winning the 126-pound bracket outright with a brilliant performance.

Cozzolino (37-4) opened his tournament-winning run with three consecutive matches that never made it out of the first period, first taking down Daniel Barnett from Pope John Paul the Great Catholic with a pin in 1:04 and then earning a spot in the quarterfinals with a pin in just 45 seconds over Woodberry Forest’s Sullivan Barnett.

In the quarterfinals against Blue Ridge wrestler Aito Omura, Cozzolino again needed less than a minute to earn a win, taking 45 seconds for the second straight time to pin down his Blue Ridge opponent.

The next two rounds saw Cozzolino needing all three rounds to take home the victory, first having to get past Fishburne Military’s Ryan Barone. The Grace Christian star opened strong with a 6-1 lead at the end of the first period, earning two takedowns and a two-point near fall. After an early escape in the second from Cozzolino, Barone was able to settle down and earn a takedown and a point off a penalty to make things interesting, though Cozzolino was able to finish the job and earn a spot as one of the last two wrestlers standing.

The final against Thomas Montgomery from Peninsula Catholic appeared to look like a low-scoring affair early on with Cozzolino picking up the only points of the first period with a takedown, but things started to heat up soon after. He led 6-1 at the end of the second, earning separation with a reversal and a second takedown, and though Montgomery threatened to come back with two takedowns of his own, Cozzolino claimed his gold medal with escapes after both of those takedowns to hang on and place himself atop the podium. His teammate Schmandt nearly joined him as a first place finisher with an excellent tournament of his own, but he ultimately finished as the 165-pound runner-up after Norfolk Academy’s Nolan O`Boyle gave him a rare defeat in the state finals.

Schmandt (41-2) ended a memorable year with three dominant showings leading up to the championship, first pinning Greenbriar Christian Academy’s Ethan Gosman just before the end of the first period and then pulling off a 12-1 major decision against Episcopal’s Michael Zito in the quarterfinals.

In the semifinals against Jason Seeber from The Potomac School, Schmandt won with a 16-0 tech fall highlighted by an outrageous scoring barrage in the first period that featured three near falls and a takedown. Meanwhile for Bollander in the 144-pound class, the Cadets star helped his team place third in the tournament with his second place finish. He kicked off the tournament at his home gym with a 14-6 major decision win against Woodberry Forest’s Cayden Sanchez then proceeded to pin Catholic High’s Cooper Green right before the end of the first period to advance to the quarterfinals.

He held St. Stephens’ Aidan Koch scoreless in that matchup while earning eight points of his own, including a three-point near fall with 1:15 left in the match that could’ve given him another pin.

He then held his next opponent to just one point in the semifinals, beating Norfolk Academy’s Tucker Gaddy 8-1 and again picking up a threepoint near fall at the same time as his previous matchup.

In the final, he met a wrestler that finally had the skill to beat him, with St. Christopher’s Tyler Hood winning first prize with a 14-5 victory, though Bollander went out admirably with four escapes in the final period.

With the season over, these Mechanicsville locals came away with medals around their necks and some historic moments on the mat as they represented their schools at the very top level of wrestling competition.