March 6, 2014
ThisWeek Olentangy Valley News
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Hockey
Orange falls in district final
By SCOTT HENNEN THISWEEKSPORTS.COM
Jonathan Furnas of Liberty tries to gain control of Massillon Perry’s Jake Newhouse in a Division I state semifinal at 120 pounds on Feb. 28 at Ohio State. Furnas lost a 6-4 decision and went on to place fourth. JOHN HULKENBERG/THISWEEKSPORTS
Wrestling
Liberty duo makes state podium
By AARON BLANKENSHIP THISWEEKSPORTS.COM
Giuseppe Penzone wasn’t sure how effective he would be in the Division I state wrestling tournament after tearing cartilage in his ribcage two weeks earlier. The Olentangy Liberty High School senior already wasn’t 100 percent after tearing the meniscus in his left knee late in the regular season, but the pain in his ribs was much sharper and inhibited some of his more explosive moves on the mat. Despite the physical setbacks, Penzone won two of his five matches and placed sixth at state at 126 pounds. He had conflicting feelings after the tournament, which was held Feb. 27March 1 at Ohio State. “I tried to go in with the mindset that pain is only temporary and look past it, but my injuries definitely affected me at state,” said Penzone, who went 4-2 and placed fifth at 120 at state last
over Cincinnati Moeller’s Connor Borton before defeating Brecksville-Broadview Heights’ Justin DeMicco 12-9 in a quarterfinal, his 150th career win. However, Penzone lost to eventual state champion David Bavery of Massillon Perry 17-2 in a semifinal before getting pinned by Uniontown Lake’s Alec Cotton in 1 minute, 37 seconds. Penzone then was pinned by DeMicco in 4:17 in the fifth-place match. “I was hoping to at least finish in the top three, but it was nice that I was able to win my 150th (career) match in a state quarterfinal,” Penzone said. “I was able to throw the state champion Orange’s Lenn’s Kamba battles Chris Meffert of Uniontown Lake in a first-round on his back in my semifinal, but he came back to beat me pretty badly and match at 195 pounds during the Division I state tournament on Feb. 27. Kamba I struggled after that match.” prevailed 13-6 but lost his next two matches. CHRIS PARKER/THISWEEKSPORTS Junior Jonathan Furnas went 3-2 and season. “I tried to protect my ribs and I didn’t meet those goals. But I’m also placed fourth at 120 after going 3-2 it limited what I could have done, espe- proud that I was able to win some and placing seventh at 106 a year ago. Furnas opened with a 14-8 victory cially from the bottom position. matches there while I was less than 100 “I went into state with really high percent healthy.” WRESTLING >> B5 expectations and I’m disappointed that Penzone opened with a 10-7 victory
Coach Tim Pennington knew just how close his Olentangy Orange High School hockey team was from returning to the state tournament. The second-seeded Pioneers finished 27-5-3-2 overall, losing to top-seeded St. Charles 3-1 on March 1 in a district final at OhioHealth Ice Haus. The Cardinals scored 15 seconds into the game, but junior forward Brandon Voytus scored off a pass from junior forward Karsten Green-Church with 8:08 left in the opening period to tie it. St. Charles went ahead for good with 3:29 left in the first, and the teams were scoreless until the Cardinals got an empty-net goal with 26.3 seconds left. Junior goaltender Cam Beck had 25 saves for the Pioneers, who won a district title in 2012. “It was a tough start when they scored 15 seconds into the game, but we had our chances,” said Pennington, whose team tied Toledo St. Francis for 10th in the final state poll behind top-ranked Cleveland St. Ignatius. “There’s a good reason that (the Cardinals) are ranked (sixth) in the state. They were in good position all night.” The Pioneers had a firstround bye in the postseason before defeating 15th-seeded Worthington Kilbourne 12-0 in the second round Feb. 16. They defeated sixth-seeded Dublin Coffman 5-3 on Feb. 22 in the third round and third-
HOCKEY >> B6