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‘Everything to me’: South Range’s Colucci motivated at state tourney

Staff photo / Greg Macafee South Range’s Chris Colucci, right, wraps up Malvern’s Zach Babiczuk from behind during their first-round match Friday afternoon at Ohio State’s Schottenstein Center. Colucci won with an 8-3 decision to advance to the quarterfinals.

COLUMBUS — South Range senior Chris Colucci has a lot to wrestle for.

He’s wrestling for redemption, he’s wrestling for a friend, and he’s wrestling for a chance to etch his name into the South Range record books.

Colucci started his final OHSAA state wrestling tournament on the right foot Friday afternoon at Ohio State’s Schottenstein Center in Columbus as he defeated Malvern’s Zach Babiczuk by an 8-3 decision to earn his 41st victory of the season.

“The first one is big. It’s always the toughest match and you get the jitters out at the state tournament,” Colucci said. “It’s a big stage, but I’ve been on big stages plenty of times. The first match is crucial to win, now I’m done for the day. I can get ready, get hydrated and get back at it tomorrow.”

In the 100th match of the day, the 215-pounder scored five points in the first period with a takedown and a three-point nearfall before adding another takedown in the second period. He secured the decision in the third to move on to today’s quarterfinals

The first day was a tough one for Colucci last season as he lost his first two matches and was eliminated from the tournament. He was pinned in 1 minute, 17 seconds in his first match and then suffered a 7-2 decision loss in his second.

The motivation to improve was there just from his state tournament hopes coming to an end, but Colucci decided that he wasn’t just going to wrestle for himself this year. Colucci said his close friend and fellow senior teammate Josh Richardson suffered a torn labrum for the second time. Now, Colucci is wrestling for him as well.

“Going 0-2 last year really stung, so I worked really hard in the offseason and in the summertime, training hard,” Colucci said. “Then when my best friend tore his labrum for the second time, I just had extra fight to fight for him. He’s another one of my seniors, but he’s also my best friend, so it’s just extra motivation to go harder.”

To get to this point, Colucci has put in the work. He’s wrestled since he was in kindergarten but really started to put in the work this past summer, with hopes of putting together a special senior year.

He traveled far and wide, going to the Disney Duals along with a top-tier tournament in Virginia Beach, and tested himself against some of the best wrestlers in the country.

“You’re wrestling kids all over the nation at those big tournaments,” Colucci said. “So I was able to see different faces that I don’t normally see here in Ohio, and it’s just good wrestling all the way around. Everyone that goes there is just good and they want to get better.”

Colucci is also looking to win the third state championship of his high school career. He played a crucial part in South Range capturing a team title last year and then was also a big part of the Raiders’ football team title this past fall. Now he’s looking to capture an individual title this weekend.

“Being a three-time state champion would be awesome. I would love it,” Colucci said. “I just love this sport so much though and anything I can do to get better and this sport and be where I want to be is perfect.”

Colucci knows that won’t come easy though. He’ll need to work his way through a tough bracket, and he’ll face off against Dylan Aeschliman from Archbold this morning in the quarterfinals. In order to take that next step, Colucci said it’s going to take everything he has.

“I just need to dig deep and hit that extra gear,” Colucci said. “I’m gonna work as hard as I can to prove to myself that I can do it. Getting on top of that podium means everything to me.”

gmacafee@tribtoday.com

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