South Range’s Stellato overcomes familiar foe during state tournament
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COLUMBUS -- Sometimes, it's just not your match. If he did not know that beforehand, South Range sophomore Ralph "Ralphie" Stellato certainly did after his 106-pound, first-round match at the OHSAA state wrestling tournament on Friday.
Stellato, as Raiders head coach Frank Giordano, "ran into a horse" in the form of Versailles' Trent Huber, who took a 10-0 lead against Stellato before pinning him in the second period.
Undeterred, Stellato wrestled an "awesome" second match Friday, according to Giordano, to eliminate Willard senior Jose Figueroa. Stellato took a 7-0 lead into the third before being taken down and nearly put on his back. He survived the scare, pulling out a 11-3 win.
His first match on Saturday vs. Beachwood's Phoenix Peters went much of the same way; a late takedown in the first period gave Stellato a 3-0 lead, and he extended it to 7-0 by the end of the second period. But another third-period near-fall situation nearly ended his tournament, only for him to get out of it and hold on for a 9-3 win.
The victory, as well as his ability to get out of harm's way in the third, was extra sweet for Stellato, considering he had faced Peters a week earlier at the Independence district, where he was chin-whipped to his back and pinned while leading handily.
"I knew what his gameplan was, and I knew I had to stick to the gameplan the whole time," Stellato said in Columbus. "I was ready for it. I really wanted that match. I was ready for the redemption since he beat me at districts and all.
"Last week, I feel like I was just excited to qualify for state and all that, but I don't feel like I wrestled my best [against Peters]. I know this weekend I've been wrestling my hardest. I've been climbing and climbing and reaching my goals."
Giordano praised Stellato's resilience after being put to his back Saturday by Peters for a second consecutive week.
"Never gave up. All heart," Giordano said.
Stellato, after a consolation quarterfinals loss to Barnesville's Easton Stephen and seventh-place match loss to Waynedale's Branton Tapp, eventually finished in eighth place, a promising sign for the underclassman who was the final qualifier from the Independence district.
"You got to have that mindset to keep on going," Stellato said. "What you want to do, you got to keep putting your mind to it. ... Just get out there and work your way toward your goals."