Correspondent photo / Dianna Oatridge Canfield’s Anthony D’Alesio (dark uniform) tries to maintain control of Alliance wrestler Warren Gentile on Saturday in the title match of the 182-pound weight class at the Eastern Ohio Wrestling League championships. D’Alesio went on to win the match.

AUSTINTOWN — Rankings, seeds and expectations can often play a major role in wrestling.

And sometimes they don’t mean a darn thing.

Canfield’s Anthony D’Alesio and West Branch’s Jake Hurst proved both ends of the spectrum at the 53rd annual Eastern Ohio Wrestling League Tournament on Saturday at Austintown Fitch High School.

Hurst was the latter of the two. A senior in the 285-pound weight class, he doesn’t look like the typical heavyweight powerhouse. Hurst stands about 5-foot-10 with more of a stocky build and not much muscle tone showing, but there is plenty of muscle hidden within Hurst.

Furthermore, he was a low seed overlooked by a lot of competitors and coaches, and he was facing top-seeded Richie Hofus of Canfield for the championship, a mountain of a wrestler standing 6-4 with muscles bursting out of his singlet. It was practically David vs. Goliath.

It’s just the way Hurst likes it.

“I’ve been the underdog my whole life,” he said. “I love it. It’s what makes wrestling great for me, when I beat the top dog.”

He did just that on Saturday.

Hurst’s low center of gravity proved to be an advantage as he stayed in good position during the physical, upper-body tussles with Hofus. He was patient, waiting for the right time to attack, and lured Hofus into positions where he could score.

“For a heavyweight, his hips are incredible,” West Branch coach Chris Dorris said. “The turning point in the match happened right there (on the edge of the mat), when Hofus came in and had Jake kind of reeling, and Jake collected his hips, squatted and lifted Hofus back up. At that point in time, I think that’s when Hofus kind of said, ‘It’s tough for me to score on Jake.’

“He’s so strong, and you don’t think he’s strong because he’s got these little T-rex arms, but when he gets his hands on you, they’re like meat hooks, and he’s strong.”

His takedown on the edge of the mat came in the third period with Hurst clinging to a 3-2 lead. Hurst took a 5-2 advantage with the takedown, but Hofus escaped and trailed 5-3, needing only a takedown to tie it and force overtime.

Motivated to win his first varsity tournament, Hurst secured a sealing takedown in the final seconds for a 7-3 win that ignited a large crowd that seemed to be pulling for the underdog.

“I felt like everyone was behind me and wanted me to win,” Hurst said. “That felt good, too.”

The unsung senior is quickly becoming the up-and-comer, and he said the win — at one of the toughest tournaments of the season — could be a springboard for him with the postseason weeks away.

“This is great for me,” he said. “I wrestled great, and if I keep doing that and progressing on what I just did, I’ll be good.”

D’Alesio is on the other end of the gamut.

The Canfield senior is a returning Division II state champion at 182 pounds and the undisputed top seed at the EOWL Tournament. His only losses this year came at the Ironman Tournament — arguably the most difficult high school event in the nation — and he intends on wrestling at Kent State University (he also had numerous Big Ten schools recruiting him).

D’Alesio has missed much of the season, however, after suffering a shoulder injury in the semifinals of the Ironman (he had to default his last two matches). He didn’t look very rusty Saturday as he dominated the 182-pound weight class and won his second straight EOWL Tournament.

While pleased with the championship, he said he’s still working himself back into shape, which is imperative for him to reclaim his relentless way of wrestling.

“I’ve got to work on getting my stamina up because that’s how I wrestle — I just push, push, push,” D’Alesio said. “I’ve been out for a little while, so I’ve got to get that. You can’t train to get that back. It’s just wrestling matches, real live matches. So I’ve just got to keep rolling around until I get that back.”

He knows he doesn’t have a ton of time to do so either, but more importantly, he doesn’t have one of his teammates to help him reach that point.

Fellow returning state champion Nick Crawford has been out all season, and it doesn’t appear he will return from a shoulder injury, so that takes away his drill partner and someone who can push him to the limit at practice.

The postseason begins Feb. 29, and D’Alesio said he’ll continue to find ways to motivate himself and get back in shape he needs to defend his state title.

“It’s been a major change for me because I miss kids like Nick and (recently graduated Tyler) Stein in the room to wrestle with,” he said, “but my teammates are great. They push me in the room, and my coaches come wrestle me. It’s a little off, but I’m getting used to it. …

“I’m not really worried. I just want to go back to back, and I’ll do anything it takes to do that.”