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Wrestler makes name for himself

Staff photo / Joe Simon Boardman’s Jake Powell celebrates a victory with his father, Kevin, left, and Boardman coach Dom Mancini.

AUSTINTOWN — Boardman senior Jake Powell has been wrestling since he was in third grade, but for most of the last 10 years, he hasn’t really been known as Jake.

The son of two wrestling legends, Powell was often referred to as “Justin’s younger brother” or “Kevin Powell’s kid” for a good portion of his career.

Nowadays, Jake is making sure people know who he is in the wrestling world.

He was the champion of the 285-pound weight class at the Division I Austintown Sectional tournament on Saturday, pinning a state-ranked wrestler in the second period of his title match.

Normally such a win would be a huge accomplishment, but the Powell family didn’t produce normal wrestlers. Jake’s older brother, Justin, was a state champion in 2007 and placed third in 2006 for Boardman. His father, Kevin, was a state runner-up in 1981 at West Branch High School.

Jake is now 45-2 as he continues to carve his own name into the family tree.

“Every time I walk into the wrestling room, I see my brother’s name up there,” Jake said. “Every time I talk to one of my dad’s buddies, it’s ‘Oh, wow, your dad was such a great wrestler.’ Basically, any tournament I go into, people don’t know me for me but they know me for my family. So, that kind of motviates me to make a name for myself and not just be my brother Justin’s little brother or my father Kevin’s son.”

His actions are speaking louder than his words.

Maybe even more impressive than his performance at the sectional was his path to the championship at the Eastern Ohio Wrestling League Tournament in January. Powell opened some eyes by beating three state-ranked opponents on his way to a league title.

Powell moved up two weight classes from 195 since last year. He didn’t do it be eating fast food and playing video games. He spent the quarantine last spring/summer working out and imporiving his diet. He said his frame got bigger as well, and he grew slightly.

“I hit the weights a lot during quarantine,” said Powell, ranked sixth in the state. “I took advantage of the quarantine. (It was) time off school, so I got to hitting the weights, eating and upping my protein. Also, my frame got bigger over the offseason, I got a litte taller. All that stuff helped.”

He needed the added size to transition to the 285-pound weight class.

Boardman coach Dom Mancini said the wrestling style is a bit different at that weight. Being patient and waiting for an opening is important. So is being in better shape than your opponent as the bigger wrestlers can tend to tire out quickly. The actual wrestling part wasn’t an issue for Jake, who understands the sport in and out thanks to his family and experience. That showed in his finals match against Mentor’s Hunter Calao.

The two were tied 0-0 entering the second period when Powell maneuvered his way into position for a throw known as a head-and-arm. Calao (23-4) tried to roll him through, but Powell stayed balanced and quickly secured the pin.

“At some point, after wearing him down a little bit, he felt that he could throw him,” Mancini said. “As soon as that got in his head, that was his gameplan. … Wrestlers that come from families of wrestlers, they have an advantage because they just get it.”

Powell wasn’t the only champ for Boarmdan. In fact, he wasn’t the only champ with a well-renowned brother.

Junior Sean O’Horo was the 170-pound champion, earning a 9-5 victory over Nathan Jordan of Uniontown Lake, another state-ranked opponent, for ht title. O’Horo, who also earned a league title last month, is trying to reach the state tournament for the first time. His brother, Michael, placed fifth at the state tournament as a senior in 2019.

Sean, who is now 47-1, said he has learned a lot from Michael in regards to his mental preparation for the postseason, when the season can end in the blink of an eye.

“Seeing how my brother did it, how focused he was for his, it taught me a lot on what I need to do to get the job done,” Sean said. “He had a really good mindset, even from a team perspective. He was a really good leader, so he helped me become a better leader. He’s been teaching me a lot about law of attraction, which is whatever you think, it’ll happen. You’ve just got to keep manifesting it.”

The two Spartans moved on to next week’s district tournament (the top four placers in each weight class advanced). Junior Ashton Labelle placed third at 138 pounds for Boardman.

Fitch placed second as a team, advancing 10 wrestlers to next week’s Hoover District, where the top four finishers at each weight class qualify for state. Moving on for the Falcons were Alec Herman (106 pounds, second place), Jacob Ferguson (113, third), Authur Croom (126, fourth), David Shannon (132, third), Colin Roberts (138, first), Aric Smith (145, third), Tyler Lintner (152, second), Muhammad Riaz (160, fourth), Dom Zemko (182, third) and Jacob Smail (second, 195).

Fitch was second as a team with 183 points. Lake was first with 204.5 points.

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