OFSAA 2003 Article
Spartan wrestlers deliver coveted OFSAA four-peat By Steve LeBlanc. The Canadian Champion (Milton): March 14th 2003
E.C. Drury’s provincial wrestling dynasty continues - and at this point will likely never be matched.
Heading into last week’s OFSAA championships in Sarnia, Larry Jaroslawski’s Spartans were looking to make high school history as the first school to ever win four team titles in a row.
That bid was threatened through the early going, but the defending champs rallied from their sub-par start to pull off the until now elusive four-peat.
Drury grapplers won 10 of I I second-round matches and used that as a springboard to another title repeat - winning by five points for a second straight year, this time edging Hamilton’s Bishop Ryan 120-115.
“The record-setting win was the most draining yet rewarding title since the first one in 2000,” said an emotionally-drained Jaroslawski Wednesday night, shortly after his Spartans clinched top honours. “None of the other teams had to endure as many close defeats, bad draws and protested matches - as well as a costly seeding error. But the team just kept bouncing back, refusing to throw in the towel.
“Setting the four-peat record is not only a thrilling accomplishment, but a very rewarding one as it can be shared by several generations of Drury wrestlers.”
Jesse Ronan led this year’s charge with a silvermedal effort in the 54-kilogram division - with his bid for gold finally quelled by defending OFSAA champ Frank Mensah of Bramalea. Before that, the provincial veteran coasted to two preliminary round victories, scored a close quarterfinal decision and then upstaged one of the medal favourites 14-13 in a heartstopping semifinal showdown.
Equally impressive was 61-kg. grappler Matt Knock - who secured his second OFSAA medal in as many appearances by capturing bronze. In what was widely regarded as the most inspiring performance of the tournament, he rebounded from a quarterfinal loss with three consecutive victories - capping the run with a pay-back win over the opponent who knocked him out of the gold-medal picture in the battle for bronze. Remarked Jaroslawski, “Knock’s gutsy victory epitomized the character of the entire team.”
These medal-winning efforts highlighted a rollercoaster day in which Drury dropped to as low as fourth in the team standings before finally returning themselves to the top of the provincial pecking order.
Helping fuel the championship drive with fifth-place performances were a trio of Spartans.
Tenth grader Gary Ferrier (57.5 kg.) avenged last year’s loss to former Spartan Mike Devries in the fifthplace clash after coming with a heartbeat of upsetting the number one seed in quarterfinal competition.
First-time OFSAA participant Kevin Tyrer collected five wins in the 72-kg. class to finish fifth and start his team on its championship march, while Rob Petherick (64 kg.) ended his high school career with an identical placing - cracking the top six for the second time.
A five-time OFSAA qualifier, Petherick also has the distinction of being the only member of all four goldmedal teams.
Aiding the title win with unexpectedly-strong efforts were rookie lightweights Blake Hillier and Alan Moffat, who placed seventh and appeared to have the eventual bronze medalist in sure pin that was never counted by the official. He went on to lose that match, thus being denied a trip to the medal round.
Ben Beech, Jordan Lumb and Chris Flannigan all scored wins and had a hand in the team victory, while rounding out the squad were Eric Freeze and Greg Foster. Assisting Jaroslawski was Simon Vanellis.