Englehart earns 100th career pin to lead wrestlers at Westlake
Eian Englehart is young man with a lot of decisions ahead of him, and all of them are good.
A major contributor to Avon’s two-time state championship football program, the senior also is one of the best wrestlers in the area, if not the state. The senior earned the 100th pin of his career Saturday at the Coach Ant Classic at Westlake, helping the Eagles place fifth out of eight teams in the dual tournament. But more on that later.
First, back to Englehart and his decisions.
So, let’s see. You want to go to college to study Animal Sciences in hopes of becoming a veterinarian, and you hope to play football or wrestle, or maybe do both.
“Hopefully, I’ll be studying animal sciences at a really good college,” said Englehart when asked about next year. “That’s the plan. I might go to Case so I can play football and wrestle. That would be nice. But I’m also looking at Ivy League schools for wrestling. Whatever is the best school, that’s what I’ll take.”
An enviable position to be in, without a doubt.
“It’s good to have options, and he’s keeping his options open,” said wrestling coach Mark Jayne. “He’s going to pick what’s best for him. I know he’s looking at veterinary schools. He’s going to go to an unbelievable school and to be able to play a sport in college is something not many people can do. To be able to pick the one that you want, that’s just amazing. Whatever he does, he’s going to be great.”
And that will be the next chapter in an already great athletic career. A starter on the offensive line who also was in the rotation on the defensive line, Englehart played a key role in the Eagles’ back-to-back state titles. Incredibly, less than 48 hours after Avon won this year’s title on a Thursday night, Englehart pinned his way through the Beachwood Invitational Tournament, earning his 100th career victory along the way.
“I was a little bit tired, to say the least,” he said. “But I like to wrestle and I didn’t want to let my team down. So, I came out two days after the state championship game and wrestled in that tournament. I had one day of practice on Friday, but since I was kind of beat up, I didn’t do much. Then, on Saturday I got my 100th win, which was really special.”
It’s something that not many people would even attempt, let alone accomplish.
“I wouldn’t let anyone else do that beside him, but it just goes to show his heart and dedication and passion,” said Jayne.
As for picking up his 100th pin Saturday when he needed just 1 minute, 13 seconds to put Westlake’s heavyweight on his back, Englehart was very humble and appreciative.
“It means a lot,” he said. “It’s just a testament not so much to myself, but my practice partners and my coaches. They’ve had more to do with it than me. I’m just blessed to be in a really good situation.”
Getting back to the team results at Westlake, the Eagles split their four dual matches, losing to Hudson and Westlake before defeating Keystone and Westlake’s B team. As is the case in all dual meets, Avon had to forfeit the first four matches, which makes it difficult to defeat quality teams.
In addition to Englehart pinning his way through the day, senior Tony Mrosko also had four pins at 144 pounds.
“The sky’s the limit for Tony,” said Jayne. “He’s been working hard. He had a great season last year that was cut short when he tore his shoulder and had to miss conference, sectionals and state. So, he’s really hungry. He’s been looking for areas to improve on, working on those weaknesses. This is what we expect out of him, high scoring, great effort and lots of pins.”
In addition to Englehart and Mrosko, Kane Sparks (150), Matt Dooris (157), Gabe Klemora (167) and Jack Schumacher (175) each won three of their four matches and Evan Janson (138), Evan Branham (190) and Connor Krystowski (215) each split their matches, with Branham and Krystowski posting two pins.
“It was a good day,” said Jayne. “We got a lot of good matches in. Some of us started a little slow, but we kind of built up and we have some things to work on for next week. Today is going to give us that feedback on where we need to work to get ready for our next conference dual meet and the Battle for the Belt at Berkshire.”
The tournament at Berkshire is scheduled for January 17, two days after Avon hosts Midview.
