CVCA Wrestlers Making Push to Become Great

It was a busy summer of wrestling for many Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy wrestlers. It’s not that all they did was wrestle, but many found a way to fit improving their wrestling skills into their daily schedules. Of CVCA’s 14 projected starters, 13 did some regular training for wrestling over summer break. This training took many different forms.

First and foremost, Junior Harry Lester led the Royals in off season training by setting a great example and qualifying for the Ohio National Team, which competes in Fargo, North Dakota each July. A number of CVCA wrestlers competed in the National Team Trials in April and May, but fell a bit short of making the team. This list included Jarrad Turner, Ben Garmier, Josh Kinnett, and Paul Charvat. Nonetheless, they gained valuable experience, and improved greatly while training for the National Trials. By qualifying for the Ohio National Team, Lester earned the right to compete n the Cadet National championships in North Dakota in July. Harry wrestled phenomenally, winning the freestyle national championship in the cadet division.

In April, Harry Lester represented CVCA at the Cadet (17 & under) World Team Trials at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. Lester went undefeated, winning the right to represent the United States at the Cadet World Championships in Lodz, Poland in August!

In June, CVCA hosted the Ohio Qualifier for the NHSCA National Open Championship in Birmingham, Alabama. A number of CVCA wrestlers placed at the qualifier, thereby ensuring them a trip to Alabama to wrestle for a scholastic (high school style) National Championship! CVCA used funds earned from hosting the qualifier to pay the cost of the wrestlers’ trip to Birmingham. At the National Open in Birmingham, Senior Jarrad Turner, just coming off a missions trip to the Dominican Republic, earned All-American status by finishing 5th in the nation at 143 pounds. En route to his 5th place finish, Turner defeated New Jersey State Champion Justin Lijo of New Jersey, 4-3. Currently Jarrad has a number of colleges recruiting him, including Columbia, Clarion, Ohio University, and Eastern Michigan.

Harry Lester proved once again at the National Open Championships in Birmingham, that he is one of the toughest wrestlers in the United States, by winning the 119 pound title and defeating 3x Maryland State Champion Brandon Lauder along the way. Previously totally undefeated, the Lester / Lauder match led to the Maryland star’s first loss of his career!

More recently, CVCA put together a team in August to compete in the 1999 AAU Junior Olympic Games in Cleveland, Ohio. The Junior Olympics is a team competition which pits

"all-star" teams from various states against one another in freestyle wrestling--the Olympic style. The CVCA Olympian Team was comprised of a few wrestlers from Walsh and Stow as well as 7 CVCA wrestlers. They were: Matt Smilek, Brett Smilek, Brad Sanderson, Jarrad Turner, David Jenison, Andy Vogel, and Ben Garmier. Despite very little freestyle experience, The CVCA Olympian Team surprised many by finishing 9th as a team. En route to this finish, CVCA defeated teams from Michigan, Nebraska, and South Dakota, as well as others.

Individually, 1999 CVCA graduate Andy Vogel lost a close 5-4 match in the championship finals, and finished as a Junior Olympic runner-up. Freshman Matt Smilek wrestled well, earning All-American honors with his 8th place finish at 98 pounds. It was Smilek’s first ever freestyle competition. Junior Brett Smilek had a sparkling 9-2 record when a family obligation forced him to withdraw from the individual tournament.

Also in August, Junior Harry Lester made his trip to Poland for the Cadet Freestyle World Championships. Being his first world competition, and only 15 years old, many hoped Harry would win a few bouts and gain some valuable experience. Harry shocked everyone by going totally undefeated, including a tough, over- time victory against his Russian counterpart, and winning the 119 pound Gold Medal!! Lester was the only U.S. wrestler to win the gold!

CVCA Wrestling is excited about the great things that God has done for this program, and is happy to welcome a few new faces as well. Junior Chris Smolk is an excellent student, who transferred from Rootstown, because he sought greater academic excellence. Chris plays football and will wrestle as well for the Royals. Chris qualified for the state wrestling tournament as a sophomore at Rootstown. Freshman Matt Sammons is also attending CVCA, and will most likely be a starter for the Royals at 135 pounds. He has been wrestling for 7 years.

Great job of working hard towards your goals guys!!!! CVCA is proud of you!!!!