Franklin Gomez, Coleman Scott deliver gem at National Championships

The Open Mat.com

By: Pat Galbincea – Plain Dealer Reporter (Original here)

When over 1,300 wrestlers compete in a tournament like the ASICS University and FILA Cadet National Championships, it’s often hard to focus on a highlight match.

But that was an easy task Saturday at the University of Akron. Wrestlers and fans alike knew beforehand that the third-round freestyle match in the University division between Franklin Gomez and Coleman Scott at 132 pounds was a no-brainer highlight.

Gomez, a junior at Michigan State, is the reigning NCAA champion at 133 pounds. Scott was the NCAA champ at the same weight in 2008 wrestling at Oklahoma State. Because brackets are randomly drawn, the winner is looked upon as the favorite to win the tournament.

And a great match is was, with the taller, rangier Scott edging the quicker Gomez, 1-0, 1-1. In freestyle, the last point wins a match even if the score is tied.

In the first period, Gomez’s quick, outside single-leg takedown attempt was neutralized by Scott’s whizzer. After 90 scoreless seconds, Scott won a coin flip and in the 30-second clench position, took Gomez down with a single leg.

Gomez shot in and completed a low double-leg takedown in the second period and his 1-0 lead appeared to be sending the match into a third tiebreaker period. Scott dashed those hopes, however, with a single-leg takedown in the final two seconds.

“I’m not upset I had to wrestle a good, tough guy like Gomez so early in a tournament,” Scott said. “To win a championship, you have to beat everybody anyway, whether it’s in the first round or finals. For me, though, this is a big win.

“I’m looking to make the World team, and two weeks ago in Las Vegas [at the U.S. Nationals] I wrestled the worst I ever have. So I came here refocused. That’s why I was able to come back on Gomez in the second period. Funny, sometimes I wrestle better when I’m behind . . . I wrestle harder.”

In the Cadet division (ages 15-17), Wadsworth freshman Nick Tavanello (220) – a Division I state third at 215 pounds two months ago – won his opening-round bout over Laquan Hightower of Illinois, 5-1, 4-5, 3-3. Tavanello scored the last, match-winning point by taking Hightower down. He also pinned Alex Bambic of Arizona in 50 seconds and scored a 6-0, 9-3 technical fall over Dylan Case of Missouri to automatically place among the top four today.

“I like this tournament because it’s like a Fargo experience,” said Tavanello, referring to the Junior National Championships in North Dakota. “It’s good to wrestle against wrestlers from other states, to see what they have. I’ve learned there are good wrestlers all over the country.

“The other reason I’m competing is to improve my wrestling plus do something different. Freestyle is something we don’t wrestle in high school but is the style everyone in the world wrestles.”

Among the packed house at the Stile Athletic House was Harry Lester, a four-time state champ at Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy. “Retiring” from Greco-Roman wrestling last year after failing to make the Olympic team, the 25-year-old Lester unretired two weeks ago to wrestle in and win the U.S. Nationals. He will be the No. 1 seed at 163 pounds May 30-31 at the World Team Trials in Council Bluff, Iowa.

“I should be getting my AARP card any day now,” Lester kidded. “Seriously, I cut too much weight last year. Going up to 163, I feel great. I’m comfortable and able to focus more on wrestling instead of cutting weight.

“Now, it’s just a matter of making the team and performing at the World Championships [in September in Denmark] to get that gold medal I’ve dreamed about.”