Rayl, Brinkman Nab NWC Titles
By Sam Brauen Sunday, February 14, 2010 01:00:53 AM
Tyler Rayl won his 4th NWC title
Tyler Rayl (145) and Dustin Brinkman (125) were crowned champions in their respective classes at the NWC Wrestling Meet Saturday, held in Bluffton. Allen East won the team championship, edging out runner up Columbus Grove. Bluffton finished fifth. For Rayl, this has become a rite of February. The senior became just the third Pirate in school history to win four NWC titles joining Josh Falk and Kyle Begg on the short list. Rayl breezed through the field Saturday, grabbing three pins and two wins by tech fall. The senior was named 2010 NWC Wrestler of the Year based on voting from the conference coaches. Tyler is looking to continue his winning ways in the postseason starting next week in the sectionals. "Last year I finished fifth at the state meet. This year my goal is to win it all. I just need to keep it going match after match and see what happens." Dustin Brinkman garnered his first NWC championship with four pins in four matches. Brinkman pinned Austin Teeters (Jefferson) in 95 seconds. After finishing second last year in the NWC Meet, the junior was thrilled to be crowned champion. "This feels great. I've looked forward to winning since last year. I'm hoping to make some noise in the tournament this year." Other top Pirate finishers were Ryan Johnston who dropped a 3-2 heartbreaker in his final round robin match. Zach Wilson fell in the 140 final and also took home silver. Junior Ben Moser won a 5-4 overtime thriller in the third place match of the 189 class. Kody Koronich also finished on a high note, taking the fifth place match of the 285 class. Coach Jeff Kleman was pleased with his team's effort after the meet. "We wrestled well today. We had a notion Tyler and Dustin would win their classes and hoped some others might step up and win theirs. But, all in all, I can't complain. We're now working toward sectionals next week." Kleman also had high praise for Rayl's accomplishment. "Tyler's a tough a wrestler. He's a great wrestler and a great competitor. It's an honor for him to get four straight and we're pretty proud for him." Bluffton will open up sectionals at LCC Friday night.