When Westlake’s Brad Cerankosky gets down to business, there’s not much that’ll get in his way on the wrestling mat.
One of seven area Division I wrestlers who made it out of the Perrysburg District and down to the state wrestling tournament last March, he wound up a match away from placing at 106 pounds as a junior.
He won a match in Columbus, something not every wrestler is able to do at the Schottenstein Center. Emeric McBurney, who knocked Cerankosky out of the tournament, went on to place third.
The expectations have now shifted for the veteran leader, having gotten a bite at the apple.
“Last year, I was just happy to be there,” Cerankosky said at the GLC Duals on Dec. 22, held at North Olmsted.
“This year, I want to do more than get there. I want to place and I want to place very high.”
It’s never a guarantee that anyone who goes through Perrysburg gets back to Columbus, with only the top four qualifying and the fifth-place alternate filling in if one of his district’s top four can’t go.
Demons 2022 graduate Cole Yuhas was one of the lucky alternates to wrestle in Columbus two years ago, and it was after another district’s top four and alternate couldn’t go that he was randomly selected. Then a sophomore, the now-senior can’t take the opportunities he has for granted.
“Last year if you asked me if I was going to make it to state, I would have said there was no way,” Cerankosky candidly admitted. “But then I did and it boosted my confidence. Now I want to get back and do really well there.”
Moving back to the here and now, Cerankosky is on the right track. Later on in the day, the Demons ran into Buckeye for the conference duals title. The Bucks are one of the top teams in Division II and showed it, with only the 113-pound Cerankosky and 132-pounder Tanner Moore securing wins in the final dual round.
Throughout the final few rounds of wrestling, Cerankosky was firing on all cylinders. He paced a little around the mat in his black Westlake warmup jacket with the green ‘W’ school logo emblazoned on the front.
He was locked in. It showed in how lightning quick he was on his feet at North Olmsted and using that speed to his advantage. Most didn’t know what hit them until it was too late.
“I’m just trying to be aggressive and get to my offense,” Cerankosky nodded. “I’ve learned that when you’re winning matches, it can be mentally easier (on myself).”
Also a captain, the Demons’ 113-pounder now has the new wrestlers in the middle and upper weights looking up to him.
They see a guy who’s been there and came close to a podium spot. He’s not a big talker and he lets his craft speak for him on the mat.
“Yeah, It’s pretty cool,” Cerankosky noted of being a captain, a quick acknowledgement of pride heard in his voice before returning to his more stoic demeanor.
He knows he’s not an exuberant leader and it suits him just fine.
“It’s not, like, one of my top priorities. I like to be more of a quiet leader, but it’s pretty cool. When the younger guys look to you for what to do and how to do things is pretty cool.”
