Dante Ortiz was gassed.
The Keystone 175-pounder was in a tight bout against Firelands’ Liam Varndell in the second of the Wildcats’ LC8 duals Jan. 4 at Firelands. They had beaten Oberlin, while Firelands handled Wellington, but this was a big match.
With the team score at 29-24 and the advantage to Firelands, there were only two more wrestled matches to go. While Keystone had six points coming its way via forfeit, a Firelands win would have stopped the momentum Ortiz and Keystone built after climbing out of a 23-0 hole early.
With the tank on empty, Ortiz kept pushing in a 3-3 match heading into the third period. He scored two more points on a takedown and got three more back points against Varndell.
In the end, Ortiz’s 8-3 match win warded off the Falcons. Jonathan Gould (190) and Jordan Folmer (285) helped seal the dual, and Keystone walked away 45-29 victors and 2-0 in the conference duals.
175: Liam Varndell vs Dante Ortiz
Ortiz gets Varndell in a close 8-3 decision@klsd_wrestling 27@FirelandsFalcon 29@MJournalSports pic.twitter.com/Sc6NUkR1l5
— Sean Fitzgerald (@fitzonsportsbsr) January 5, 2024
“I was definitely gassed,” Ortiz said as he nodded his head. “I mean, it was tough, but I feel like I’m going to get a lot better throughout the season. It’s hard work, it’s wrestling. And I’m proud of myself.”
“(Dante)’s only a third-year wrestler,” said Keystone coach Chris Vondruska. “We kind of picked him up his sophomore year. He’s an athlete though, a natural athlete with some special gifts. It took him a while to get into wrestling, but Dante’s a pretty complete wrestler in three years.
“He gets guys tired and he got himself a little bit tired, too, but it was a good battle. Kudos to the Firelands guy. He kept battling the whole time.”
Ortiz credited state champion teammate Tristin Greene as part of his win, given their time as drill partners in practice.
“This guy is grinding with me every practice,” Ortiz said. “He’s teaching me things and he’s pushing me to my limits. It’s this guy and the rest of my team that’s really pushing me.”
“Honestly, I’d have to say he’s the hardest worker in the room,” said Greene, who won his match at 157 pounds. “I push him to the limits every single day I can, and he’s getting better. Every day I’m giving him tips and he’s using them in matches.”
With a veteran-laden middle and upper-weight crew, Keystone made it a battle when it appeared to be a blowout given the moxy and dominance of the experienced lighter weights on Firelands’ side.
“They’re clicking,” Firelands coach Dom Mcewen said of his lighter-weight wrestlers. “We’ve had the flu bug hit the room, but the way they came out today and competed, I couldn’t have asked for anything more.”
When the going got tough, the Falcons competed and didn’t back down, making it a tough night for all involved.
“I couldn’t be more proud of my team,” Mcewen said. “I thought they competed well. (With) Issac (Bowsher) going against Tristin Greene, I mean Issac fought. For a second there I thought Issac was going to put him on his back. Tristin is a hell of a wrestler, but I’m glad Issac didn’t back down from him.”
