OFSAA 2004 Article
Drury pulls off its drive for five by Steve LeBlanc. The Canadian Champion (Milton): Tuesday, March 9, 2004
Ronan’s golden win prolongs OFSAA dynasty
The championship beat goes on — and on, and on…
Refusing to be unseated atop Ontario’s high school pecking order, E.C. Drury’s perennial powerhouse wrestlers captured an unprecedented fifth straight OFSAA title last week at the University of Windsor.
Although leading the three-day showcase from start to finish, the Spartans’ drive for five wasn’t solidified until their very last match late Wednesday afternoon — when fifth-year veteran Jesse Ronan blanked Brantford’s Andrew Townsend 10-0 for 57.5-kilogram gold.
This cemented a 166-157 victory over chief rival Hagersville.
“I turned him twice in the first 30 seconds and was pretty much in control the whole way,” recalled Ronan, who had a stiff second-round challenge from a Sudbury grappler but was otherwise dominant the entire trip to justify his top individual ranking. “It felt awesome (to strike gold). It’s what I’d been aiming for for five years.”
While Ronan’s gold-medal win offered drama from an overall standings perspective, it was teammate Gary Ferrier who delivered arguably the most exciting championship match of the day.
The 61 kg. 11th grader overcame three separate deficits against number one seed Chris Webb of Essex and executed a double-leg takedown with just six seconds left to prevail 12-9.
The comeback victory kept him unbeaten this season.
“It was definitely nerve-wracking, up and down the whole way,” said Ferrier, who up until the finals had a measly two points scored against him. “I’d beaten him (Webb) at home earlier this year, so I was pretty confident I could do so again. Winning OFSAA gold felt great.”
While Ferrier and Ronan led the championship drive — tying a record for most individual gold medals in a single season — Drury needed a total team effort to prolong its dynasty.
The Spartans set a new school standard for most top-six finishes in a year with seven. Among those doing so was graduating senior Matt Knock, who after a heart-breaking first round loss rebounded with eight consecutive wins to secure bronze in the 64 kg. division.
This marked his third straight OFSAA medal — also a Drury record.
“I’ve never seen anyone rally like that,” said head coach Larry Jaroslawski. “Usually it (a first-round loss) takes the wind right out of you. It’s a long road back to bronze, but Matt did it.”
Kevin Tyrer had to do some battling back of his own after dropping a semifinal match that took him out of gold-medal contention. Ending his career in gutsy fashion, the Spartan captain delivered a commanding victory for his second fifth-place finish.
Explained Jaroslawski, “Kevin’s semifinal loss really let the air out of the tire for the team, but he and some other guys really scrapped their way into the top six. It was probably the best team effort we’ve ever had at OFSAA.”
Mac Fillman, Blake Hillier and Kevin Iwasa-Madge each placed sixth, while cracking the top-eight were Carl Chan, Allan Moffat and freshman Nick Ronan — who’s laid the groundwork for what should be a championship-rich high school career.
Colin Burnham reached the top-12, while also part of Drury’s latest OFSAA conquest were Joey Arsenault and Peter Leaman.
Nine Spartans will now turn their attention to next week’s Ontario Winter Games in London, while about a half-a-dozen local wrestlers will compete at next month’s nationals in Windsor.