Wrestling Team Ready to Start a Busy, Challenging Season

Head Coach Todd Haverdill couldn’t say enough about the Brecksville-Broadview Heights wrestling team this week. 

“Wrestling’s a really tough sport,” Haverdill said. “It’s hard. … But this team has a real positive attitude about things.”

And with their record, they have plenty of things to be positive about. The team hasn’t lost a dual match since January 2005, Haverdill said, and they’ve won seven conference tournaments in a row. Last year, the team placed 9th in the state. Three of this year’s wrestlers placed at states last year, with another two who qualified. 

This year’s season will begin Saturday night at Claymont. The full schedule is available on the team’s website. Some of the biggest tournaments of the season—the Ironman and the Beast of the East—are scheduled early. Haverdill said those competitions are considered some of the toughest high school tournaments in the world. Brecksville’s Holiday Tournament, which has been around for more than 50 years, will take place on Dec. 28 and 29 this year. 

Haverdill said there are a lot of wrestlers to watch this year, including two nationally ranked athletes. The team has nine returning starters, and five of those are returning state qualifiers, the most Haverdill can remember. Here are a few students to keep an eye on:

• Austin Assad, sophomore, wrestles at 106: Assad is currently ranked No. 1 in the country in his weight class, Haverdill said. He finished second at the state tournament last year. “He’s definitely somebody to watch out for,” Haverdill added.
• Aaron Assad, senior, wrestles at 113: He’s ranked at No. 4 in the nation in his weight class, Haverdill said, and he’s a three-time state place winner.
• Quinton Hiles, senior, wrestles at 170: Hiles placed 6th at states last year. 
• Eddie Sternad, freshman, wrestles at 182, and Justin DeMicco, freshman, wrestles at 126: Sternad and DeMicco both placed at the middle school-level state tournament last year. Haverdill said this is especially impressive because there are no divisions at the middle school level—all of the students in the state compete against one another.