SE's Depinet wins, Clyde 7th at Lady Flier Invite

CLYDE - Leave it all out on the mat.That's exactly what happened on Sunday at Clyde High School when 38 teams from across Ohio came to the Clyde Lady Flier Invitational.Local area teams included new and upstarting program Bellevue, as well as second-year varsity teams Lakota, Seneca East and FostoriaHost Clyde landed in seventh place out of the 38 teams, and with only five wrestlers in attendance, they had four placers. They brought in a total of 86.5 points."It was a good warmup for our competition at Findlay next week," Clyde coach Adam Greenslade said. "There were a few more hammers at this one that's for sure. It was just little things that we can fix in the room and nobody gave up. We had one match that was a quick pin, but other than that, they are shutting their brains off and doing what we want them to do."Meredith "Mimi" Greenslade was runner-up in the 125-pound class on a fall to Emilie Conley from Elyria.Mallory Meggitt (130) came in third place after the match was decided 4-1.Meggitt finished as a runner-up in the same weight class at Avon Lake Invite earlier this season."Mallory is an excellent example of a team leader," coach Greenslade said. "She has improved so much from last season to this season because of the hard work she puts in during the offseason and absolutely deserves to be recognized. She consistently stays after practice to continue working on her skills."Additional placers for Clyde included Samantha Young (140), who placed fourth and Caroline Prudham (190) who placed sixth after a pin.Clyde and the Lady Flier program has taken one of the new programs under its wing, which shows the camaraderie that is known in the girls wrestling world: its rival down the road on Route 20 Bellevue.In its inaugural year, The Lady Red have five wrestlers overall. At the invite, they placed 24th out of the 38 teams with 23 points.Jersey Mayes was the lone placer, taking third in the 110-pound class."We had a rough start. We have a lot of first-year wrestlers," Bellevue coach Dan Zenowicz said. "They work hard in the room, but we have a lot of work to do and a lot of holes. Thankfully, Jersey has made it easier to lead the team. She got a dub today and then took third."The Lady Red came four strong, but only Mayes made it through the gauntlet. The other three were knocked out early."I started off the day strong, but I knew my second match was going to be tough," Mayes said. "I gave it my all and I ended up getting pinned but after that, I knew all I could do was to work hard to climb back up that ladder. I was nervous for the last match, but I knew I needed to trust all the work I put in."I knew after I wrestled during the summer and Dan asked me to come join that I wanted to help get this program going. I want it to be a big thing at Bellevue."Though the two schools are rivals, there is unity amongst them. It was noticed that Clyde's girls went and cheered for Mayes as she wrestled in the final match, and the Bellevue team went and cheered Mimi Greenslade on for hers.The Tigers, a second-year program, has seen quite the growth according to assistant coach Travis Salyer. SE now has eight members on the squad and that has left Salyer trying to figure out how to not have two in the same class."Last year, the first-year wrestlers looked like first-year wrestlers," Salyer said. "This year, they look like veteran wrestlers. It's been fun to watch them grow and all of them have shown a deeper passion for the sport."The Tigers placed eighth overall as a team with 80 points, and tied with Woodmore."We brought six wrestlers, but two of them were in the same weight class," Salyer said. "We have come a long way. We have been cleaning up mistakes and wrestled harder and had a different mindset coming into this meet. It definitely showed on the mat, and they wrestled tough."Finishing top 10 with five placers is a feat and in itself for SE. There was one that was not allowed to compete, one that was injured during the invite, and another that went 0-2.Getting the champion spot for SE in the 140 class was Kiera Depinet. During the summer, Depinet put Attica on the map by competing on the national stage and hasn't relented on her training, even though she did play volleyball during the fall."I had a lot of fun, and even though I was nervous, it was the normal 'before you hit the mat nerves' and I knew that I would do good," Depinet said. "It's all practice for the post season and that I have to keep going no matter what."Additional placers for the Tigers included Jolie Schimpf (100) in sixth place, Kendyll Salyer (125) in third place on a 2-0 decision, and Roselyn Johnston (155) in sixth with Haylee Dawson in the same weight class taking eighth place.For Depinet, what happened during the summer had a positive impact and gave her more confidence to be more aggressive in matches."I had the biggest mindset change during freestyle this year," said Depinet said. "I was excited to be there. I stopped getting nervous, I knew that I could do what I have been doing and that everything was going to work out how it was supposed to. I started taking shots and my freshmen year, I took their shots and takedowns; now I am using my own and doing what I am supposed to be doing without doubts. Everything has been better because I got the opportunity to do what I am doing, and I am thankful and grateful for it."Another school that got another chance to come back and wrestle is Lakota.It was a little bit of a question mark for the Raiders as they only had three wrestlers last season; two of them were seniors.They have a new head coach: Hanna Stahl, who wrestled for Lakota last season.The Raiders placed 32nd out of 38 teams with nine points."I think it was a good opener for us," said Stahl. "It definitely gave our girls more experience on the mat and to be able to wrestle girls that have more experience was an eye opener to the world of girls wrestling for the team."Lakota had one placer at the Clyde invite, and that was Delayjiana Doyle. She is the only returner from the inaugural squad. Doyle took sixth place in the 170 class."I was definitely impressed with her," said Stahl about Doyle's performance. "She is strong and has the power to fight and win. With us in a building year still and us only having three girls, she has improved and is showing great potential."For Stahl, going from wrestler to coach has been an eye opening experience of her own."It makes me want to go back and wrestle," Stahl said. "I get to see the behind the scenes and get to see the in and outs of the sport. It allows me to continue to love the sport while helping people and help develop the program."Fostoria came in 25th out of 38 teams, and tied with Toledo Central Catholic with 22 points at the invite.Senior Ariana Espinosa-Snowden battled her way to the podium. She was the only representative of Fostoria that made it into the final round. Espinosa-Snowden came in third in the 170 class.She was able to pin her opponent Raelynn Amerine of Ontario and cause a tech fall.She is credited as being one of two original girls wrestlers at Fostoria. The team is in its second season since taking to the mat in 2024. The other wrestler Fostoria brought was sophomore Ahmani Lee, who went 0-2.