Aurora's big two, STVM's Skinner bring home Division II state titles

COLUMBUS — From the moment they hit the mat Sunday night at the Schottenstein Center, Aurora's Tyler Lillard and Dylan Fishback knew their mission.

Halfway through the state finals, Louisville held a 93-87 lead over Aurora for second place in the Division II teams race. Victories by Lillard and Fishback would power the Greenmen into second place.

Mission accomplished.

Lillard won the state title at 165 pounds, while Fishback repeated as state champion at 195.

Aurora finished with 95 team points, edging Louisville for the Division II state runner-up trophy. The Greenmen took state runner-up honors for the second time in three years.

St. Vincent-St. Mary also won a state title for the second consecutive year Sunday. Irish junior 126-pounder Bryce Skinner got a late reversal to score a 3-2 win over Waynesville's Matt Ellis.

Aurora coach Mike Ryba said there was no one he'd rather have than his two seniors in a position to win it.

"I don't think there [was] anyone who would trade positions with me," said Ryba. "We didn't have everything go right this weekend. We still put stuff together. I'm the happiest guy in this arena right now."

Lillard (44-2) might dispute that, as he danced across the mat after claiming his first state title. He got a reversal and two takedowns in the third period to pull away from Fairless' Max Kirby and win 8-4.

Lillard beat Kirby the previous week in the district final, so he said he expected Kirby to make adjustments. He said keeping the pressure moving forward was the key.

"Once I got that reversal, I saw an opportunity to get more points," Lillard said. "I knew I was going to score more.

"I don't have a game plan for anybody. I just had to concentrate on me. He had better head position on than me in that match. Once I got him to the edge, I could work on him."

Ryba said it was a perfect ending for Lillard, who returned to Aurora this season after moving to Pennsylvania for his junior year.

"It's huge," Ryba said. "We were upset about it when he left, though we knew why he was doing it. But he came back and he makes everyone in that room better."

After Lillard's victory, Fishback knew what was at stake.

"I knew if Ty won, I would just have to win to get us second," Fishback said. "I just knew I had to do my job."

Indian Creek's Austin Starr stood in Fishback's way. Starr did better than any of Fishback's other opponents in Columbus — he didn't get pinned — but the outcome was never in doubt.

Fishback (39-0) got two early takedowns and controlled things from there, scoring a 10-4 win.

"He just tried to keep everything close," Fishback said. "It's hard when someone's just trying to keep it close. I don't think he got any offensive points on me.

"I'm not disappointed. I would have liked to score more points. There's been a lot of up and downs in my high school career, so It's great to finish like this."

Ryba said Starr presented a worthwhile challenge to Fishback.

"Dylan was in on shots against [Starr] that he usually finishes, and he couldn't," Ryba said. "One way or another, Dylan finds a way to wear you down. I don't think that match was as close as the score showed. He did what he had to do."

Skinner wins it his way

After dealing with a back injury earlier this season, Skinner had only wrestled 13 matches heading in to the postseason. As a result, he wasn't the most heralded wrestler coming into the state tournament.

"I always knew this guy had a chance to be in the finals," STVM coach Dan Rooney SAID. "We had to change up some of his training because of it, but we always knew he could do it."

Skinner got to the final with two overtime wins Saturday, and his gas tank proved to be pivotal against Waynedale's Matt Ellis in the final.

"I was expecting him to come out moving his feet, so I knew he was going to shoot on me," Skinner said. "I just trusted my defense."

Skinner scrambled his way to a scoreless first period, but gave up a reversal in the second period before escaping. Down 2-1 to start the third period, Skinner chose down and struggled to get out until 20 seconds left.

"I just thought he was getting high on me," Skinner said. "I was just trying to buck him off."

Skinner stood up up, grabbed Ellis' leg and brought him down. Ellis tried to hang on to Skinner's leg, but Skinner locked in a cradle to secure the reversal with seconds left.

Skinner (24-0) claimed the 3-2 win and the 17th state title in STVM history. He joined his uncle Shawn, who won the 1997 Division II 130-pound title for Highland, as a state champion.

"He just told me to wrestle my match and treat it like any other," Skinner said, when asked about advice from his uncle.

"It's part of his style to win like that," Rooney said. "Like he said, believes in his gas tanks and believes that he can beat anybody when they get tired."

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Aurora's Lillard and Fishback, STVM's Skinner win state titles