Perry wrestling packs a punch on first day of Brecksville Holiday Tournament

There comes a defining moment in each high school wrestling season when a team knows it has it.

That moment may have come Friday for Perry at the 63rd annual Brecksville Holiday Tournament.

Ten Greater Akron/Canton wrestlers reached Saturday’s semifinals. Four of them will wear the all-too-familiar black singlet for the Panthers.

“This can cement us as one of the top two teams in the state right now,” 138-pounder Charles Curtis said. “I know we can win this tournament. We have faith in all our guys. We’ve worked so hard.

“… For everybody else we’re the bull’s-eye, but for us, it’s Perry, man. We’re proud to wrestle for this team. Not everybody gets the chance to do this. We have to keep showing it.”

Perry wrestling headlines area wrestlers in Brecksville semifinals

Perry led the tournament heading into Day 2 with Curtis, Emeric McBurney (120), Mason Rohr (126) and Aidan Fockler (285) in the semifinals.

Highland’s Austin Bickerton (113), Garrettsville Garfield’s Keegan Sell (190) and St. Vincent-St. Mary’s Andy Vanscoy (285) joined the Brecksville's Evan Rizzo (165), Edwin Rios (215) and EJ German (285) in the round of four.

But the day belonged to the Panthers, who had 12 quarterfinalists and still have all 14 scoring wrestlers alive in what is considered the second-hardest two-day tournament in Ohio behind only the Ironman.

“We embrace the pressure,” Fockler said. “Bring it on. You want to see what you’re made of, come wrestle the big dog.”

That big dog has some bite after a top-20 showing at the Ironman.

A trip to the Sooner State has pushed Perry to new heights

Last week, Perry traveled to Oklahoma to compete in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dual Classic.

The Panthers placed sixth and beat No. 12 Lake Highland Prep (Fla.) and No. 13 Bixby (Okla.) along the way.

That gave them the motivation to push into Brecksville and bust some brackets.

“We’re all brothers. We go into practice every single day, and they aren’t easy,” Curtis said. “You can’t get through it by yourself. You have to get through it with your teammates. That’s how you build that brotherhood. You go through those hardships, those trials and tribulations as a team. That builds that connection that we have.”

Perry wrestling makes a statement without saying a word

That connection was undeniable as the wins kept coming. Even one of Perry’s backups made some noise when Landon Ristoff pinned Arizona state runner-up Asher Villalpando in the second round.

That’s how strong Perry is and that’s how much the Panthers are willing to prove they should be ranked higher than No. 21 in the MatScouts.com Fab 50.

In a field that has No. 17 Detroit Catholic Central, No. 24 Perrysburg, No. 28 Coffman, No. 43 Dundee, Mich. No. 44 Lowell, Mich. and No. 50 Brecksville, Perry is doing very little to tarnish its reputation.

“It’s nice to see the team coming together this early,” McBurney said. “It’s almost January. We came together in Oklahoma, but I think we can keep pushing each other. We can use that momentum. It really gets the team going. Perry is known for getting those gritty overtime wins to keep it going.”

The hope is that it will push the Panthers to a title at Brecksville as they prepare for the grind of the dual meet portion of their schedule.

“We get to come here and fire on all cylinders,” Rohr said. “It’s great to come here, try our hardest and dominate. It elevates you. Anytime your teammates have success it helps you, too.”

Contact Brad Bournival at bbournival@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @bbournival

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Perry wrestling is rolling at Brecksville Holiday Tournament