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Wrestling brotherhood

Howland, Girard siblings find success on the mat

Tribune Chronicle / Joe Simon Howland’s Chris Julian, left, attempts to pin West Branch’s Lucas Woolf during the Division II sectional tournament in Beloit. Julian, whose brother Isom placed fourth, won the match to finish third. He and Isom both advanced to next weekend’s district tournament.

BELOIT — Finding differences between the DelGarbino brothers of Girard and the Julian brothers of Howland is usually pretty easy.

Take the DelGarbinos. Jack, a sophomore, is about 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds, while his brother Alex, a freshman, is around 5-7 and 113 pounds. They would probably have to show IDs to make people believe they’re related.

The Julians are quite different as well. Chris, a junior, stands at about 6-3, while Isom, a senior, is around 5-10. Their personalities are rather opposite as well. Chris admitted he has to warm up to someone before engaging in conversation, while Isom will talk to just about anyone.

On Saturday, all four had one thing in common: They’re moving on to the district wrestling tournament.

Jack and Alex each claimed Division II sectional titles at West Branch High School, with Alex winning at the 113-pound weight class and Jack securing one at 220. Chris placed third at 220 pounds, and Isom was fourth at 195. The top four in each weight class advanced to next weekend’s Division II Alliance district tournament, where the brothers from both Girard and Howland each has a chance to qualify for the state tournament for the first time.

Tribune Chronicle / Joe Simon Jack DelGarbino, foreground, cradles Alliance’s Chavion Young on Saturday. He and his younger brother Alex won sectional titles at West Branch.

If it happens, the four state-ranked wrestlers will probably do it in contrasting styles.

“They’re different,” said Girard coach Jim Cardiero when asked about the DelGarbinos, whose dad, J.T., was a state champion for Liberty back in 1991. “The only thing they’re similar about is they work all year for (wrestling), and they push to get better every day. They don’t settle for average.”

That was quite obvious in the championship matches. Alex (35-10) pinned Dylan Nicolino of Southeast in just 45 seconds, while it took big brother Jack (44-2) a whopping 1:03 to secure a fall of Chavion Young of Alliance.

The Indians duo, which led Girard to a third-place overall finish, may have toughened each other up over the years, but Jack, who has more than 100 pounds on little bro, says he never touches Alex.

“No, I just let him and my younger brother (Andrew) go at it,” Jack said with a laugh.

Tribune Chronicle / Joe Simon Howland's Isom Julian, right, wrestles against Alliance's Jerrell Martin in a consolation final during the Division II sectional tournament at West Branch High School.

Not surprisingly, Alex has a different story.

“All the time,” said Alex of whether Jacks picks on them, adding that he waits until mom and dad aren’t around to do it. “He always beats on the little brothers.”

The household horseplay is more evenly matched with the Julians, who are only a few pounds away from each other in weight. Their styles of wrestling are quite contrasting though.

Chris uses his long arms to utilize various cradles, while Isom takes advantage of his stockier build with power and explosion. They needed all of their strengths Saturday, especially Isom, who competed in a 195-pound weight class that had five state-ranked wrestlers in it. Since only four advance to the district, Isom (27-12) had to be on his game.

“The competition here, I feel is going to be as good as it is at districts,” Isom said, “because these same four kids that placed here could be the same four that place at districts if we all wrestle to our potential.”

Chris, a highly recruited football player, didn’t wrestle varsity as sophomore as he was behind fellow district qualifier Brandon Matlock, who placed third at 285 pounds. Chris, now 26-9, came back with a vengeance as a junior. He and his brother each have the same goal in common, which is to advance to the state tournament. The top four placers at the district move on to the Jerome Schottenstein Center in Columbus, where the state tournament begins March 9.

“I was glad he made it,” Chris said of Isom. “That’s pretty cool. I was kind of nervous during his matches. I was happy when he made it, that’s for sure.”

Despite sibling rivalries at home, that’s one thing all four agreed upon.

OTHER QUALIFIERS: Girard advanced seven wrestlers overall. Aside from the DelGarbinos, Dakota McCloskey was runner-up at 120 pounds. Jamil Bannister placed third at 152 pounds. Michael Belcik was third at 160, Zach Hazlett took third at 170 and Jacob Roviscanec finished fourth at 182. Howland had the three aforementioned wrestlers along with 106-pound Isaiah Lyles. Canfield, which placed second as a team, advanced 11 wrestlers. They crowned champions in Anthony D’Alesio (152), Georgio Poullas (160), David Crawford (170), Dominic Cooper (182) and Tyler Stein (195). Taking second were Eric El-Hayek (132) and Mason Giordano (285). McCoy Watkins was fourth at 120, Aidan Burscak took fourth at 126, Tanor English finished fourth at 138 and Anthony Joseph placed third at 145. Hubbard’s Jordan Nadjusak placed second at 106, and the Eagles’ Andrew Christy was fourth at 113.

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