Medina matmen to host tourney in memory of coach’s dad

By Mike Wertman, Sports Writer Posted 20 January 2014 at 12:00 am

Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Ryan Kruger and his Mustang teammates will host the first annual Gary Gross Memorial Medina Wrestling Tournament this coming Saturday.

He was always there, supporting his two sons, enjoying watching the competition and visiting with other fans and often working in the concession stand.

That support by Gary Gross and his wife Barbara has truly made wrestling a life long family affair for Medina High coach Eric Gross and his brother Craig, who coaches the Hilton High varsity squad, from their youth wrestling days, through high school and collegiate competition and into their coaching careers.

“They were always very supportive of my brother and I when we wrestled and now they’ve followed our teams,” said Eric. “For a long time they ran the concession stand at our Medina matches. They were always excited for us and they always supported us.”

This past fall Gary passed away after a lengthy illness but his many years of support for his sons and the Medina wrestling program will be honored with the holding of the inaugural Gary Gross Memorial Medina Tournament this coming Saturday.

“We’re really looking forward to it,” said Eric who noted that it is hoped that next year his brother Craig’s Hilton team will be able to be in the tourney.

For the inaugural event, Medina will be joined in the six team field by Holley, Wilson, Maryvale, Williamsville East and St. Francis with competition getting under way at 9 a.m.

The tournament’s schedule is as follows:

Round 1 ( 9 a.m.) – Maryvale vs. Holley, Medina vs. Wilson, St. Francis vs. Williamsville East

Round 2 (10:30 a.m.) – Medina vs. St. Francis, Wilson vs. Holley, Maryvale vs. Williamsville East

Round 3 (12 p.m.) – Wilson vs. St. Francis, Maryvale vs. Medina, Holley vs. Williamsville East

Round 4 (1:30 p.m.) – St. Francis vs. Holley, Williamsville East vs. Medina, Wilson vs. Maryvale

Round 5 (3 p.m.) – Holley vs. Medina, Williamsville East vs. Wilson, St. Francis vs. Maryvale.