CINCINNATI- The 2010 Junior Olympics Ohio state boxing tournament finished Sunday with two Zanesville athletes winning gold medals.
Travis Jerig defeated Dominique Jones of Lima in his intermediate division 125-pound final.Jerig took command early and continued cinching up the power scoring two standing eight counts before the referee was forced to stop it in the third round for the state championship by technical knockout.
PAL Zanesville’s head coach T. J. Hartmeyer reported that Jerig had probably his best effort in his four plus years and almost sixty fight amateur record in the tournament.“Travis used more skills, more speed and more power than I have ever seen him put into one fight for this.His dedication and hard work in training and at school are among the best I’ve ever seen,” he said.
Dylan Eitnier was unopposed at 154-pounds in the senior division earning him the state championship gold.Eitnier was disappointed in the withdrawal of opponents in his division but pleased with the prospect of representing Ohio at upcoming regional competition.
Zanesville’s only other senior division boxer Michael Roark was heavily contested at 165 pounds.He defeated Fremont’s Edward Chavez in the semifinals 5-0 and met Dante Witcher of Toledo in his final.Roark took an early lead over Witcher only to get hung up in the ropes several times in the third ending on the wrong end of a split decision.The effort earned him the silver medal.
The rest of Zanesville’s team that finished with silver were Zakery Rollins at 106 pounds, Jacob Harper at 119 pounds, Akeem Mayle at 101 pounds and Jeshua Luckett at 101 pounds.Bronze medals were won by Chris Hasten at 90 pounds and Marques McPeck at 132 pounds.
The Great Lakes Regional Junior Olympic Tournament will be at Steger, Illinois (outside Chicago) beginning on May 29.Travis Jerig and Dylan Eitnier will represent Ohio in their respective divisions along with Michael Roark and Zakery Rollins as alternates.Roark will move up to the 176-pound division for the event while Rollins will stay at 106 pounds if the gold medalist- Alex Barrientos of Defiance is unable to compete.
