Wallace's influential PC career ends as runner-up

COLUMBUS — Heartbreak. Cadence Wallace controlled her state championship match for 5 minutes and 40 seconds. The most influential girls wrestler in Port Clinton was moments from glory. And then the undefeated Cassia Zammit of Miamisburg pulled off an incredible rally to force overtime before getting the decisive takedown in the extra period. "That's how wrestling is," Port Clinton girls coach Kevin Scarpino said. "You never know." The final score was Zammitt 8, Wallace 6 in the 130-pound girls final Sunday night at the Schott. It ended a 42-3 senior season for Wallace. "I know we took the wrong end of that one, but that's wrestling, unfortunately," Scarpino said. "You're up 6-1 and then the next thing you know, you lose 6-8 in overtime." Wallace fell in love with wrestling as a fourth-grader. At the time, there was only one choice: Wrestle against the boys. But just in time for her upperclass years, girls wrestling took hold statewide. As a junior, Wallace placed fourth at 130 in the final coaches association state tournament, held at Hilliard Davidson High School. And as a senior, she was part of the inaugural girls wrestling tournament at Ohio State's Schottenstein Center, finally sanctioned by the OHSAA. Wallace was the driving force behind the formation of PC's girls wrestling team, recruiting heavily ahead of her junior year to get herself some teammates to join her on the long bus rides to the still-emerging girls tournaments. Five of the Redskins were regional placers this winter, with Mya Reeves and Serena Lewis both joining Wallace at state. "It's gonna be the legacy of the girl that started the program," Scarpino said. It looked like Wallace would get her crowning moment. She got a late takedown in the first period for a 2-0 lead, then opened up a 6-3 advantage after two. "(Wallace) controlled the tempo for the most part," Scarpino said. "She kept her on the ground… She got out when she was supposed to and kept defending the throws and everything. She just kept getting out of situations we didn't want her in." Wallace began the third on top and held Zammit on the bottom for about 90 seconds. But the soon-to-be 16-0 senior escaped, then attacked. Zammit recorded her own takedown with only seconds to spare, then got another in overtime to walk-off as a state champ. "Cassia did what she's good at," Scarpino said. "We got caught in it… I thought we had a good chance in overtime. We were working something, and Cassia is just good at what she does. I was kind of arguing the 2, because I don't know where she had control, but that was their call and that's what they went with." The sting of Wallace's final high school match won't easily dissipate. But she'll be remembered much longer in Port Clinton for what she started and what she accomplished along the way. "We built the program around her," Scarpino said.