By JOHN HOWLEY / sportingpumpkin.com
Westfall’s Starr Kelly claimed a district wrestling championship this weekend while five Teays Valley grapplers are still in the hunt for a berth in next weekend’s state championships.
Division I
HILLIARD — Teays Valley’s Gunner Havens didn’t take much time to advance to the semifinals as the 106-pounder needed a total of 94 seconds to beat his first two opponents Saturday.
The sophomore will face Westland’s Tyler Jude Sunday morning with a shot at a Division I district title on the line.
At 182 pounds, Camden McDanel has advanced to the semifinals with a pair of pins (1:03 and 3:17). The sophomore will face Olentangy Orange senior Dylan Dempsey in the semifinals Sunday afternoon.
TV’s 220-pounder Liam Wilson advanced to the semifinals in 71 seconds as he opened with a 31-second pin and followed that up pinning his second-round opponent in 40 seconds. He’ll face Groveport-Madison senior Jake Nelson on Sunday.
At 138 pounds, junior Zander Graham remains alive. After winning his opening match by technical fall, he lost a major decision to drop into the consolation bracket. He bounced back with another win by technical fall and then scored a major decision.
TV heavyweight Joey Thurston remains active in the tournament. He opened his day with a first-round pin before dropping a 5-3 decision. Thurston bounced back with a pin in 1:45 in the consolation round to keep his tournament going.
At 120 pounds, TV’s Kadin Walls opened the tournament with a first-round pin before losing a 6-2 decision in the second round and then losing his consolation match in a second-round pin.
At 132 pounds, TV freshman Owen Robinette had his season come to an end getting pinned in the third round of his opening match and his consolation match.
At 138 pounds, TV senior Carson Weiss lost his opening match by pin and then dropped a 9-6 match in the consolations.
At 195 pounds, Jacob Robinette lost his opening match 8-5 and then bounced back with a 15-2 major decision in the consolation round only to lose by pin in the next round.
Division III
COSHOCTON — Starr Kelly improved to 29-2 on the season as he claimed a Division III district championship at 195 pounds.
The Westfall senior earned a return to the state tournament by opening the tournament with a pin of his opponent in 3:02. He advanced with a 3-2 decision and a 3-1 decision before beating Sandy Valley senior Cameron Blair 6-4 in the championship match.
Westfall sophomore Antony Hoty (106 pounds) opened the tournament advancing by technical fall before losing in the second round. He won three of his next four matches to take fifth.
Amanda-Clearcreek’s Luke Herron (138 pounds) started his tournament advancing with a first-round pin before dropping into the consolation bracket after getting pinned in the second round. Herron picked up two wins in the consolation bracket before finishing in sixth place.
AC freshman Jacob Durr (106 pounds) opened with a win before dropping into the consolation bracket. He picked up another win by technical fall before having his season ended on the wrong end of a major decision.
AC junior Grant Guiler (152 pounds) lost 8-1 in his first match before bouncing back with a 5-0 decision and a pin in 4:07 before his season was ended.
Kaleb Steinmetz (195 pounds) won his first match for the Aces with a pin in 2:19. He lost 11-9 in a tiebreaker before falling in the consolation bracket.
At 138 pounds, Westfall’s Rex Brown lost his opening match by pin, won his first consolation match by pin and then fell by pin in the next round.
At 152 pounds, Westfall’s Bryce Wickline opened with a win before losing to the eventual champion Brian Palmer of Buckeye Local. He then lost his consolation match to AC’s Guiler.
Westfall’s Wyatt Cooper lost his first match at 170 pounds in a major decision, pinned his first consolation opponent in 47 seconds but then dropped a major decision.
At 182 pounds, Westfall’s Glenn Keeton lost a 3-1 decision to open the tournament but won his first consolation match by pin before losing in the next round by pin.
Westfall’s Christian Furniss (113 pounds) and Thomas Martin (160) both had their district tournament limited to two matches.
Propelled by Kelly’s win, the Mustangs finished ninth with 50.5 team points. Amanda-Clearcreek was was 25th with 24.5. Barnesville was the team champ with 175 points.
Division II
GALLIA — The Division II district tournament at Gallia Academy concluded Saturday without any of the area participants able to qualify to the state tournament.
Logan Elm’s lone wrestler had the top showing of the weekend. The senior lost his opening match at 120 pounds to the eventual runner-up Isaac Meese of Indian Valley by pin before battling back in the consolation bracket winning four of his five matches to take fifth.
At 113 pounds, Circleville’s Jacob Johnson opened the tournament with a first-round pin before getting pinned himself in the second round of his next match. He then fell by pin in his next consolation match.
Circleville’s four other district qualifiers — freshman Landen Zarbaugh (106 pounds), freshman Hayden Liff (120), freshman Braylon Morgan (160) and senior Isaac Evans (195) — each dropped their opening-round matches and then lost in the first round of the consolation bracket.
Lisbon Beaver won the team title with 150 points. Logan Elm was 28th with 14 points and Circleville was 34th with four team points.