COLUMBUS — The first day of the Division II state wrestling championships saw Gavin Hoover advance in the top of the bracket with Dawsen Hudson and Eli Wright advancing in the consolation bracket.
Conner Green concluded his season with a pair of losses Friday.
Hoover (52-2), a Logan Elm senior, opened with a 9-0 major decision against Luke Stanley (47-8) from Marlington at 132 pounds.
“Pretty much from the start, I knew I had him when I got a pretty easy takedown and rode him out for the rest of the first period,” Hoover said. “I was just keeping the pressure heavy and going.”
Looking to improve on last year’s eighth-place finish, Hoover said being able to get that win in the opener helped him “get the jitters out.”
“You come and you’re ready to wrestle but you won’t know how you feel really until you get on the mat,” he said.
“He went after the kid and worked him the whole time,” LE coach Jake Daniels said. “The score was probably closer than what the match really was.
“But overall, for someone who wants to be at the top of the podium that’s how you’ve got to come out and set the tone for the tournament.”
Hoover will face off with Thomas Lindsey (16-2) from Bishop Watterson Saturday morning. Lindsey advanced with a first-round pin.
Hoover wasn’t planning on spending a lot of time Friday afternoon stressing about the next match.
“I’m just going to go home, get a nice dinner and go to bed,” he said.
Hudson, a senior at Logan Elm, lost a 5-3 overtime match to Gavin Genovese (41-7) from Woodridge in his opener at 113 pounds.
He came back in the first consolation round to beat Heath Norris from Clyde 7-1.
“I felt I was being very heavy with the pressure, taking a lot of shots,” Hudson said of his consolation match. “We kept doing that, same plan we were going with. I just counterattacked as soon as he took his shot and got my takedown.”
“He was right there and had a chance to win it and it got away from him at the end,” Daniels said of the match with Genovese. “I’m proud that he came back that second match and got after that kid. He’s stayed alive and is giving himself a chance to get on the podium tomorrow with his next match.”
Hudson (47-4) will have to wait for Saturday’s championship quarterfinals to see who his next opponent will be.
Wright, a freshman at Westfall, is in the same situation waiting to see who he will go up against next in the 175-pound weight class.
Wright (35-10) faced St. Francis DeSales’ Andrew Barford (35-6), who finished third last year, in his first match and was pinned late in the opening round.
He came back in the consolation round to pin Maumee senior Jayden Gordon (43-11) as the second period came to a close.
“It’s the kind of wrestler Eli is, the more you upset him the better he does. The kid was beating him, beating him and then finally Eli said that’s enough. He turned him and pinned him,” Westfall coach Will Breyer said.
With Wright being a freshman, getting a win at the state tournament was a big accomplishment.
“He wanted to win one match and get to that. If he wins one more, he places and if he loses, he’s top 12. He gave himself a fighting chance,” Breyer said. “That means the world to him, because now he knows he belongs here.”
Green, Logan Elm’s heavyweight, had his junior season come to a close Friday.
He lost by technical fall (15-0) in his opener to Chaminade-Julienne’s Jeffery Blair (37-5), who placed seventh last year.
Green battled Defiance junior Alex Hinojosa (46-13) in the consolation round and lost a 4-1 decision.
“It’s been a tough season for Conner. He’s been working his way through,” Daniels said. “I’m proud of him for wrestling tough last week and getting out, then coming here and wrestling these two matches tight.”
Green wraps up the season with a 39-12 record.
The Division II championship quarterfinals will begin at approximately 10:10 a.m. with the second round of consolation matches starting at approximately 11:30.
Click here for complete results from the Division II tournament.
