COLUMBUS — Amanda-Clearcreek’s Bodie Martin kept his title hopes alive Saturday morning as he advanced to the championship semifinals in Division III at the state wrestling championships.
Martin (44-0), wrestling at 150 pounds, needed extra time to get past Port Clinton junior Gavin Cornell, though the match ended in a forfeit.
After a scoreless first period, Cornell (41-9) scored a pair of takedowns while Martin had three escapes to make it 6-3 after two rounds.
Midway through the third round, Martin scored a takedown of his own to tie the match at 6-6 and that’s how the score stood at the end of regulation.
The score remained at 6-6 through sudden death and the first tiebreaker rounds. At the end of the first tiebreaker, Cornell aggravated a knee injury. They started the second tiebreaker with Martin getting an escape point but, after a few seconds, Cornell forfeited the match. (He did come back to wrestle in the consolations losing 5-4.)
“He was tough to score on and his counterattacks were really good,” Martin said. “Every time I’d shoot on a shot and not get it, it made me come this much out of position and he’d just fire right in.”
That’s where some strong defense paid off.
“We’ve been working on it all year, me and coach in practice, just scrambling, getting out of positions, never giving up on positions, not giving up points, being stingy in every position and just not giving up those points,” Martin said.
“I knew that the match wasn’t over because Bodie is a good scorer. You never want to be behind, but we don’t ever feel like we’re out of it because he can score points pretty quick,” AC coach Curtis Martin said. “It’s just about fighting and never giving up.
“We were down 6-3 going into that third period and we got that takedown when he really needed it. Just fighting and never giving up — Bodie’s focus just showed up right there.”
Martin returns to the mats when wrestling resumes at 5:30 Saturday afternoon.
Next up is South Range junior Tyson Seesholtz (33-2). Seesholtz won his first two matches 11-3 and 7-4.
The winner of that match will wrestle for the state title Sunday afternoon.
“I’ve worked for it all year,” Martin said. “I’ve envisioned myself in this spot all year long.
“I’ve just got to go get it done now.”
Click here for complete results from the Division III tournament.