Five area wrestlers will be making the trek up to Ohio State University’s Schottenstein Center next weekend to compete in the 89th Ohio High School Athletic Association’s state tournament.
Teays Valley has three wrestlers competing (Josh Zimmer, Trevor Bridges and Peter Graham), while Westfall (Eli Wright) and Circleville (Kevin Downing) each have one.
The tournament begins at 1 p.m. Friday with Division III matches. Division II, which includes Circleville and Westfall, will begin around 2:20 and Division I, which includes Teays Valley, will begin at approximately 4:45.
Division I
Vikings advance three at district
HILLIARD — Teays Valley has three wrestlers headed to Columbus next weekend to compete in the Division I championships.
Josh Zimmer placed second to earn a return trip and Peter Grahm is headed back after placing fourth. They’ll be joined by Trevor Bridges who earned his spot with a third-place finish. Andrew Liddell also hit the podium Saturday as he placed sixth.
Zimmer (37-5), a senior, won by technical fall in his first match at 126 pounds and then pinned his opponent in the quarterfinals. He moved on to the finals and secured his spot in the state championships with a 3-1 win over New Albany’s Jake Schirck. Zimmer faced off against Dublin Coffman’s Tommy Wurster in the finals where he lost by technical fall to place second.
Bridges (43-7), a junior, won his first two 113-pound matches with a 15-4 major decision and an 8-5 decision before dropping into the consolation bracket after a 10-1 loss in the semifinals. He won his consolation semifinal with an 11-2 major decision and then beat Brian Waller from Marysville 7-5 to finish third.
Graham (36-10) had a third-round pin to advance in the 190-pound weight class and won his quarterfinal 4-1 in sudden victory. In the championship semifinals, he was pinned in the first round which dropped him into the consolation semifinals where he won an 11-0 major decision over Dublin Scioto’s Vince Gamez to advance to the state tournament. In the consolation finals, he finished fourth after losing 4-1 in sudden victory to Mt Vernon’s Luke Mullins.
Liddell (44-11), wrestling at 175, started out by winning by technical fall and then posting an 11-9 decision. He dropped into the consolation bracket after losing his semifinal 4-3. He lost his consolation semifinal in a 9-0 major decision and placed sixth losing a 13-0 major to Dublin Scioto’s Adam Polchow.
Teays Valley junior John Todhunter (35-7) opened his 120-pound tournament losing a 7-6 decision and came back with a 6-4 win in the consolation round only to have his season ended in the second consolation round, losing a 10-3 decision.
Freshman Zach Zimmer (10-7) won a 13-6 decision to open his tournament at 138 pounds before losing a 9-4 decision in the quarterfinals. He then came out on the wrong end of a 10-7 decision in the consolation bracket.
Junior Carson Hix (36-13) lost a major decision in his opening match at 150 pounds. He came back to win a 9-0 major in the first consolation round before wrapping up his weekend in losing a 15-6 major decision in the second consolation round.
Senior Rhett Turner (22-21) lost by technical fall in his opener at 165 pounds and then lost his first consolation match 8-2.
(click here for a few more photos from district competition and last week’s Division II sectionals)
Division II
Mustangs, Tigers each qualify one to state
GALLIPOLIS — Twenty-one area wrestlers went to the Division II district meet at Gallia Academy with hopes of earning a spot in the state tournament, but only two will get a chance to wrestle at Ohio State next weekend.
Westfall sophomore Eli Wright took second at 190 pounds and will move on to the state meet for the second time while Circleville’s Kevin Downing placed fourth at 106 pounds to earn a berth next weekend.
Circleville heavyweight Caihden Morgan placed fifth. Westfall’s 132-pounder Bryson Campfield and 113-pounder Dax Tanner each placed sixth.
Logan Elm had eight wrestlers compete, but none were able to make the podium.
Circleville
Downing (47-5) had a first-round pin and a 13-9 decision to advance at 106 pounds. He lost his semifinal getting pinned late in the first round. He came back to win the consolation semifinal by technical fall (19-3). He finished fourth after being pinned by East Liverpool’s Kyle Ingram.
Junior Caihden Morgan (34-13) opened his tournament at heavyweight with a pair of wins, including a 2-1 decision over Logan Elm’s Conner Green, before losing 4-3 in a tiebreaker in the semifinals. He then lost his consolation semifinal 2-1. He placed fifth by pinning Dylan Sours from West Holmes.
Conner Brokaw (18-13) lost his 113-pound opener and had a bye into the second consolation round where he was pinned in the opening round.
Sophomore Noah Northam (8-16) lost his opener at 126 pounds by technical fall and had his season completed when he was pinned in the first round of consolation matches.
Westfall
Wright (29-8) started out with a 10-1 major decision and moved on to the semifinals by default. He won his semifinal match 8-6 over Philo’s Gibson Swartz. He went up against Miami Trace’s Tyler Stevens in the final with Stevens getting a pin late in the first round.
Tanner (31-10) pinned his first opponent at the 5:23 mark but lost a 7-5 decision in the 113-pound quarterfinals. He advanced in the consolation bracket with an 11-3 major decision and a 9-4 decision before losing his semifinal 5-3. He placed sixth after being pinned by Maysville’s Ziggy Sandobal in the finals.
Campfield (36-8) lost his first match at 132 pounds by a 13-6 decision before fighting his way back through the consolation bracket with a tech fall, a pin and an 11-2 major decision. After losing his consolation semifinal, he forfeited his finals match to Noah Keen from Cambridge to finish sixth.
Sophomore Cooper Tanner (19-11) lost his first 120-pound match with a late first-round pin and was pinned in the second round of his first consolation match to wrap up his season.
Senior Wyatt Ward (17-13) lost his 144-pound opener after being pinned and his consolation match ended with a pin as well.
Senior Ashton Daniels (17-24) was pinned in his first match at 150 pounds and lost his consolation match 14-7.
Senior Eli Daniels (19-21) lost by technical fall in his first match at 157 pounds and was then pinned in the second round of his consolation match.
Sophomore Creeson Humphrey (22-14) got off to a good start in the 165-pound bracket with an opening-round pin but found himself on the wrong end of a first-round pin in the quarterfinals. He lost his first consolation match by pin, as well.
Logan Elm
Freshman Jackson Snyder (18-9) got his tournament off to a good start as he won by technical fall but then dropped into the 120-pound consolation bracket after losing a 6-2 decision. Losing a 6-4 decision in the consolation bracket wrapped up his season.
Senior Ayden Hudson (36-14) lost a 7-6 decision in his first match at 126 pounds and was then pinned in the third round of his first consolation match.
Sophomore Cayden McFarland (19-30) lost both of his 132-pound matches by pin.
Senior Nehemiah Hess (42-11) pinned his first opponent at 144 pounds but dropped into the consolation bracket when he lost a 4-3 decision. Ending up on the wrong end a 5-2 decision in his first consolation match brought his tournament to an end.
Junior David Little (36-13) lost his first match at 150 pounds in a 14-0 major decision then lost his consolation match 5-3 in sudden victory.
Sophomore Bryson Parish (18-14) lost his 165-pound opener by major decision and then lost his consolation match by pin in the third round.
Junior Jeffrey Thompson (31-17) lost his opener at 215, won his first consolation match with a second-round pin and advanced to the consolation quarterfinals by default. He lost the conso quarterfinal by pin in the second round.
Senior Conner Green (20-10) opened his heavyweight tournament with a 10-1 major decision before losing a 2-1 decision to Circleville’s Caihden Morgan in the quarterfinals. Dropping down to the consolation bracket, a 1-0 loss brought his season to an end.
Division III
Aces wrap up season at districts
COSHOCTON — Amanda-Clearcreek took five wrestlers to the Division III district tournament in Coshocton this weekend. Unfortunately for the Aces, none qualified for next weekend’s state meet.
Silas Hoffman was the top finisher for AC, placing fifth at 175.
Hoffman (45-8) opened his tournament with a 5-4 decision before dropping into the consolation bracket in losing a 5-3 decision. Hoffman battled back with an 8-3 decision and a pin to get to the consolation semis. He lost his semifinal match, and a berth in the state tournament, on a 6-2 decision but finished strong in beating Toronto’s Drake Bouscher with a 16-2 major decision to place fifth.
Sophomore Jaston Spires (29-16) lost his opener by technical fall but came back to win his first 138-pound consolation match with a pin in 1:35 before dropping a 10-5 decision in the second consolation round.
Freshman Fred Lown (18-20) was pinned at the end of the opening round as he competed at 144 pounds and then advanced with a pin in the consolation bracket only to drop an 11-7 decision in the second conso round.
Sophomore Max Miller (31-16) lost his 150-pound opener by a second-round pin and then had his season completed when he lost by technical fall in the first consolation round.
Junior heavyweight Levi Foster (19-18) lost his opener by technical fall and then was pinned in the third round of his first consolation match to complete his season.
Division I team scores from Hilliard Bradley: Dub. Coffman 263.5; 2. Olen. Liberty 153.5; 3. Olen. Berlin 126.0; 4. Marysville 114.5; 5. Upper Arlington 84.0; 6. Hil. Darby 75.5; Olentangy 75.5; 8. Mount Vernon 66.5; 9. Teays Valley 66.0; 10. Del. Hayes 62.0; 11. Dub. Jerome 53.5; 12. Watkins Memorial 44.5; 13. New Albany 41.5; 14. Wester. Central 41.0; 15. Hil. Bradley 40.5; 16. Whitehall-Yearling 36.5; 17. Big Walnut 36.0; 18. Dub. Scioto 33.5; 19. Hamilton Township 30.5; Marion Harding 30.5; 21. Thom. Worthington 29.5; 22. Wester. North 28.5; 23. Wor. Kilbourne 28.0; 24. Pick. Central 22.0; 25. Hil. Davidson 21.0; Westland 21.0; 27. Central Crossing 15.0; 28. Wester. South 14.5; 29. Olen. Orange 11.5; 30. Grove City 11.0; 31. Canal Winchester 7.0; Gah. Lincoln 7.0; Pick. North 7.0; 34. Logan 6.0; 35. Lancaster 5.0; 36. Licking Hts. 4.0; 37. Groveport Madison 2.0; 38. Walnut Ridge 1.0; 39. Col. West 0.0; Franklin Hts. 0.0; Newark 0.0; Northland 0.0; Reynoldsburg 0.0; Whetstone 0.0.
Division II Team scores from Gallia Academy: New Lexington 151.0; 2. Beaver 129.5; 3. Claymont 125.0; 4. Steubenville 115.5; 5. West Holmes 104.5; 6. Indian Valley 104.0; 7. Chillicothe 90.5; 8. Carrollton 82.5; 9. Sheridan 81.5; 10. Minerva 69.0; 11. Miami Trace 68.5; 12. Cambridge 61.0; 13. Maysville 56.0; 14. East Liverpool 54.5; 15. Westfall 52.5; 16. Tri-Valley 49.0; 17. John Glenn 45.0; WCH Washington 45.0; Warren 45.0; 20. Gallia Academy 41.0; 21. Circleville 28.5; 22. Indian Creek 20.0; 23. Rich. Edison 19.0; 24. Jackson 18.0; Philo 18.0; 26. Logan Elm 15.5; 27. Zanesville 15.0; 28. Athens 14.0; 29. McClain 9.0; 30. Fairfield Union 7.0; Marietta 7.0; St. Clairsville 7.0; 33. Vinton County 5.5; 34. Unioto 4.0; 35. Morgan 2.0; 36. Hillsboro 0.0; Waverly 0.0.
Division III team scores from Coshocton: Barnesville 188.5; 2. Garaway 176.0; 3. Union Local 135.5; 4. Bid. River Valley 107.5; 5. Martins Ferry 101.5; 6. Nelsonville-York 96.5; 7. Huntington 78.5; 8. Mechanicsburg 77.0; 9. Elgin 70.0; 10. Adena 62.5; 11. Northmor 59.0; 12. Newcomerstown 54.5; 13. Buckeye Local 52.5; 14. Sandy Valley 52.0; 15. Toronto 43.0; 16. Alexander 42.0; 17. Utica 37.5; 18. Bridgeport 37.0; 19. John. Northridge 36.0; 20. Pleasant 32.0; 21. Waterford 26.5; 22. Ironton 26.0; Symmes Valley 26.0; 24. Caldwell 25.5; 25. Ridgewood 23.0; 26. Shenandoah 22.0; 27. Chesapeake 20.0; 28. Amanda-Clearcreek 18.0; 29. Fairless 15.5; 30. Meadowbrook 15.0; 31. Shadyside 12.5; 32. Madison-Plains 11.5; 33. Meigs 11.0; 34. Del. Christian 7.0; Reed. Eastern 7.0; 36. Paint Valley 5.0; 37. Bellaire 4.0; Malvern 4.0; River 4.0; 40. Coshocton 3.0; Manchester 3.0; Newark Cath. 3.0; Ridgedale 3.0; 44. Centerburg 1.0; 45. Crooksville 0.0; Fairland 0.0; Fort Frye 0.0; Harrison Central 0.0; Monroe Central 0.0; Steub. Cath. Cent. 0.0; Tuscar. Valley 0.0; Wellston 0.0; West Muskingum 0.0; West Union 0.0; Zane Trace 0.0; 56. River View -2.0