ASHVILLE — Coming off his third trip to the state tournament and more than 130 career wins, Josh Zimmer has been named the 2026 winner of the Jon Pharr Memorial trophy as Pickaway County’s top wrestler.
“My coaches have helped me in every aspect on and off the mat,” Zimmer said. “They’ve made me into the person and wrestler I am today. They’ve been with me through the hard times, and they’ve led to my success.”
The Teays Valley senior finished off his career with a 133-31 record along with four league titles — team and individual. He was a Division I district qualifier his freshman year before earning three straight trips to the state tournament.
“That was awesome. We’ve put a lot of work in the wrestling room, and I know our hard work pays off,” Zimmer said of going out with another league title for him and his teammates. “They’re good teammates —we’re always there for each other.
“Senior year, it was a little emotional. This is my last time here at Teays. So, I’m glad I was able to do it one more time with these coaches and my teammates.”
Zimmer wrested in the 126-pound weight class as a senior and finished with a career-high 38 wins to go with only seven losses. He wrestled at 120 pounds his first three seasons and never had fewer than 30 wins in a season.
“We’ve known Josh for a long, long time from when he came in our little youth program,” coach Todd Nace said. “I didn’t know who he was, I could just tell wrestlers.”
When he first started coming to youth wrestling, Nace said Zimmer was aways wearing a Captain America t-shirt. When Nace asked the youth coaches what his name was, they said they just called him Captain.
“And Josh has lived up to that nickname since he was seven years old. On the mat, off the mat, academic all-state,” Nace said. “In the classroom, he’s done a great job. He’s on our athletic leadership council. He shows that in the (wrestling) room.
“He’s the first one warming up. He’s the last one to break them out. He just encourages all the kids. And that’s just Josh.”
Zimmer’s hard work over the years has led to him to two Teays Valley wresting records.
“Two is pretty special,” Zimmer said. “Not everybody gets a record. If you want a record, you can go chase it — you’ve just got to put the work in and go after it.”
Zimmer set school records with 51 wins by technical fall and 515 takedowns.
Nace said Zimmer’s hard work and willingness to be coached has been key to his success.
“You get good and then good wrestlers want to get coached. We have some of the best staff in Central Ohio, maybe even in the state,” he said. “We’ve got lots of people in here, and prior to that, when he had older kids in here, like Gunner Havens who was a four-time qualifier, those are the kids and the people that he gravitates to.
“He’s gone outside of our room and tried to find some of the better people in Ohio to work with. That’s what a leader does. And that’s what a person that wants to get better does.”
Zimmer has shared that work ethic and been a good role model for a large junior class and the other younger wrestlers on the Vikings’ squad.
“Those kids have been around him and working with him. And so that’s going to carry on,” Nace said. “He’s passing that hard work off to them. And they’re going to pick that up. I think our seniors leave a legacy of hard work, and how to drill, and how to work, and how to wrestle hard.”
Zimmer’s leadership goes beyond the wrestling mat.
“He’s not just a leader on our team, but he’s a leader in the building. And people know that,” Nace said.
If everything works out the way he’d like, Zimmer will be studying aviation and continuing to wrestle at Gannon University, a Division II school in Erie, Penn., working toward becoming a commercial pilot.
“Hopefully, I’ll have my private before I go to college, get my instrument training and get up in the sky,” Zimmer said.
“I think my coaches have prepared me for the next level,” he said. “They’ve pushed me, so I know what I’m going into, and it’s just sticking with it, staying true to what I do.”
Nace said his wrestling background will be beneficial as he moves forward.
“Not everything’s going to go your way in that plane. And you’ve got to figure it out,” Nace said. “And that’s what wrestling’s about, too. So, I think both of those coincide well together.”
Jon Pharr was a 1964 graduate of Circleville High School who lettered in four sports. He stayed active in sports after graduation, including assisting with athletics programs at CHS, teaching wrestling to students at the YMCA and became a respected official for football and wrestling. Pharr passed away in 1982 from injuries sustained in an automobile accident.
Peter Jonathan Pharr Memorial Award Winners
1983 — Braden Adkinson, Teays Valley
1984 — Braden Adkinson, Teays Valley
1985 — Jeff Moats, Circleville
1986 — Paul Dickey, Logan Elm
1987 — Jerry Harper, Logan Elm
1988 — Mansil Hurlbut, Circleville
1989 — Roger Fitzpatrick, Teays Valley
1990 — Russell Fitzpatrick, Teays Valley
1991 — Tim Lunsford, Circleville
1992 — Nate Greuzke, Logan Elm
1993 — Scott Williams, Teays Valley
1994 — Dustin Arledge, Logan Elm
1995 — J.P. Felty, Teays Valley
1996 — Tracy Miller, Teays Valley
1997 — Tim Geiger, Westfall
1998 — Tim Geiger, Westfall
1999 — Bob Thurston, Teays Valley
2000 — Danny Roberts, Westfall
2001 — Brad Kassner, Circleville
2002 — Tyler Jenkins, Logan Elm
2003 — Ben Carver, Westfall
2004 — Brian Haines, Teays Valley
2005 — David Jones, Westfall
2006 — Russell McFadden, Circleville
2007 — Daniel Gifford, Logan Elm
2008 — Zac Conn, Teays Valley
2009 — Shane Gifford, Logan Elm
2010 — Tyler Luft, Teays Valley
2011 — Travis Luft, Teays Valley
2012 — Brocky Leidecker, Teays Valley
2013 — Luke Nace, Teays Valley
2014 — Dominic Vagnier, Logan Elm
2015 — Nate Keaton, Circleville
2016 — Nate Keaton, Circleville
2017 — Nate Keaton, Circleville
2018 — Nate Keaton, Circleville
2019 — Bowen McConahay, Logan Elm
2020 — Chanston Moll, Westfall
2021 — Camden McDanel, Teays Valley
2022 — Camden McDanel, Teays Valley
2023 — Camden McDanel, Teays Valley
2024 — Gage Bolt, Westfall
2025 — Gavin Hoover, Logan Elm
2026 — Josh Zimmer, TeaysValley