The Highland wrestling team placed second in the Division II sectional meet hosted by Licking Valley High School over the weekend, compiling 184 points and sending seven athletes to this week’s district competition hosted by Wilmington High School.
The Scots, who only finished behind Columbus DeSales in the 21-team event, were paced by senior Cody Matthews, who finished second at 157 pounds. He won by pins in his first two matches before topping Josh Taylor of Hebron Lakewood by an 8-0 major decision. In the finals, he lost 12-4 to Antwaun Burns of London.
Brendan Lester was the first Highland wrestler to claim third place. After splitting a pair of matches in the championship bracket at 113 pounds, he picked up a pair of decisions in the consolation bracket to advance to districts.
At 132 pounds, Caleb Wetzel’s tournament went much the same way. He split his first matches, but recovered in the consolation bracket to earn a pair of pins and claim third place.
Also finishing third was Kaden Miller at 138 pounds. He won his first two matches before losing in the semifinals. In the consolation bracket, he claimed wins by pin and decision to finish the tournament 4-1.
Remington Baker took fourth at 150. He split a pair of matches in the championship bracket before winning three in a row to advance to the third-place match before falling in that bout.
At 165, Eli Grandstaff battled back through the consolation bracket after losing his first match. He bounced back from that defeat to win four in a row before dropping a decision in the third-place match to finish fourth.
After splitting his first two matches, Chandler Stevens came in fourth at 175 pounds. He won his next three matches by pin before losing via decision in the third-place contest.
Konner Blaney was the district alternate at 106 pounds. He won his first two matches before losing two in a row. However, he rebounded to win by a 17-7 count in the fifth-place match. Ethan Taylor went 3-2 at 215 pounds, including a pin at the 2:34 mark in his final match, to also take fifth place. Also finishing as a district alternate was 285-pounder Landon Pedigo. He went 3-2 over the two-day tournament, winning by 5-1 decision to finish fifth.
Also, Jacob Garber went 2-2 at 126 pounds and Matthew Scarbury won once at 144.
Division III sectional at Ridgedale
Both Northmor and Mount Gilead advanced a pair of wrestlers to this weekend’s district meet at Heath.
Competing in the Division III sectional hosted by Ridgedale, Northmor finished 11th out of 22 teams, while the Indians were 14th. Cardington took 22nd in the Saturday competition.
Northmor was led by a pair of sectional champions. Cowin Becker claimed first place at 113 pounds with a dominating performance. He won his first three matches by pin, with none of them lasting more than 45 seconds. In the finals, he took on top-seeded Trace Williams of North Union and cruised to a 16-1 technical fall.
Niko Christo also won his weight class. Competing at 157 pounds, he earned a pair of quick pins before topping Pleasant’s Brandon Mulvaine by 10-0 major decision and Brendan Sheehan of Newark Catholic by a 6-0 count to take first.
Dylan Amens claimed sixth place at 150 pounds. After losing his first match, he won three in a row before losing in the go-to-district bout and then defaulting in the fifth-place contest.
Bryce Cooper earned one win at 132 pounds, as did Trenton Ramos at 144 and Nick Armrose at 175.
Also, Cohan Hurst (106), Tristan Hammond (120), Cam Goldbach (165) and Bohdi Workman (190) competed in the meet.
Mount Gilead got a third-place finish from Ashton Clark. Wrestling at 175 pounds, he claim a pair of wins via pinfall before falling in the semifinals. However, the freshman would bounce back to win his final two matches, including getting a pinfall in the consolation finals.
At 285 pounds, Isaiah Fisher claimed fourth place to also advance to districts. After winning his first match and losing his second, he picked up a win in the go-to-district bout before being edged 2-1 to wind up in fourth.
At 190 pounds, Garrett George went 2-2 to place fifth. He won by default in the fifth-place match.
Gabe Simpson won a pair of matches for the Indians at 144. Also competing were John Miller at 157 and Nick Garvey at 215.
Competing for the Pirates were Lane Hughes at 132, Ethan Bentley at 138, Matthew Jobe at 144, Austin Valis at 150, Dillen Darst at 175, Camron Tribunella at 215 and Kaden Burton at 285.
