The Northmor boys’ wrestling team finished fifth with 83 points over the weekend at the Division III district meet hosted by Harrison Central High School.
The Golden Knights also advanced three wrestlers to the state meet, as well as one state alternate.
Cowin Becker earned a district title at 120 pounds. After winning his first two matches by pin in the first period, he took a 9-1 major decision over Dylan Ward of Martins Ferry in the semifinals and then defeated Trace Williams of North Union by a 4-2 decision.
Becker, who has a 42-4 record, will take on Drew Matthews of Liberty Center (32-16) in his opening-round match at state.
At 138 pounds, Carson Campbell placed second. Campbell (41-6) won three straight matches by pin to make it to the finals. However, he would drop an 11-0 major decision to Skyler King of Barnesville in the championship match.
Now, he will take on Leon Harrison of Cleveland Central Catholic (40-10) in his first-round match at the state meet.
Brady Carr moved on to state with a fourth-place finish at 106 pounds. Carr (28-17) won by major decision and pin in his first two bouts, before falling by pin in the semifinals. He bounced back to pin Gabe Rhodes of West Jefferson in his go-to-state match and then fell by decision in the battle for third place.
His first state competition will come against Parker Pikor (41-6) of Mentor Lake Catholic.
Austin Amens placed fifth at 113 pounds to be a state alternate. Amens won by pin and major decision in his first two matches, but then suffered two straight defeats to fall to the fifth place match. There, he defeated Grant Vasey of Bellaire by a 7-3 count.
Three other Northmor wrestlers took part in the meet. Ashton Clark won one match at 175 pounds, while Thomas Keen wrestled at 126 and Bryce Cooper competed at 144 pounds.
Cardington had one wrestler compete in the district meet. Wyatt Denney went 1-2 at 165 pounds.
Division II district meet
The Highland wrestling team advanced three athletes to the state meet and placed eighth at the Norwalk district with 78 points. The Scots had eight wrestlers compete in the meet.
Cael Gilmore (45-6) took second place at 138 pounds to lead the Scots. He won his first three bouts — two by major decision and a 10-8 overtime victory over Mason Turnbaugh of Ontario — to advance to the finals. In a rematch of his sectional finals defeat against David McClelland of Columbus DeSales, he fell by pin in the third period.
Gilmore will face Braden Dunlap of Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary (21-18) in his first match in the state meet.
Konner Blaney picked up third place for Highland at 106 pounds. He won his first two matches by pin, before losing via fall in the semifinals. In his go-to-state bout, he won 4-0 over Cohen Lewis of Bowling Green and then claimed a quick pin over Aiden McMahan of Licking Valley to get third.
Blaney (38-13) will open the state meet by facing Owen Nelson (27-12) of Cuyahoga Falls CVCA in the first round.
Also taking third place was Caleb Wetzel. Wrestling at 132 pounds, he won his first two matches, before losing in the semifinals. With a trip to the state meet on the line, he would top Owen Rogers of River Valley by a 9-7 count in overtime. He then took third thanks to claiming a 3-1 win over Caleb Clary of Upper Sandusky.
Wetzel’s (45-6) first state match will be against Hunter McCluggage (29-21) of Millersburg West Holmes.
Landon Pedigo took sixth place at 285 pounds. After winning his first two matches by pin, he suffered three straight defeats via decision to fall to sixth.
Brendan Lester won once at 113 pounds, as did Matthew Scarbury at 144, Remington Baker at 150 and Chandler Stevens at 190.
Girls’ regional at Olentangy Orange
Three Morrow County wrestlers — two from Highland and one from Cardington — advanced to the state meet on Sunday. This is the first year that the OHSAA is recognizing girls’ wrestling as a sanctioned sport. Their state meet will take place in Columbus this weekend along with the boys’ meet at The Ohio State University’s Schottenstein Center.
Highland had two wrestlers place second in their weight classes to make it to state.
At 190 pounds, Emma Bolton won two matches by fall before losing by pin in the championship bout against Talia Mitchell of Olentangy Orange. In her first round state match, Bolton (17-9) will take on Elesia Guerra of Lebanon (20-17).
Competing at 235 pounds, Madalynn Morrison (4-10) fell in her only match, but was able to advance to the state meet. She will open the state meet against Kristine Hockenberry (9-3) of Metamora Evergreen.
At 130 pounds, Brianna Tuggle won a pair of matches. Caitlyn Thieret (145) won once, while both Cameron Hilton (120) and Iliana Hartley (125) also competed in the meet.
For Cardington, Camron Sherman finished fourth at 170 pounds. She went 4-2 in the meet, obtaining all four of her wins by pin. Sherman (9-6) will go against Kate Simmons (33-5) of Findlay in her opening bout in the state meet.
Rob Hamilton can be reached at 419-946-3010, ext. 1807. Connect with him on Twitter at @SportsMCS
