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Wrestling results GOSHEN — Tears were shed, dreams were realized and the culmination of an entire season was witnessed here at the Division II district wrestling tournament Sunday in Goshen. In the thick of the action was Indian Lake and Benjamin Logan as each squad had heart-wrenching matches. In the end, both teams sent two wrestlers to the state tournament this weekend in Columbus. The top four in each weight class qualify to state. Indian Lake seniors Dane Cope (160) and Thomas Taylor (215) and Ben Logan senior Hunter Pool (152) and junior Alex Jackson (285) all qualified to the state meet. Graham easily won the district title with 365.5 points, while Miami Trace was second (106.5). Sheridan finished third (81) and Greenville took fourth (71.5). The Lakers placed seventh (57) and the Raiders were ninth (52). The Falcons sent 13 of their 14 wrestlers to state and won 11 weight classes. As tough as the district tournament was this season, Indian Lake head coach Bill Fulton and Ben Logan head coach Tony Grant were satisfied with the final outcome. “I’m happy with the guys we got out,” said Fulton. “But I also wish we could have gotten those close matches and sent a few more. There was a point where I wondered if we would have any guys get out, but they stepped up and came through for us.” “We had three guys and ended up with three placers,” said Grant. “We only had five losses all weekend and the guys wrestled well.” Every wrestler’s state berth has its own story beginning with the Lakers’ Dane Cope. A year ago, Cope (160) lost his go-to-state bout in overtime. But on Sunday he dominated when it counted. He first edged Jed Paterson of Vinton County 8-6 and then beat Andrew Nealan of New Richmond 14- 12 in overtime. Cope fell to state alternate Brent Sexton of Franklin 2-0 in the semifinals. With one final chance for a state berth, Cope handled Brad Wolford of Logan Elm by a 16-6 major decision. He then met Nealan again, but this time rolled to a 16-8 major decision to place third. “Dane wrestled the best he has all year long,” said Fulton. “This is the best time to do it, too. He was very aggressive and in the right positions.” Taylor (215) also came through when it mattered most in one of the toughest weight classes. He started off by beating Cody Stanley of New Lexington 12-6, but then fell to state placer Zach Pummill of Valley View 10-4. Taylor earned two straight wins before earning his biggest victory of the year. Taylor met up with Graham standout Logan White, who had beaten Taylor 1-0 and 6-1 earlier this season. But the Laker was on a mission as he took White to his back twice for a 6-0 lead. Taylor eventually pulled out a 12-10 decision to earn his third trip to state. The win prevented Graham from sending all 14 wrestlers to state. Taylor went on to beat Stanley 6-2 to place to finish third. “That match with White just showed how focused Thomas was,” said Fulton. “He had a vision and he did it. I know how devastating it would have been for him to not get out as a senior.” Pool (152) was at the top of his game all weekend. He rolled to the finals with pins over Chris Smith of New Richmond (3:27), state alternate Blaine Bailey of Washington Court House (1:48) and Levi Harris of Greenville (1:49). In the finals, Pool went the distance with returning state champion Coby Boyd of Graham. He trailed 5-2 before hitting a single leg to take down Boyd with 42 seconds left in the second period. Boyd still led 5-4, but an escape by Pool in the third period tied the bout. In overtime, the Graham star took down Pool with eight seconds left to win 7-5. “Hunter wrestled a great match with Boyd,” said Grant. “He got in on one good shot, but Boyd did a good job of keeping us out of our offense.” Jackson (285) would not be denied a state berth as his only loss came to the eventual champion. He first pinned Eaton’s Josh Maish (1:03) and then pinned Meig’s Cassady Willford (3:41), who held a record of 40-1. The junior was pinned by eventual champion Chris Holcomb of Wilmington (:14) in the semifinals. In his go-to-state bout, Jackson earned a fall over Matt Roberts of Fairfield- Union (2:11). The Raider met Willford again for third place. Jackson hit a takedown with 14 second left to win 6-5. “I felt Alex would surprise some people this year and he did,” said Grant. “He is a worker and has gotten bigger and stronger. He wrestled smart matches and his only loss was to the champ. You have to be happy with that and for him.” The final Raider to place was Skylar Wohlgamuth (145). Wohlgamuth was pinned in his first-round match, but came all the way back to lose 4-3 against Franklin state alternate Eric Hildenbrand in their go-tostate bout. He then lost to the Lakers’ Kevin Christman to place sixth. Senior Jordan Penhorwood (140) was a district qualifier, but was unable to wrestle because of a neck injury suffered prior to the tournament. “Skylar came back and had a close match with Hildenbrand and finished the season strong,” said Grant. “But it was disappointing that J.P. couldn’t wrestle. That is tough for a senior not to be able to finish his career on the mat.” It was a bittersweet day for the Lakers as they were dealt two other heartbreaking losses in go-to-state bouts. Adam Witt (125) and Kevin Christman (145) each reached the semifinals, but failed to qualify to the state meet. Christman (145) fell in the semifinals to state placer Dustin Fraley of Miami Trace by fall (1:28). The sophomore standout led 6-5 over Steven McLaughlin of Athens in their go-to-state bout, but was reversed and pinned in 4:48. Christman then beat Ben Logan’s Wohlgamuth 4-2 to finish fifth as a state alternate. Witt (125) reached the semifinals against former district placer Robert James of Norwood. Witt led 5-0 in the second period before he was caught on his back and pinned (3:07). He then fell to twotime state qualifier Garrett Lay of Greenon 4-3 in the ultimate overtime. The Laker was then pinned by Sheridan’s Levi Barnett (4:37) to finish sixth. “Kevin was up in his match with McLaughlin, but we had one slip up and he got caught,” said Fulton. “He wasn’t healthy (with a hip injury) but he still wrestled outstanding. “Adam had two heartbreaking losses. He just got caught by James and nearly beat Lay with a takedown at the end.” Also for Indian Lake, Matt Marshall (189) went 2-2, while Chris Schulz (112) and Arron Witt (171) each went 1-2. For Bellefontaine, Slayde Wilcoxon (130) and Justin Colley (171) each went 1-2 at the district meet. Chieftain head coach Mike Bible was hoping for a better showing from his squad. “I’m a little disappointed,” said Bible. “Justin cost himself a match by running out of gas. I was hoping Slayde could win one more match and Tyler (Wisse) wasn’t happy with how he did, but he got down here and had a good season.” |