Ben Logan’s Boysel, Indian Lake’s Pummel both win district titles
Benjamin Logan’s wrestling team saw its impressive season continue over the weekend at the Division III district tournament in Troy.
The Raiders finished fifth as a team and qualified four individuals to the state tournament.
“It was a phenomenal weekend,” said Ben Logan head coach Kyle Seeley. “I don’t know what better word to say. Things went about the way we expected them to. We took nine guys and they all made it to the second day. It shows these kids worked really hard and that it all paid off. To have five in the semifinals was pretty exciting as well.”
Four Raiders ended up punching tickets to the state meet. That group included Joel Abbott (145), Steele Boysel (170), Noah Clark (195) and Cadman Roose (285).
Indian Lake will also be represented at the state meet in Columbus by Hayden Pummel (160).
The top four placers in each weight class moved on to the Division III state tournament this Friday through Sunday in Columbus.
Troy Christian captured the district championship with 170 points, Xenia Legacy Christian was runner-up with 148 points, Allen East took third with 134.5 points, Mechanicsburg was fourth with 116 points and Ben Logan finished fifth with 107 points.
Indian Lake came in 20th with 28.5 points, Triad finished 42nd with four points and West Liberty-Salem was 47th with one point.
After qualifying for the Division III state dual finals earlier this season, all signs pointed to Ben Logan having a favorable postseason. The Raiders delivered on Friday, advancing all nine district qualifiers to the second day of action and five wrestlers to the championship semifinals.
Boysel, who qualified to the state meet last season, highlighted Ben Logan’s weekend by winning a district championship at 170 pounds. He is the program’s first district champion since 2006 when Cody VanBuskirk and Tyler Blakely both won district titles for the Raiders.
The senior went 4-0 with a pin, a 13-3 major decision and a 5-2 decision over Middletown Madison returning state placer Devin Oligee in the semifinals. Boysel then defeated East Clinton’s Jonathan Cline 9-3 in the title match.
“Steele wrestled very well,” said Seeley. “He had a tough match in the semifinals. Oligee is a returning state placer, but Steele dominated that match. The score doesn’t reflect that. He dominated from beginning to end. Being a district champ was one of his goals and he was able to achieve that. We’re excited for him.”
Abbott and Roose both reached the district finals, but finished as runner-up in their respective weight classes. Abbott secured his second trip to state with a pin and two decisions to reach the finals. He then lost to Xenia Christian’s Nick Alvarez by a 10-0 major decision.
“Joel had a tough semis match against a solid Greenon kid,” said Seeley. “He was able to punch his ticket with a takedown in the last 30 seconds.”
Roose, who despite placing fourth at the Lehman sectional, upset a different sectional champion by pin in the first round. He would go on to reach the finals to secure his state berth, but lost to Columbus Grove’s Jeff Meyer by pin in 46 seconds.
“We always knew Cadman had the ability to make the state tournament,” said Seeley.
“He didn’t wrestle well last weekend at the sectional tourney. He came to wrestle and was definitely on a mission. Heavyweight had a lot of returning state qualifiers and places. Cadman wanted to prove a lot of people wrong who counted him out after last weekend.”
Clark made his way to the championship semifinals, but lost to Allen East returning state placer Garrett Neth by pin in 1:08. Clark bounced back with a pin in 49 seconds to qualify for state and then beat Middletown Madison’s Quincy Brown 6-3 to place third.
“Noah wanted it all weekend long,” said Seeley. “For him to knock off kids ranked and projected higher than him shows he doesn’t look into that sort of thing. In his qualifying match, as soon as the whistle blew you could tell in his actions nobody was going to stop him. To see him smile after the adversity he’s went through is definitely exciting to see.”
Senior Jayden Sturgell (120) also reached the semifinals. He started off strong on Friday going 2-0, but then lost his next three matches on Saturday to drop to sixth place.
“Jayden has been through a lot throughout his career,” said Seeley. “He ran into some really tough kids this weekend. For him to place and finish like he did makes us super proud of him, not only as a wrestler, but as a person. We’re all very proud of him.”
The Raiders’ Owen O’Brien (113) and Levi Hunter (126) both went 2-2 and were one win shy of placing in the top six.
Thomas won a consolation match, while Hunter upset a sectional champion on Friday in the first round. Teammates Kade Thomas (106) and Matthew Creamer (220) both won a consolation match.
Pummel wins district title for Lakers
Indian Lake’s Pummel punched his second trip to state after placing seventh in Columbus last season. Pummel finished third at the Troy district a year ago, but dominated over the weekend on his way to the finals.
The junior won by pin, a 10-4 decision and a 15-0 technical fall over Delphos St. John’s Mark Wrasman in the semifinals. The Laker then edged Troy Christian freshman standout Connor Havill 8-7 in the finals to become a district champion.
“Hayden took care of business and set himself up well for next week,” said IL head coach Ryan Dickson. “He wrestled tough and was smart out there. Winning district was just one of the goals he has for himself. We’re onto bigger and better things next week in Columbus. That’s what we’re all about.”
Also for the Lakers, Gage Cutlip-Pash (126) won a consolation match by pin, while Joseph Scarberry (195) went 0-2. Teammate Lane Mefford (170) did not pass skin check was unable to compete.
Triad was highlighted by Isaiah Leasure (160) who won a first-round match by pin, but then lost his next two to finish 1-2. Teammates Coleman Hauck (145), Blake Boldman (152) and Dalton Overfield all went 0-2.
For WL-Salem, Ian Maurice (138) won a consolation match to finish 1-2 and Tyler Douthwaite (152) went 0-2. Look for a Division III state preview in Thursday’s Examiner.