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The Oak Harbor wrestling team capped a tough weekend of wrestling by taking
home the overall team championship in the Division II district tournament at Marion Harding High School.
When all the dust had settled the team had won by 28.5 points over familiar foe Lexington.
Three wrestlers won individual district titles, setting them up for next week's state tournament. Senior Drew Stone (36-3, 125) won his second straight district title by defeating an opponent from Padua 3-1. Junior Ian Miller (37-1, 145) won his second straight district title as well by defeating a Van Wert foe by a fall in 1:27. Junior Konner Witt (45-3, 152) would follow Ian's lead and take an individual title for himself at the 152 pound weight class with a 7-1 victory.
Adding to their sectional championship the previous week, the team was hot heading in to the state tournament next weekend. Senior Mike Mallernee (36-9, 171), Zach Sandwisch (30-10, 285), junior Jake Cramer (40-7, 140), and junior Tyler Hackworth (31-7, 119) also earned state births. Cramer punched his ticket to state by defeating a Wauseon wrestler in the third place match 10-0. Zach Bergman and Alex Bergman both earned alternate spots at the state wrestling meet by finishing fifth at districts.
Experts said St. Paris Graham, ranked as the nation’s best team, had a sure fire shot at winning at D-II state championship. Graham returned four defending state champions and five other state placers. Last year, they obliterated a number of team records, scoring 282 points (breaking the old record by an unheard of 53 points) and crowning seven individual state champions, eclipsing a record that had stood for 58 years.
But there was fragmentation after that, putting squads with three or more outstanding wrestlers into a solid placement for a high placement. On the list is Oak Harbor, says expert Brian Brakeman in a story for the OHSAA website, because it qualified seven out of the Marion district, including top contenders Stone, Miller, and Witt. Other top teams included Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit, Lewis Center Olentangy, Lexington, and Toledo Central Catholic.
Brakeman says there are some exceptional match-up opportunities in Division II. Wrestling fans may see a rematch at 125 pounds, Brakeman says, where defending state champion Johnni DiJulius (Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit) could meet his finals opponent from last year, Rocket grappler Drew Stone. That ended with a one-point DiJulius victory last year and this year’s final could be just as close, Brakeman believes.
There is an oddity Oak Harbor could be up against at the D-II tournament — a female wrestler has made the state tournament for the first time. She wrestles at 103, so no Rocket had to take her on, but her school, Mantua Crestwood sent, five wrestlers to state, which could be a challenge for the Rockets’ hopes of at least a runner-up finish.
Over the years, Ohio has produced some fine female wrestlers, but none that were able to compete at the state meet. However, this year the very talented Paige Nemec qualified in fourth place at a difficult district that featured at least six state-caliber wrestlers, Brakeman said. Nemec, who began wrestling at age five, is a strong four-year performer at Mantua Crestwood and has earned well over 100 varsity wins. This year alone she took first in five important tournaments while amassing 33 victories.
Her first round opponent in the D-II state meet is returning state placer Trevor Fiorucci (Lewis Center Olentangy), who will be a tough opening match-up, but Nemec has proven to be a solid competitor over her varsity career, Brakeman added.
Four Clay wrestlers competed at the D-I level — sophomore Angelo Amenta (130), 43-8; senior Nick Garcia (103), 37-1; senior Mark Orth (135), 24-9; junior Chico Cloyne (160), 29-12
In D-II, Eastwood senior Seth Hoffman (50-2) competed at 160 and East Toledo resident and Central Catholic grappler Jake Henderson (46-0) was at 215.
In D-III, Lake senior Brandon Tantari (33-2) was at 189, Cardinal Stritch senior Kyle Gladieux (40-1) was at 160, and Gibsonburg sophomore Damen Escobedo (46-9) was at 135.
For the second time in school history, Genoa was able to qualify 10 wrestlers to the district tournament, but none reached state except senior Scott Traver, who is an alternate.
Genoa was one of four schools (Edison, Crestview, & Liberty Center ) to accomplish such a feat in the 44-team Northwest D-III district tournament. Only 11 other wrestling programs across the state of Ohio in D-III (172 Schools) advanced double digit district qualifiers. Junior Adam Klavinger (112) and Sophomore Jake Sheehy (171) earned district honors by placing sixth while Traver (140) placed fifth, earning his spot as an alternate to the state tournament.
Despite coming up short on qualifying a wrestler to state, the Comets made a significant impact by each wrestler winning a district match as all 10 wrestlers progressed to the second day of competition. Genoa will return eight district qualifiers and two district placers next season as they look to start their off-season this spring.
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