152-
1. Jake Marsh- Marysville (6th state)
2. Trey Grenier - O. Liberty (3rd state)
3. Cameron Jenkins- Westerville N. (SQ)
4. Quentin Thatcher- Darby (5th district)
5. Riley Amador- Bradley (SQ)
6. Max Hall- Olentangy
7. Garrett Young- Hayes
8. Sameh Ayoub- Davidson
Marsh is another wrestler that I love to watch, he continues to step on the gas regardless of match result. I was really impressed watching him at Top Gun where he majored state placer Joe Koontz 12-3 and hammered a tough Adam Shaw 13-4 in the finals.
Marsh also defeated D-2 state finalist Jake Martinez 5-2 to win a title at Watkins Memorial.
Grenier had been the model of consistency over his first 3 years, but I was worried that he may have another tough state tournament draw after falling in the opening round to Brock Jones last year.
Instead of faltering under the pressure, he showed his mettle by winning 5 straight consolation bouts to claim the bronze. Among his wins were victories over returning state placers Antwon Pugh and Ryley Regan as well as a 5-3 triumph over Jones in their rematch for 3rd.
160-
1. Kyle Lawson-O. Liberty (1st, 1st, 1st state)
2. Logan Broskie- O. Orange (6th district)
3. Chance Esmont- Pickerington C. (5th district)
4. Malachi Strickland- Jerome (6th district, 6th district 2015)
5. Braden Held- Olentangy
6. Oscar Brashear- W. Kilbourne
7. Tyler Bates- Marysville
8. Chad Henry- Watkins Mem.
Lawson has become one of the best wrestlers in the state, and despite the excellent talent level in D-1, he’ll be a strong favorite to earn his 4th state title at the end of the season.
His only loss last years a somewhat controversial setback to D-3 state champ Jesse Beverly in the Brecksville semifinals. His closest bout the rest of the year was a 7-2 state semifinal win over Michael Carpenter.
I’m excited to see what he’ll be able to do next year under the tutelage of coach Rosselli at Oklahoma.
Broskie was so tough last year and wrestled a slew of close bouts with excellent competition. He posted wins over state qualifiers Jacob Ottaway and Connor Thomas as well as another over state placer Willy Plaisir.
I feel like this is the year that he finally breaks through the district grind to punch a ticket to state.
170-
1. Trevor Lawson- O. Liberty (2nd state)
2. Shota Sisco- Pickerington C. (6th district)
3. Dereck Wilson- Licking Hts
4. Stephen Deluse- Lancaster
5. Hunter Heard- Marysville
6. Deron Pulliam- Scioto (3rd middle school state)
7. Isaac Kennedy- Teays Valley
8. Jeremy Minor- Logan
Lawson made a huge jump last year, splitting 4 bouts with state champ Jo Jo Terry while also coming back to win 2 state bouts over wrestlers who defeated him earlier in the year.
In the state quarters, Lawson pinned 4th place finisher Joey Andrassy who defeated him 7-6 at the Dies. Coincidentally, Lawson bested Victor Marcelli 3-2 in the state semis who had pinned him at the Dies in his bout before his loss to Andrassy.
Shota Sisco has one of my favorite names at this district, and he’s also been one of the most consistent wrestlers in terms of the improvement that he’s made each year.
Among Sisco’s impressive wins last year included victories over state qualifiers Allister Brausch and Corey Dieringer.
182-
1. Jared Ball- Darby (3rd state)
2. Josiah Harrell- Licking Hts. (SQ 2015)
3. Ashton Spurgeon- Mt. Vernon (5th district)
4. Carter Davidson- Hayes (6th district)
5. Cole Fitzpatrick- O. Liberty
6. Levi McKee- Newark
7. Hunter Knipp- O. Orange
8. Bodi Bien- Westerville N.
Ball was one of the more improved wrestlers in the district last year, splitting two bouts with state finalist Joey Baughman and nearly defeating 3x state finalist Nick Kiussis at Medina.
He also downed state placers Keysean Amison, Brice Locklear, Adam Green, Michael Carpenter, and Dylan Roth during his excellent sophomore stint.
If he make the same jump in performance this year, a state finals appearance is likely.
Adding further depth to this weight, Harrell split two bouts with state bronze medalist Marcelli at Medina last year.
Though the season didn’t end as planned, I fully expect Harrell to bounce back and round into the form that he displayed when knocking off state placers Tony Caraffi and Brandon Goldsmith last season.
195-
1. Max Wright- Hayes (SQ)
2. Max Boyd- Watkins Mem. (6th district, 5th district 2015)
3. Brady Garren- Logan
4. Spencer Smith- Lancaster
5. Dante Landolfi- U. Arlington
6. Kalin Duty- Groveport-Madison
7. Dan Trifoni- Coffman
8. Michael Rosales-Flores- Olentangy
I can’t believe how much Wright has grown in 4 years. He’s pulled a Tommy Rowlands or a Max Thomusseit climbing from 113 as a freshman all the way up to 195.
His jumps in weight have coincided with a jump in performance each year. I fully expect him to earn a state medal this season year, and I think the sky’s the limit after a junior year in which he beat state finalist Trevor Lawson 3-2 and defeated West Virginia state finalist Trevor Johnson 4-3 to win the Top Gun title.
Garren was the victim of a brutal sectional climate last year, falling 3-1 to Boyd and then losing a narrow overtime bout with state qualifier Patrick Yeo in the qualification bout.
His most impressive tournament last season may have been Hoover where he placed 4th and defeated state qualifier Jimmy Leonard (Louisville) 5-1 in the consolation semifinals.
220-
1. Ben Frye- Coffman (4th state)
2. Bryce Houston-O. Orange
3. Mason Hay- Westerville N. (5th district)
4. Justin Tullos- Thomas Worthington
5. Mike Ezenekwe- O. Liberty
6. Matthew Snider- Canal Winchester
7. Stephen Cottrill- St. Charles
8. David Rodriguez- N. Albany
Frye emerged as on of the best 220s in the state last year as he grabbed his first state medal, placing 4th after a brutal first round draw against 2x state champ Matt Stencel. He won 4 straight consolation bouts, including 3 by pin to reach the 3rd place final.
He’ll likely provide nationally ranked Jared Campbell with his greatest threat to a state title this season. If he makes the jump this year that he made last year, he’ll be as capable as anyone of walking away with the gold medal.
Hay owns the distinction of being the only wrestler to pin Frye last year (including Stencel), claiming state alternate status.
Houston pinned Hay the week before in the sectional finals, and the two of them represent potential state placers in this open weight class.
285-
1. R.J. Harris- Zanesville (SQ)
2. Jon Hutson- Westerville N.
3. Austin Wolfe- Canal Winchester
4. Dane Whittier- Grove City
5. Andrew Crooks- O. Liberty
6. Garrett Miller- Tri-Valley
7. Moe Arman- Coffman
8. Vince Albertini- Lancaster*
Harris returns as the lone state qualifier at a weight that has lost most of its district qualifiers to graduation.
I wouldn’t call the weight weak but rather inexperienced. I don’t know enough of the players at this weight to determine how well they will compete with the other districts.
The central district frequently produces quality heavyweights, and the weight tends to replenish itself so it’ll be interesting to follow and see who will emerge at this weight.
Albertini was 3rd at the middle school state tournament back in 2015 but had Aaron Everett ahead of him in the Lancaster line-up.
I’m guessing that he’s wrestling though I didn’t see any results from him last season. However, he could play a major roll if he is indeed at this open weight class.
Teams:
1. Olentangy Liberty
2. Westerville N.
3. Marysville
4. Dublin Coffman
5. Hayes
6. Lancaster
7. Olentangy
8. Watkins Memorial
Liberty is a massive favorite this year. Hopefully, everyone is healthy in their line-up and they can fit in the likes of Furnas and Kharchilava.
There’s a feel that they could contend with St. Edward for the state title, so I’m hoping that they can maximize their line-up to do just that.
Westerville North will be a fun squad to follow this season. Along with some established state qualifiers like Grant and Jenkins and some quality heavyweights (Hay and Hutson), they have some intriguing underclassmen in Potterf, Seibert, and middle school state champ Wright.
Coffman will have 2 potential state finalists in Demas and Frye and a solid squad with the likes of Hossan, Yost, et al. I’m interested to see if their stellar history of producing heavyweights continues this season.
Hayes graduated a lot of talent but still have the depth to get 6 or so to state. I’ll be rooting for Wright especially to place at state after improving by leaps and bounds every year.
A special thanks to Boro Fan for all the insight into the weights of the wrestlers, Baum’s Page and Jake’s Wrestling for all of the results that they provide, and to any of the other wrestling nerds that actually read these things.
-Max Pearce
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