Hillsboro's Dawson Carter debuts at state

COLUMBUS — Hillsboro sophomore Dawson Carter made his Division II OHSAA State Tournament debut Thursday at the 79th annual event at the Jerome Schottenstein Center, on the campus of The Ohio State University.

Carter wrestled fellow sophomore Jake Martinelli of Medina Buckeye but lost in three rounds by a 6-4 score in the 106-pound matchup, then was unable to gain a win in the first consolation round in the evening match against freshman Edward Suber IV of Tallmadge, ending his day at 0-2. 

With the two losses, Carter’s overall record this season is 43-5. He was undefeated in the South Central Ohio League, while also winning a sectional title, and he was also the district runner-up. In two seasons, Carter has an overall mark of 76-23.

"Dawson did a great job, and we are proud of him," Hillsboro head coach James Jones said. "In the first match, we didn't get a couple calls to go our way, losing a close one.

"To get down in the consolations, it is a fight, and you can't make any mistakes. He got the experience, he got up here, and he knows what it is about now, and we can build off it. He did a great job all year and worked hard. At the beginning of the year, we weren't for sure if he would be able to qualify for state, but just getting here, we can work from here." 

In his state debut match, Carter trailed early by a 2-0 score following a takedown by Martinelli with 1:35 left in the first round. Carter scored a point on an escape at 1:10 for a 2-1 point differential.

At the start of round two, Carter was on top, and for a majority of the round he controlled the pace the two sophomore grapplers went, but he just couldn’t score a point. In the second round, Carter was working on a cradle attempt and nearly had a pin fall attempt, but time ticked away in the two-minute second round with neither wrestler scoring a point.

In round three, Carter began on the bottom, and with 1:38 left in the match, Martinelli added two points to his advantage for a 4-1 lead. Another escape by Carter left the HHS senior down two points at 4-2 with around 1:21 left in final round.

Martinelli gained another two points with a takedown, but Carter was able to add two more points with the clock around 40 seconds for what ended up being the final 6-4 differential.

In the first consolation round, Carter was defeated by Edward Suber IV of Tallmadge, 11-1. 

Carter trailed by a 4-0 score after the first round, and in round two, he trailed 8-1 after the two minutes expired off the clock, as he gained his point off an escape. 

In the third round of his second match of the day, Carter continued to put up a tough battle but just was unable to add any more points. 

In the Div. III State Tournament, Paint Valley seniors Teagan McFadden and Caleb Johnson also wrestled in the championship preliminaries Thursday afternoon.

In the 170-pound class, McFadden (48-7) lost via pin fall to junior Kyle Ice (53-5) of Apple Creek Waynedale. McFadden defeated Trevor Mack (27-9) of Northwood in the first consolation round Thursday evening.

Caleb Johnson (50-4) defeated Delta sophomore Dylan Rogers (32-15) via pin fall in their 182-pound matchup. Johnson advances to the championship quarterfinals Friday afternoon, where he will face James Handwerk (45-3), a junior, of Rocky River Lutheran West.

McFadden finished eighth overall in the tournament, while Johnson fell in the second consolation bracket.