Tigers, Indians each advance 4 to district wrestling tournament
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Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
The Hillsboro Indians and the McClain Tigers will each have four wrestlers representing Highland County in the district tournament this coming week, as they placed in the top four in the Division II SE District Sectional Wrestling Tournament in Washington C.H. this weekend.
For the Indians, they placed seventh overall with a score of 83 points as they had three wrestlers finish as runners-up and another place third at the WCH sectional.
"The kids wrestled their best, and even though we placed seventh, I'm glad to see we had four kids make it to the district," HHS coach Nathan Horne said.
The three runners-up for HHS were Matt West (113 pounds), Ryan Kelley (120 pounds) and two-time state qualifier Kordell Ford at 160 pounds. Placing third for HHS was Toby Warrington (126 pounds).
[[In-content Ad]]McClain also had four wrestlers stamp their ticket to the district round with former state qualifier Dillon Hunick making his way back to the districts following an absence one year ago in the 145-pound weight class. Hunick placed third in the sectionals.
"Dillon wrestled a controlled sectional tournament, making no mistakes and losing a close semifinal match against D.J. White of Logan Elm, being his only loss," MHS head coach Shane Paul said.
Also placing third for the Tigers were Gable Smith (195 pounds) and Dylan Trefz (285 pounds). In fourth and earning a district spot was Jake Badgley at 152 pounds.
The Tigers were eighth at the WCH sectionals with 74 points.
Earning alternate spots (fifth place) for the Indians was Cody Whaley who went 2-2 at 132 pounds. For MHS, alternate spots went to Kylee Stroud (2-2) at 106 pounds and Lucas Unger 2-2 at 182 pounds.
"Cody wrestled an all-around good tournament," Horne said.
Winning the sectional tournament at WCH was Miami Trace with 204 points. In second was Wilmington with 163 points. Bellbrook finished in third with 134 points.
The rest of the team results were: 4, Logan Elm (132.5); 5, Washington (118); 6, Shawnee (94); 7, Hillsboro (83); 8, McClain (74); 9, Circleville (60); 10, Greenon (48.5) and 11, Unioto (46).
As for the Indians, West went 2-1 in the two-day tournament as he won his first match via pin fall over Rio Gonzalez (Shawnee) at 1:31. He followed that with a semifinal win over Jacob Boldman (Wilmington) by a 4-1 decision. In the finals, West lost by a 7-0 score to Trent Duffy (Miami Trace).
"Matt had a good tournament," Horne said. "In the second round, he beat a solid kid from Wilmington who he had to beat."
Kelley began his sectional tournament, in which he finished 2-1, with a quarterfinal win over Jayden Rhodes (Washington) via forfeit. In the semifinals, Kelley pinned Seth D'allessandris of Shawnee at 2:49. Kelley lost in the finals to Dominic Vagnier of Logan Elm by a 12-4 maj. decision.
"Ryan has wrestled well all year," Horne said. "He didn't have the finish he had hoped, but I believe he'll turn it around."
Ford, who went 2-1 overall, pinned Jake McGuire (Greenon) at 1:09 in his opening quarterfinal match. He followed by winning in the semifinals against Mason McCane of Washington with an 8-2 decision. In the finals, Ford lost 5-3 after three rounds against Benjamin Schram of Bellbrook.
"Kordell lost earlier to the kid from Bellbrook earlier this year in OT, but he wrestled well in the sectional,s and I like where he is at right now," Horne said. "The kid from Bellbrook was third in the state last year, and Kordell's performance shows he's on track."
Also for the Indians, Warrington went 3-1 at the sectionals by winning in the quarterfinals against Chad Sowers of Circleville with a pin fall victory at the 3:50 mark of the match. Warrington followed up with a semifinal loss to Cameron Kelly (Bellbrook) by a 12-4 maj. decision.
Warrington battled back with a consolation semifinal maj. win over Trendon Fox of Miami Trace at 9-1. In the third-place match, Warrington won for the third time in two days with a 5-2 decision over Zach Macella of Wilmington.
"Toby beat a kid he lost to earlier this year, and I'm proud of the way he wrestled," Horne said.
For the McClain Tigers, Hunick went 3-1 for third place at 145 pounds. Hunick began his path to the district tournament with a sectional quarterfinal win via forfeit by Alec Upton (Greenon). In the semifinals, Hunick lost by a 5-4 decision to D.J. White of Logan Elm.
Hunick rebounded in the consolation semifinals with a pin fall victory over Garrett Long (Washington) in 59 seconds. Hunick clinched third place with an 11-4 decision over Austin Lovett of Miami Trace.
At 195 pounds, Smith of the Tigers was third overall advancing with a bye in the quarterfinals. In his semifinals match, Badgley lost to Jeremiah Jones (Miami Trace) at 5:06. Smith advanced to the third place match with a bye and placed third with another win via bye.
In the quarterfinals of the 285-pound weight class, Trefz advanced with a bye, then lost by a decision in the semifinals (8-5) to Corbin McCune of Shawnee. Trefz came back in the consolation semifinals with a pin fall win over Skyler Morris (Miami Trace) at 1:17. In the third-place match, Trefz won with a pin fall victory over Hunter Whiteside (Unioto) at 1:25.
Badgley placed fourth for the Tigers, beginning with a pin fall win over Chris Linton of Logan Elm at 2:45. In the semifinals, Badgley lost to Travis Grooms (Miami Trace) by a 9-3 decision. Badgley rallied to win in the consolation semifinals by a pin over Peter Bonds (Bellbrook) at 3:37 but lost in the third-place match to Linton by a 12-5 decision.
"Jake is a pinner," Paul said. "No matter what the score is, he is always in the fight because he can end a match in two seconds with a pin.
"He is the hardest worker in the McClain room and earns his victories through hard work. In the sectionals, Jake was down 9-0 and hit a throw that pinned Chris Linton of Logan Elm in the quarterfinals."
Paul spoke about the match where Badgley advanced to the district tournament.
"In the match to decide if he advanced to the districts, Jake was losing 11-0 against Bonds from Bellbrook when Jake hit him with a devastating throw that pinned him in the last moments of the match."
Also wrestling in the sectionals for the Indians were Jed Asmus (0-2) at 170 pounds, Lane Hester (0-2) at 138 pounds, Curran Butler (1-2) at 152 pounds and Austin Miller (0-2) at 182 pounds.
For the Tigers, also wrestling were: Kalab Smith (0-2) at 126 pounds, Charlie Davis (1-2) at 132 pounds, Jason Flowers (0-2) at 138 pounds, Dillon Faulconer (0-2) at 160 pounds, Ethan Paul (0-2) at 170 pounds and Jarrett Milnes (0-2) at 220 pounds.
Stroud earned her 20th win of the season for the first time in her three-year career.
For the Indians, they placed seventh overall with a score of 83 points as they had three wrestlers finish as runners-up and another place third at the WCH sectional.
"The kids wrestled their best, and even though we placed seventh, I'm glad to see we had four kids make it to the district," HHS coach Nathan Horne said.
The three runners-up for HHS were Matt West (113 pounds), Ryan Kelley (120 pounds) and two-time state qualifier Kordell Ford at 160 pounds. Placing third for HHS was Toby Warrington (126 pounds).
[[In-content Ad]]McClain also had four wrestlers stamp their ticket to the district round with former state qualifier Dillon Hunick making his way back to the districts following an absence one year ago in the 145-pound weight class. Hunick placed third in the sectionals.
"Dillon wrestled a controlled sectional tournament, making no mistakes and losing a close semifinal match against D.J. White of Logan Elm, being his only loss," MHS head coach Shane Paul said.
Also placing third for the Tigers were Gable Smith (195 pounds) and Dylan Trefz (285 pounds). In fourth and earning a district spot was Jake Badgley at 152 pounds.
The Tigers were eighth at the WCH sectionals with 74 points.
Earning alternate spots (fifth place) for the Indians was Cody Whaley who went 2-2 at 132 pounds. For MHS, alternate spots went to Kylee Stroud (2-2) at 106 pounds and Lucas Unger 2-2 at 182 pounds.
"Cody wrestled an all-around good tournament," Horne said.
Winning the sectional tournament at WCH was Miami Trace with 204 points. In second was Wilmington with 163 points. Bellbrook finished in third with 134 points.
The rest of the team results were: 4, Logan Elm (132.5); 5, Washington (118); 6, Shawnee (94); 7, Hillsboro (83); 8, McClain (74); 9, Circleville (60); 10, Greenon (48.5) and 11, Unioto (46).
As for the Indians, West went 2-1 in the two-day tournament as he won his first match via pin fall over Rio Gonzalez (Shawnee) at 1:31. He followed that with a semifinal win over Jacob Boldman (Wilmington) by a 4-1 decision. In the finals, West lost by a 7-0 score to Trent Duffy (Miami Trace).
"Matt had a good tournament," Horne said. "In the second round, he beat a solid kid from Wilmington who he had to beat."
Kelley began his sectional tournament, in which he finished 2-1, with a quarterfinal win over Jayden Rhodes (Washington) via forfeit. In the semifinals, Kelley pinned Seth D'allessandris of Shawnee at 2:49. Kelley lost in the finals to Dominic Vagnier of Logan Elm by a 12-4 maj. decision.
"Ryan has wrestled well all year," Horne said. "He didn't have the finish he had hoped, but I believe he'll turn it around."
Ford, who went 2-1 overall, pinned Jake McGuire (Greenon) at 1:09 in his opening quarterfinal match. He followed by winning in the semifinals against Mason McCane of Washington with an 8-2 decision. In the finals, Ford lost 5-3 after three rounds against Benjamin Schram of Bellbrook.
"Kordell lost earlier to the kid from Bellbrook earlier this year in OT, but he wrestled well in the sectional,s and I like where he is at right now," Horne said. "The kid from Bellbrook was third in the state last year, and Kordell's performance shows he's on track."
Also for the Indians, Warrington went 3-1 at the sectionals by winning in the quarterfinals against Chad Sowers of Circleville with a pin fall victory at the 3:50 mark of the match. Warrington followed up with a semifinal loss to Cameron Kelly (Bellbrook) by a 12-4 maj. decision.
Warrington battled back with a consolation semifinal maj. win over Trendon Fox of Miami Trace at 9-1. In the third-place match, Warrington won for the third time in two days with a 5-2 decision over Zach Macella of Wilmington.
"Toby beat a kid he lost to earlier this year, and I'm proud of the way he wrestled," Horne said.
For the McClain Tigers, Hunick went 3-1 for third place at 145 pounds. Hunick began his path to the district tournament with a sectional quarterfinal win via forfeit by Alec Upton (Greenon). In the semifinals, Hunick lost by a 5-4 decision to D.J. White of Logan Elm.
Hunick rebounded in the consolation semifinals with a pin fall victory over Garrett Long (Washington) in 59 seconds. Hunick clinched third place with an 11-4 decision over Austin Lovett of Miami Trace.
At 195 pounds, Smith of the Tigers was third overall advancing with a bye in the quarterfinals. In his semifinals match, Badgley lost to Jeremiah Jones (Miami Trace) at 5:06. Smith advanced to the third place match with a bye and placed third with another win via bye.
In the quarterfinals of the 285-pound weight class, Trefz advanced with a bye, then lost by a decision in the semifinals (8-5) to Corbin McCune of Shawnee. Trefz came back in the consolation semifinals with a pin fall win over Skyler Morris (Miami Trace) at 1:17. In the third-place match, Trefz won with a pin fall victory over Hunter Whiteside (Unioto) at 1:25.
Badgley placed fourth for the Tigers, beginning with a pin fall win over Chris Linton of Logan Elm at 2:45. In the semifinals, Badgley lost to Travis Grooms (Miami Trace) by a 9-3 decision. Badgley rallied to win in the consolation semifinals by a pin over Peter Bonds (Bellbrook) at 3:37 but lost in the third-place match to Linton by a 12-5 decision.
"Jake is a pinner," Paul said. "No matter what the score is, he is always in the fight because he can end a match in two seconds with a pin.
"He is the hardest worker in the McClain room and earns his victories through hard work. In the sectionals, Jake was down 9-0 and hit a throw that pinned Chris Linton of Logan Elm in the quarterfinals."
Paul spoke about the match where Badgley advanced to the district tournament.
"In the match to decide if he advanced to the districts, Jake was losing 11-0 against Bonds from Bellbrook when Jake hit him with a devastating throw that pinned him in the last moments of the match."
Also wrestling in the sectionals for the Indians were Jed Asmus (0-2) at 170 pounds, Lane Hester (0-2) at 138 pounds, Curran Butler (1-2) at 152 pounds and Austin Miller (0-2) at 182 pounds.
For the Tigers, also wrestling were: Kalab Smith (0-2) at 126 pounds, Charlie Davis (1-2) at 132 pounds, Jason Flowers (0-2) at 138 pounds, Dillon Faulconer (0-2) at 160 pounds, Ethan Paul (0-2) at 170 pounds and Jarrett Milnes (0-2) at 220 pounds.
Stroud earned her 20th win of the season for the first time in her three-year career.