Davis places 8th at State
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
COLUMBUS — It was a successful weekend for McClain senior grappler Brandon Davis. Davis wrestled his way to an eighth-place finish at the 220-pound class in Division II of the 76th Annual OHSAA State Wrestling Championships.
Davis wrestled all three days of the state event, dropping his seventh-place match, Saturday afternoon to Billy Post of Conneaut by a 9-2 decision.
The senior wraps up his final season with a record of 46-9 overall, with a state tournament mark of 2-4, winning once on Thursday and once on Friday.
In his three years as a varsity wrestler, Davis totaled 106 wins in two different weight classes, as he wrestled at the heavyweight division his sophomore year and the past two years has wrestled at 220 pounds.
[[In-content Ad]]This season, Davis not only placed eighth at state, he won the South Central Ohio League championship at 220 pounds, won a sectional title at the Washington C.H. Sectionals and was runner-up at the Goshen Districts.
Davis becomes the fifth wrestler in McClain history to become a state-placer.
Also this school year, Davis was voted special mention to the Associated Press Division III All-Ohio football team.
McClain head coach Shane Paul spoke about Davis this week before the event, about how much Davis worked to get to state.
"Brandon has had a great year and put in a lot of work," Paul said. "Some guys have aspirations of being at the state tournament, but they aren't willing to put in the work it takes to get there, and Brandon is one of those guys who got what he deserved because he's put the work in.
"This is a non-forgiving sport. If you miss practice or don't give everything you have … you get what you deserve. This is one of those situations where he got what he deserved, and he deserved to be at the state tournament."
The complete state tournament for Davis began with a win on Thursday in the opening-period match over Beau Swank, a junior from Bellefontaine Benjamin Logan, by pin fall at the 5:38 mark of the match.
In that match, Davis was 22 seconds away from defeat, as he was down 5-0 after the first period after Swank scored two points on a takedown, and near the end of the first period, Swank took the five-point lead with three more points.
In the second, Swank wanted to take the bottom to start the period, which in turn worked out in Davis' favor, as he controlled the second period by wrestling on top, as Davis all season long won his matches by controlling the top, giving him the nickname of "The Russian Bear."
In the final second of the second period, Davis scored two points on a reversal, coming back from being down 6-0 (Swank scored a point on an escape) for a 6-2 score following 4:00 of action.
Then came the third period, and Davis, again, controlled the top at the start, as he almost flipped Swank over on his shoulders with 59 seconds left on the clock.
Finally, Davis' pressure was too much for his opponent to fend off, as the McClain senior was able to cradle, and after a few seconds, the official slammed his hand on the mat for the pin fall victory.
"I had him in a headlock, then got an ankle pick, and I got him into a cradle and was able to pin him," Davis said following the opening-period match. "When I was down 6-0, I was a little worried, but I knew I had to get a pin to win."
Paul spoke about Davis' opening-period win.
"Brandon fought off his back in the first period, but from there, he wore the kid down," Paul said. "Getting the two points at the end of the second gave Brandon some confidence.
"When he got to stand, that was a better position for Brandon, so we were glad he took the bottom. To fight off his back the way Brandon did takes a lot of heart at this level."
Davis lost his second match at the 76th Annual State Wrestling Championship Friday morning, falling to undefeated senior Greg Moray of Steubenville.
Moray improved to 35-0 with a win by pin fall over Davis with 1:10 left on the clock in the first period of the Division II championship quarterfinals (220 pounds) at the Jerome Schottenstein Center, located on the campus of The Ohio State University.
In his match with Moray, who placed fourth at state last year, Davis was rushed and taken to the mat by Moray, who took control and maneuvered Davis over to eventually gain the win.
Davis rebounded from his first loss, all while avenging a loss from districts at the same time in his second match Friday, as the senior grappler wrestled his way past New Richmond's Nathan Dixon.
The win over Dixon guaranteed Davis a spot on the podium at the conclusion of the state tournament.
Dixon won the Goshen District championship by defeating Davis, but Davis was able to gain the upper hand a week later.
In his second 220-pound match of the day, Davis and Dixon stood and grappled for the entire 2:00 of the first period, as neither wrestler was able to gain any points.
Davis changed all of that in the second period, as he started on top, putting his opponent in a headlock while rotating him. Davis almost pinned Dixon, but the hold was called off for the safety of his opponent, but Davis did gain a 3-0 advantage with 1:10 left in the second period.
"Brandon was going to pin him again this time, but the official said the kid's face was turning a different shade, so they called the move potentially dangerous and let the kid off his back," Paul said.
Dixon answered with two points on a reversal to make it a 3-2 score.
Davis regained the top position to control the tempo of the match, keeping his one-point lead headed into the third period.
At the start of the third period, Davis lost the top position to Dixon, as the two maneuvered around the mat. Davis stood strong, and with under a minute left in the match, Davis connected with a two-point reversal to wrap up the win at 5-2.
"I had him in a front headlock (in the second period), then threw him down to his back and got my three," Davis said. "At the end of the match, I wouldn't let him get wrist control. He wanted to control my wrists, so I kept taking them away from him, and that's all he had.
"We were at an advantage at the start of the third, and it was our choice," Paul said. "The kid was on to the move we had ... what we did was decide to take down to start the period, and I know Brandon has a lot of heart and a lot of fight in him, and the kid was going to pretty much have to break him in order to turn him, and that's not something that is easy to do.
"The situation Brandon was in where the kid was in control, Brandon and I work on that every day in practice. I spend a lot of time wrestling with him personally and put him in those exact situations, so this isn't something that was new to him. The kid got high on him when he was riding his legs and grabbing his head, Brandon was able to get a reversal and two points at the end."
In his consolation quarterfinal match, Davis lost to Norton's Sean Rutherford by pin fall in 39 seconds. Rutherford moves to 39-4 overall this season.
Paul spoke about Davis becoming a state placer.
"It means a lot to both of us," Paul said. "For one, as a coach, wrestling is all about the kids. For Brandon, my goal as a coach for him at the start of the year was for him to be a state qualifier. Well, Brandon exceeded those expectations, and he's going to get to stand on the podium.
"He's the hardest worker in the room, and he's put everything he has into this sport since I've seen him. As far as our program .... this has given our program some state recognition."
Davis wrestled all three days of the state event, dropping his seventh-place match, Saturday afternoon to Billy Post of Conneaut by a 9-2 decision.
The senior wraps up his final season with a record of 46-9 overall, with a state tournament mark of 2-4, winning once on Thursday and once on Friday.
In his three years as a varsity wrestler, Davis totaled 106 wins in two different weight classes, as he wrestled at the heavyweight division his sophomore year and the past two years has wrestled at 220 pounds.
[[In-content Ad]]This season, Davis not only placed eighth at state, he won the South Central Ohio League championship at 220 pounds, won a sectional title at the Washington C.H. Sectionals and was runner-up at the Goshen Districts.
Davis becomes the fifth wrestler in McClain history to become a state-placer.
Also this school year, Davis was voted special mention to the Associated Press Division III All-Ohio football team.
McClain head coach Shane Paul spoke about Davis this week before the event, about how much Davis worked to get to state.
"Brandon has had a great year and put in a lot of work," Paul said. "Some guys have aspirations of being at the state tournament, but they aren't willing to put in the work it takes to get there, and Brandon is one of those guys who got what he deserved because he's put the work in.
"This is a non-forgiving sport. If you miss practice or don't give everything you have … you get what you deserve. This is one of those situations where he got what he deserved, and he deserved to be at the state tournament."
The complete state tournament for Davis began with a win on Thursday in the opening-period match over Beau Swank, a junior from Bellefontaine Benjamin Logan, by pin fall at the 5:38 mark of the match.
In that match, Davis was 22 seconds away from defeat, as he was down 5-0 after the first period after Swank scored two points on a takedown, and near the end of the first period, Swank took the five-point lead with three more points.
In the second, Swank wanted to take the bottom to start the period, which in turn worked out in Davis' favor, as he controlled the second period by wrestling on top, as Davis all season long won his matches by controlling the top, giving him the nickname of "The Russian Bear."
In the final second of the second period, Davis scored two points on a reversal, coming back from being down 6-0 (Swank scored a point on an escape) for a 6-2 score following 4:00 of action.
Then came the third period, and Davis, again, controlled the top at the start, as he almost flipped Swank over on his shoulders with 59 seconds left on the clock.
Finally, Davis' pressure was too much for his opponent to fend off, as the McClain senior was able to cradle, and after a few seconds, the official slammed his hand on the mat for the pin fall victory.
"I had him in a headlock, then got an ankle pick, and I got him into a cradle and was able to pin him," Davis said following the opening-period match. "When I was down 6-0, I was a little worried, but I knew I had to get a pin to win."
Paul spoke about Davis' opening-period win.
"Brandon fought off his back in the first period, but from there, he wore the kid down," Paul said. "Getting the two points at the end of the second gave Brandon some confidence.
"When he got to stand, that was a better position for Brandon, so we were glad he took the bottom. To fight off his back the way Brandon did takes a lot of heart at this level."
Davis lost his second match at the 76th Annual State Wrestling Championship Friday morning, falling to undefeated senior Greg Moray of Steubenville.
Moray improved to 35-0 with a win by pin fall over Davis with 1:10 left on the clock in the first period of the Division II championship quarterfinals (220 pounds) at the Jerome Schottenstein Center, located on the campus of The Ohio State University.
In his match with Moray, who placed fourth at state last year, Davis was rushed and taken to the mat by Moray, who took control and maneuvered Davis over to eventually gain the win.
Davis rebounded from his first loss, all while avenging a loss from districts at the same time in his second match Friday, as the senior grappler wrestled his way past New Richmond's Nathan Dixon.
The win over Dixon guaranteed Davis a spot on the podium at the conclusion of the state tournament.
Dixon won the Goshen District championship by defeating Davis, but Davis was able to gain the upper hand a week later.
In his second 220-pound match of the day, Davis and Dixon stood and grappled for the entire 2:00 of the first period, as neither wrestler was able to gain any points.
Davis changed all of that in the second period, as he started on top, putting his opponent in a headlock while rotating him. Davis almost pinned Dixon, but the hold was called off for the safety of his opponent, but Davis did gain a 3-0 advantage with 1:10 left in the second period.
"Brandon was going to pin him again this time, but the official said the kid's face was turning a different shade, so they called the move potentially dangerous and let the kid off his back," Paul said.
Dixon answered with two points on a reversal to make it a 3-2 score.
Davis regained the top position to control the tempo of the match, keeping his one-point lead headed into the third period.
At the start of the third period, Davis lost the top position to Dixon, as the two maneuvered around the mat. Davis stood strong, and with under a minute left in the match, Davis connected with a two-point reversal to wrap up the win at 5-2.
"I had him in a front headlock (in the second period), then threw him down to his back and got my three," Davis said. "At the end of the match, I wouldn't let him get wrist control. He wanted to control my wrists, so I kept taking them away from him, and that's all he had.
"We were at an advantage at the start of the third, and it was our choice," Paul said. "The kid was on to the move we had ... what we did was decide to take down to start the period, and I know Brandon has a lot of heart and a lot of fight in him, and the kid was going to pretty much have to break him in order to turn him, and that's not something that is easy to do.
"The situation Brandon was in where the kid was in control, Brandon and I work on that every day in practice. I spend a lot of time wrestling with him personally and put him in those exact situations, so this isn't something that was new to him. The kid got high on him when he was riding his legs and grabbing his head, Brandon was able to get a reversal and two points at the end."
In his consolation quarterfinal match, Davis lost to Norton's Sean Rutherford by pin fall in 39 seconds. Rutherford moves to 39-4 overall this season.
Paul spoke about Davis becoming a state placer.
"It means a lot to both of us," Paul said. "For one, as a coach, wrestling is all about the kids. For Brandon, my goal as a coach for him at the start of the year was for him to be a state qualifier. Well, Brandon exceeded those expectations, and he's going to get to stand on the podium.
"He's the hardest worker in the room, and he's put everything he has into this sport since I've seen him. As far as our program .... this has given our program some state recognition."