GALION — Galion picked up victories over Willard and Bucyrus on Wednesday during a three-way wrestling match at the high school.
First up for Galion was a small squad from Willard. The Tigers had no trouble en route to a 48-12 win.
Four Tigers won by forfeit against the Crimson Flashes: Brenden Ganshorn (106), Cody Brady (126), Tyler Goodrich (132) and Matt Oehrli (160). The rest of the Galion wins came via pinfall: 182-pounds Garrett Kuns; 195-pounds Noah Grochowalski; 220-pounds Kyler Ratcliff; 285-pounds Mason Weldon.
In the 138-pound weight class, Galion’s Ryan Jenkins was pinned, as was Zach Carroll at 152-pounds.
The 145- and 170-pound weight classes were double forfeits.
Galion won a close 37-36 win over Bucyrus
“This was a nice win after a 48-48 tie earlier in the season,” said Galion head coach Brent Tyrrell. “It’s big to have this momentum headed to the MOAC championships and our kids are starting to believe in themselves”
Winning for the Tigers against Bucyrus were: 106-pounds, Ganshorn by forfeit; 126-pounds, Brady by technical fall, 21-6; 132-pounds, Goodrich via major decision, 12-4; 195-pounds, Ratcliff by forfeit; and 220-pounds, Grochowalski by pinfall.
Kuns, wrestling in the 170-pound weight class for the first time, earned a win by pinfall in 1:49.
When asked about the decision to drop Kuns a weight class, Tyrrell said: “When we wrestled in Van Buren, four of the placers there are in our sectionals and all six placers in the 182-pound class are in our district. We saw the writing on the wall, that he would not qualify for state in that class, so we both made the decision to drop down to 170-pounds.”
Weldon won a hard-fought battle in the heavyweight class by major decision, 13-5. Galion trailed Bucyrus heading into the 285-pound match, but Weldon’s win put the Tigers over the top.
“It was a big win, obviously. Mason wouldn’t have been able to pull that victory off last season, but he hung in there and came up big for us tonight,” Tyrrell said.
Bucyrus won by forfeit in the 113, 145 and 182-pound matches. The 120-pound weight class saw a double forfeit. The Redmen wrestled to victories by pinfall in the 138, 152 and 160-pound weight classes.
Galion will be tested next on Saturday Feb. 18 when they head to Highland High School to compete in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference championships. Wrestling starts at 10 am.
