GALION — Five Northmor wrestlers will see their season extended one more week, as they advanced through districts into the state meet.
In finishing third at the 60-team Division III district meet hosted by Heath, Northmor had 99 points and advanced five of the six wrestlers they brought. The state meet is this weekend at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus.
Conor Becker highlighted Northmor’s performance, as he won a district championship at 170 pounds to improve to 30-0 on the year as he attempts to earn his second straight state title.
Becker opened his district with a first-period pin over David Worza Jr. of Bridgeport before dominating Glenn Keeton III of Westfall in a 20-3 technical fall. In the semifinals, he defeated Kameron Hughes of Martins Ferry 5-0 and then, in a rematch of his sectional final match, pinning Mount Gilead’s Andy Williamson in 1:06.
In his first-round bout in Columbus, Becker will take on Cade Whittacar of Van Buren. Whittaker is 37-11.
Two more Northmor wrestlers took second place in Austin Amens and Niko Christo. Amens (38-8) advances to his first state meet as a senior behind three wins at 145 pounds. He opened with a 2-0 win against Xavier Lamneck of Ridgewood and then claimed a 10-0 win over Tucker Smith of Meigs. He edged Hayden Johnson of Richmond Edison by a 9-8 margin in the semis before losing by technical fall to Carter Chase of Pleasant in the finals.
Amens will take on Brennan Short of Archibald in his first match. Short is 53-8.
In reaching his second state meet in as many years, sophomore Niko Christo moved his record to 43-7. He opened with a 15-0 technical fall against Justin Butler of South Gallia before defeating Dylan Hershberger of Garaway by a 6-0 count. In his semifinal match, he got past Andrew Knaup of West Muskingum by an 11-10 count, but was topped 12-6 by Pleasant’s C.J. Smith in the finals.
The Knights’ 152-pounder will take on Greg Eberhardt of Massillon Tuslaw in his first match in Columbus. Eberhardt is 33-4.
Seniors Gavin Ramos and Dale Brocwell both finished in the top four at Heath.
Ramos claimed third place at 132 pounds and now is 41-8 on the season. He opened with a quick pin over Elijah Cox of Tuscarawas Valley and then won 6-1 over Todd Fouts of Trimble. He would lose by pin in the third period of his semifinal match with Gavin Weaver of Newcomerstown, but rallied with a 4-0 win over Devon Watkins of Sandy Valley and a win via default against Aiden Aiello.
Ramos will face Chase Caprella of Lima Central Catholic who is 34-3 in a found-round match at state.
In advancing to his first state meet, Brocwell (21-8) opened with a 10-5 win over Dylan Ward of Martins Ferry and a 9-8 decision against Branden Boggs of Sandy Valley at 106 pounds. He would lose by major decision to Wesley Wydick of Utica in the semis, but battled back to finish fourth. He won 12-5 in a rematch with Ward to clinch a spot in the state meet before losing by pin to Andrew Huck of Bidwell River Valley.
Brocwell takes on top seed in his bracket in a first-round match. Max Hermes of Milan Edison is 58-2 this season.
At 126 pounds, sophomore Marcus Cortez finished his season with a 21-18 record. He lost 11-7 to Gage Dyke in his opening match, but picked up a 28-second pin over Jonathan Rossano of Martins Ferry in the consolation bracket. He wouldn’t be able to continue advancing, though, as he was pinned by Tyler Bruer of Shenandoah in the next round.
