GALION — Clear Fork and Galion placed first and second, respectively, in the Mid Ohio Athletic Conference wrestling championships on Saturday.
The Colts won two weight class titles, were runnersup in three weight classes, and finished third in seven weight classes on the way to amassing 193 points and the team title.
Galion finished as the runnerup with 165 points. Tigers wrestlers won three weight class championships, placed second in two others, finished third in three weight classes, and placed fourth in four classes.
Tigers senior Devin McCarthy (138 pounds) claimed his second consecutive MOAC title, defeating Ryan Blanton of River Valley 8-6 in the finals. McCarthy won at 132 pounds last season.
The victory in the 2021 tournament was especially sweet for McCarthy due to a variety of challenges he’s had to overcome this season.
“I’ve been out for a month because of my shoulder injury, so coming back and winning this is a big deal to me,” McCarthy said. “We get a plaque that’s going to go up on the wall in our wrestling room so everyone can see it for generations to come hopefully. On the plaque it’s going to be back to back (2020 and 2021), so that’s going to look nice.”
McCarthy said he believes returning to action and picking up an important victory will help prepare him for the remainder of the postseason.
“I’m going to try to go through sectionals and make it to districts and hopefully make it to state,” he said. “As a senior, that’d be nice.”
Galion coach Brent Tyrrell said he was glad to see McCarthy bounce back and earn the tournament win.
“He’s a good kid. He’s put four years of hard work in and he’s become a two-time MOAC champ,” Tyrrell said. “He’s having a good season. We still have a little refining to do. He’ll be ready to go next week.”
Sophomores Landon Campbell (152 pounds) and Kooper McCabe (170 pounds) also collected MOAC gold on Saturday.
Campbell defeated Brennan Strickler of Ontario 5-1 in the championship bout at 152. He said he had a simple goal for the tournament and the final match in particular.
“I went out there with the mindset of attacking, attacking, attacking,” Campbell said. “Once I got up by a little bit, I knew I had control, so I was just trying to get breakdowns and control the wrist until I could see a turn coming. I just needed to win for the team. It means a lot to me to get a win at this tournament. It boosted my confidence a lot and hopefully I can do it again at sectionals and districts and maybe make it to state.”
McCabe and Brandon Mulvaine of Pleasant engaged in a cagey battle of sophomore grapplers in the 170-pound championship match, which saw McCabe prevail 6-2 with a sudden victory in overtime.
“He’s a tough kid,” McCabe said about Mulvaine. “The whole match he’s just fighting. We went into overtime because I gave up that final takedown. The kid is a fighter, honestly. He was a really good opponent. I wrestled him earlier in the season and I beat him then, but I knew it was going to be tougher because he’s been working for this. All credit to him. It really felt good to get a win for my team.”
Sophomore Brodyn Buctcher (126 pounds) and freshman Alex Griffith (285 pounds) each finished second in their respective weight classes.
Tigers winning third-place matches included Kidren Clark (120 pounds), Sam Wegesin (145 pounds), and Max Fisher (182 pounds).
Conner Ganshorn (106 pounds), Ian Lehman (132 pounds), Ryder McCabe (160 pounds), and Caden Roberts (220 pounds) each placed fourth in their weight classes.
Tyrrell said while he was pleased with his team’s overall performance, the outcome was somewhat bittersweet.
“Our goal was to get first, but we didn’t get to our goal, but we still wrestled pretty decently,” Tyrrell said. “We had some good performances. We would’ve liked to have won the tournament, but we’ll be ready to go next week.”
Galion is scheduled to compete in the Division II sectional meet on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 26-27 at Clyde High School.
FINAL TEAM STANDINGS
1. Clear Fork 193.0
2. Galion 165.0
3. Shelby 129.0
4. Ontario 123.5
5. Marion Harding 103.0
6. Pleasant 98.0
7. River Valley 95.5
CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHES
106 — Jacob Ohl (Ontario) pin Peyton Hoskins (Clear Fork) 3:09
113 — Daxton Chase (Pleasant) dec. Riley Kleshinski (Ontario) 5-0
120 — Drake Cerny (Marion Harding) pin Champ Delancy (Clear Fork) 1:05
126 — Isaiah Thomas (Clear Fork) pin Brodyn Butcher (Galion) 1:50
132 — Draven Hubley (Marion Harding) dec. Garrett Montgomery (Shelby) 4-1
138 — Devin McCarthy (Galion) dec. Ryan Blanton (River Valley) 8-6
145 — Brady Au (Clear Fork) maj. dec. Trace Thomas (Shelby) md10-0
152 — Landon Campbell (Galion) dec. Brennan Strickler (Ontario) 5-1
160 — Ethan Turnbaugh (Ontario) pin C.J. Smith (Pleasant) 1:44
170 — Kooper McCabe (Galion) dec. Brandon Mulvaine (Pleasant) 6-2 SV
182 — Carter Kroll (Ontario) pin Matt Marzetti (Clear Fork) 3:16
195 — Hadyn Danals (River Valley) pin Rashawn Turner (Marion Harding) 1:07
220 — Cooper Graham (River Valley) dec. Carson Ingram (Shelby) 12-8
285 — Nathan Zehner (Shelby) dec. Alex Griffith (Galion) 10-3
THIRD PLACE MATCHES
106 — Gabe Thacker (River Valley) pin Conner Ganshorn (Galion) 2:28
113 — Jaxon Swank (Clear Fork) pin Samson St. (Marion Harding) 2:20
120 — Kidren Clark (Galion) maj. dec. Owen Rogers (River Valley) Major Decision 16-3
126 — David Backus (Marion Harding) pin Nathan Ganzhorn (Shelby) 1:10
132 — Ky Emmerson (River Valley) pin Ian Lehman (Galion) 2:49
138 — Garrett Baker (Shelby) dec. Spencer Steed (Pleasant) 7-4
145 — Sam Wegesin (Galion) pin Chase Studer (Ontario) 3:48
152 — Luke Schlosser (Clear Fork) dec. Jayden McManus (Pleasant) 5-2
160 — Josh Fenton (Clear Fork) dec. Ryder McCabe (Galion) 2-1
170 — Travis Bowman (Clear Fork) dec. Kobe Johnson (Marion Harding) 9-4
182 — Max Fisher (Galion) pin Conner Sparling (Pleasant) 4:45
195 — Tony Gadfield (Clear Fork) pin Skyler Winters (Shelby) 1:45
220 — Eli Fenton (Clear Fork) dec. Caden Roberts (Galion) 5-3
285 — Fred Proto (Clear Fork) pin Rod Lyman (Pleasant) 1:56
