NORWALK — Galion High School freshman Alex Griffith is headed to the OHSAA state wrestling tournament.
Griffith (39-10) placed fourth in the 285-pound weight class at the Norwalk district tournament to earn a spot in the Division II state tournament scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, March 13-14 at Highland High School in Marengo. He faces Graham Local junior Nolan Neves (22-0), the undefeated top seed from the Wilmington district, in the first round on Saturday.
Neves competed in the 220-pound weight class during the 2019-2020 season and was the top seed out of the Wilmington district. However, the OHSAA wrestling tournament was canceled last year due to the COVID-19 outbreak. He finished with a 34-8 record in 2019-2020. Neves was also a state tournament qualifier as a freshman in 2018-2019, finishing with a 29-17 record.
Griffith, who finished third at the Clyde sectional tournament, opened the district tournament with a pinfall victory over Warrensville Heights senior Dakarai Johnson. He earned the fall at 3:32.
In the second round, which featured a rematch of the 285-pound championship match at the Mid Ohio Athletic Conference tournament, Griffith knocked off senior Nathan Zehner of Shelby 3-0 to earn a slot in the semifinal round. Zehner beat Griffithn 10-3 in the finals of the MOAC tournament.
Griffith squared off with 50-match winner Demitrius Hernandez of Napoleon in the 285 semifinals. Hernandez, a senior, prevailed via pinfall at 3:32.
The setback dropped Griffith into the semifinal round of the consolation bracket. He defeated senior Jaden Banister of Wauseon 4-0 to reach the third-place match.
In the third-place match, senior Jake Bever of Ashland defeated Griffith via pinfall at 3:38.
Freshman Landon Campbell (46-7) finished sixth in the 152-pound weight class at Norwalk. He defeated sophomore Calvin Gwinn of Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary via technical fall (21-5) in the first round and earned a 3-2 decision over junior Dominic Tracy from Defiance to reach the semifinals.
Campbell then lost to sophomore John Metzger of Ashland 4-0 in the semifinals. He lost both consolation bracket matches via default to finish in sixth place.
Senior Devin McCarthy ended his stellar career at Galion in the consolation bracket. He finished his final season with a 31-5 record, overcoming a shoulder injury along the way.
McCarthy claimed victory in his opening match on Thursday at Norwalk, winning a major decision by a final score of 19-9 against sophomore Brayden Hull of Napoleon.
McCarthy then squared off with senior Max Oprzadek of Sandusky Perkins in the quarterfinals, dropping a hard-fought 8-7 decision to fall into the consolation bracket.
McCarthy battled back through the consolation bracket, defeating freshman Cole Dille of Ontario via major decision (10-1) in the second round. He then lost to sophomore C.J. Poole from Tiffin Columbian 4-3 in the third round of the consolation bracket on Saturday morning.
In the 182-pound weight class, Galion senior Max Fisher lost to senior Nate Barrett from Madison Comprehensive via pinfall (1:27) in the opening round. Fisher pinned junior Grant Bell of Orange in just 38 seconds in the first round of the consolation bracket, but lost to senior Griffen Novotny from Bay 9-6 in the second round.
Tigers junior Mitchell Young lost via pinfall (1:23) to Aurora junior Dylan Fishback in the first round of the 195-pound weight class on Friday. He then dropped a major decision (10-2) to sophomore Ean Kramer of Wapakoneta in the first round of the consolation bracket.
Division II Norwalk District Tournament
Team Scores
1. Buckeye 148.5; 2. Bellevue 144.5; 3. Akron SVSM 134.5; 4. Wauseon 132.0; 5. Aurora 125.0; 6. Ashland 118.5; 7. Columbian 118.0; 8. Ontario 68.5; 9. Perkins 68.0; 10. Mad. Comprehensive 67.5; 11. St. Marys Memorial 67.0; 12. Clyde 48.0; 13. Bowling Green 47.0; 14. Sandusky 41.0; 15. Wapakoneta 35.5; 16. Upper Sandusky 34.5; 17. Napoleon 34.0; 18. Galion 30.5; 19. Celina 29.0; 20. Bay 28.0; 21. Shelby 27.0; 22. Benedictine 22.0; 23. Vermilion 21.0; 24. Bryan 17.0; 25. Elida 14.0; Orange 14.0; 27. Clear Fork 13.5; 28. Port Clinton 13.0; 29. Chagrin Falls 11.0; 30. Defiance 10.0; Mansfield Senior 10.0; Ottawa-Glandorf 10.0; 33. Fostoria 9.0; 34. Rossford 8.0; 35. Beachwood 6.0; Huron 6.0; 37. Norwalk 4.0; 38. Maumee 2.0; Van Wert 2.0; 40. Chaney 1.0; 41. Lima Shawnee 0.0; Rocky River 0.0; Warrensville Hts. 0.0.
Individual Results
First Place
106: Codie Cuerbo (Aurora) pin Tyler Hisey (St. Marys Memorial) 1:21
113: Kenneth Crosby (Akron SVSM) dec. Robbie Sagaris (Aurora) 9-4
120: Cameron Deiter (Bowling Green) dec. Damon Molina (Wauseon) 5-1
126: Eddie Pinc (Buckeye) dec. Landon Engle (Celina) 7-3
132: Bret Minnick (Columbian) dec. Elliott Alessia (Akron SVSM) 7-6
138: Eddie Neitenbach (Buckeye) dec. Justin Smythe (Bellevue) 12-9
145: Jayden Jones (Ashland) dec. Maddox Simcoe (Columbian) 3-2
152: Elijah Hunter (Sandusky) maj. dec. John Metzger (Ashland) md12-3
160: Ethan Turnbaugh (Ontario) dec. Max Ray (Bellevue) 6-3
170: Brody Conley (Columbian) pin Hunter Hutcheson (Mad. Comprehensive) 1:29
182: Justin Mayes (Bellevue) dec. Carter Kroll (Ontario) 7-3
195: Dylan Fishback (Aurora) pin Trenton Osborne (Mad. Comprehensive) 0:30
220: Bryson Getz (Akron SVSM) dec. Mason Cover (Bay) 3-1
285: Todd Allen (Buckeye) dec. Demitrius Hernandez (Napoleon) 4-1
Third Place
106: Billy Smith (Perkins) dec. Collin Twigg (Wauseon) 7-2
113: Colin Mellott (Wapakoneta) dec. Logan Cravatas (Buckeye) 5-3
120: Dierre Clayton (Akron SVSM) dec. Antwan Sagaris (Aurora) 7-2
126: Te`Andre Allen (Orange) dec. Jayden Mayes (Bellevue) 5-0
132: Lawson Grime (Wauseon) pin Griffin Adkins (Ashland) 0:30
138: Max Oprzadek (Perkins) def. C.J. Poole (Columbian) Default
145: Mike Kinzel (Bowling Green) dec. Emery Pahl (Upper Sandusky) 7-5
152: Trevor Badiu (Buckeye) dec. Connor Twigg (Wauseon) 10-6
160: J.D. Thom (Perkins) maj. dec. Zaidan Kessler (Wauseon) md10-2
170: Austin Kovar (Wauseon) pin Ryan Price (Akron SVSM) 1:46
182: Nate Barrett (Mad. Comprehensive) pin Chris Bennett (Vermilion) 1:53
195: Collin Corapi (Bellevue) pin Dillon Pollard (Sandusky) 2:40
220: Carson Ingram (Shelby) pin Jakob Beverly (Ashland) 0:46
285: Jake Bever (Ashland) pin Alex Griffith (Galion) 3:38
Fifth Place
106: Jacob Ohl (Ontario) dec. Colyn Limbert (Buckeye) 11-4
113: Trevor Hisey (St. Marys Memorial) pin Frank Depinet II (Upper Sandusky) 2:08
120: Lance Overmyer (Clyde) maj. dec. Case George (Ashland) md8-0
126: Bryce Skinner (Akron SVSM) pin Zaden Torres (Wauseon) 4:54
132: Bo DiJulius (Aurora) dec. James Simms (Fostoria) 6-0
138: Conner Douglass (Elida) pin Angel Rosales (Ottawa-Glandorf) 5:00
145: Jameson Mullens (Port Clinton) dec. Nicholas Abounader (Benedictine) 9-4
152: Sam Partain (Chagrin Falls) def. Landon Campbell (Galion) Default
160: Chase Dillow (Ashland) pin Cameron Krueger (Clyde) 3:53
170: Cade Carroll (Clyde) dec. Dillon Badiu (Buckeye) 6-5
182: Stashu Patterson (St. Marys Memorial) pin Manny Aller (Columbian) 1:49
195: Dylan McCandless (Bryan) pin Kasean Hatlay (Columbian) 0:59
220: Evan Straub (Bellevue) dec. Ronald Williams (Benedictine) 6-0
285: Brock Nunez (Bellevue) dec. Jaden Banister (Wauseon) 3-1
