Marysville wrestlers Jacob Marsh (left) and Tyler Connolly placed fourth and fifth respectively in the 152 and 285-pound weight classes at the Walsh Ironman Tournament.
(Photo submitted)
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The Marysville High School wrestling team placed 24th during the annual Walsh Ironman Tournament over the weekend. There were 80 teams representing 17 states that competed in the tournament.
The Monarchs had a pair of wrestlers earn their way to the awards podium.
Jake Marsh placed fourth in the 152-pound weight class, while Tyler Connolly brought home fifth-place accolades at 285.
This was the fourth time that the Monarchs have been included in the Ironman. Marsh and Connolly were only the third and fourth grapplers to place for them at the event.
Marsh, who posted a 5-2 record and tallied 20 team points, became MHS’ first two-time placer at the event.
He received a first-round bye and then pinned Chris Hisey of Malvern Prep (PA) in 3:10.
The fall was followed by a 4-3 decision over Paddy Gallagher of Lakewood St. Edward.
Marsh dropped his first match of the tournament when he was defeated 8-3 by Will Lewan of Montini Catholic of Illinois.
The Monarch grappler rebounded in the consolation round with a 5-1 verdict over Jace Luchau of Selma, California.
Marsh notched a 4:20 pinfall over Jake Silverstein of Hauppauge (NY) High School.
Marsh moved to the consolation semifinals, where he topped Josh Humphreys of Parkersburg (W. Va.) South by a 4-2 verdict.
He dropped a 15-7 major decision in a rematch with Lewan in the battle for third place.
Connolly, who also had a first-round bye, tallied 15 team points.
His tournament began with a 4:38 pin over Antonio Cutrie of Wyoming Seminary (PA).
The championship quarterfinals saw Connolly put Max Millin of Massillon Perry to the mat in 4:33.
Connolly moved into the semifinals, where he lost a 3-0 decision to P.J. Mustipher of McDonogh School of Maryland.
That setback put Connolly in the consolation bracket, where Cutrie got his revenge with a 21 second pin in the semifinals.
Connolly then won the fifth-place bout with a 2-1 ultimate tie-breaker decision over Curtis Ruff of Lake Highland Prep School of Florida.
The Monarchs were also represented at the Ironman by Walker Heard (145) and Tyler Bates (160).
Heard posted a 1-2 record and scored two team points.
His lone victory was a 7-6 verdict over Chucky Lipss of Cincinnati Elder.
Bates also won one match in three bouts, finishing with four points.
He scored a 9-2 decision over Hunter Thompson of Reynolds (PA) High School.
“The Ironman is widely considered as the toughest in-season wrestling tournament in the country,” said Monarch coach Shawn Andrews.
“Jake entered the tournament as the No. 3 seed and Tyler was the eighth-seed,” he said. “They both battled back after losses to earn their way to the awards podium.”
The rest of the varsity Monarchs traveled to Sparta Highland to compete in the Kilted Klassic tournament.
“We were down the four starters who were at the Ironman and two more who took the ACT on Saturday,” said Andrews. “We were still able to walk away with a second-place finish to Findlay.”
The Monarchs tallied 314 points, behind Findlay’s 413.
There were 17 teams in the tournament.
“This is a great event on our schedule because we are able to send our starters, plus some additional wrestlers,” said Andrews. “They format the tournament in round-robin pools that then place wrestlers into brackets based on their pool record.
“The good thing is that it allows all of our wrestlers to get as many matches as possible,” he said. “The downside is that if a wrestler loses a match in their pool, they may not place any higher than fifth.”
First-place honors went to Quentin Miller (4-0) at 106, Nathan Dewitt (5-0) at 182 and Logan Painter (5-0) at 220.
Sam Shroyer went 4-1 to place as runner-up in the 145 division, while Payne Miller (4-1) was third at 126.
Earning fourth-place finishes were Jamieson Bigler (3-2), 120; Jayden Simmons (3-2), 138; Jacob Ishmael (3-2), 195; and Joey Palmer (3-2), 220.
Blayne Landon (160) and Zach Lowe (170) placed fifth with matching records of 4-1. Adam Hettel was also fifth at 195 with a 3-2 mark.
A sixth-place finish came from Chris Lambert (145), who won three of his five matches.
Joey Robinson posted the same record and placed seventh at 152.
Jacob Legge (172) and Lucas Moser (132) each went 3-2 on the day as well.
They did not place in the tournament.
The Monarchs will return to action with some competing in the Southeast Ohio Coaches Classic on Saturday and Sunday.
Other MHS grapplers will compete in the Bexley varsity duals on Saturday.
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