Katie Palmer of Marysville, top, controls the head of Mason’s Emma Schatzel during a recent match. The Lady Monarchs will host the district wrestling tournament on Sunday. (Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)
Teams with rosters that number anywhere from 16 to one will take to the mats at Marysville High School on Sunday.
MHS will host the Ohio Wrestling Coaches Association girls district wrestling tournament with action set to begin at 11 a.m.
Marysville and Miami East (the defending state champion) have the most girls – 16 – to fill the 14 weight classes.
MHS, however, will not have any athletes in the 101 and 111-pound brackets.
Ridgedale and Rossford both have five, while Bellefontaine will send three grapplers to the mats.
A number of schools have two wrestlers who will compete.
Those schools include Jonathan Alder, Caledonia River Valley, Greenon, Madison Plains, Montpelier, Napolean, Piqua and Tinora.
There are a number of schools that will have one athlete in the competition.
North Union is among those schools, along with Archbold, Collins Western Reserve, Defiance, Greenville, Liberty Center, London, Mechanicsburg, Mt. Gilead, Parkway, Paulding, Sidney, Spencerville, Sylvania Southview, Tipp City Tippecanoe, Toledo Start, Troy and Toledo Whitmer.
Girls wrestling has expanded from a one-weekend state tournament to district events with four qualifiers that feed into a 16-person bracket for state tourney the following week.
“From a sanctioning standpoint, we (the coaches association) think this is an important step for the Ohio High School Athletic Association to see for long-term growth,” said MHS head boys coach Shawn Andrews (who also helps with the girls squad).
Girls coach Terri Waller is currently absent from the team due to illness.
“It is pretty amazing that even during a pandemic, participation grew around the state by more than 100 girls this season.”
The Lady Monarchs will be involved in the race for the district title, since they are one of only two teams with a large roster.
“Miami East is probably the favorite to win the team championship,” said Andrews. “Our goal is to get as many girls to the state tournament as possible,” he said. “It’s just like the boys side… how you place this week will set you up on the bracket for the state tournament.”
Teams may enter extra grapplers in each weight division of the district tournament if there is space on the bracket.
Only one athlete in each weight class per school, however, will tally points for the team’s score.
Marysville’s district lineup will be as follows:
-106: Emma Swart;
-116: Cali Leng and Nevaya Natividad;
-121: Maddie Adelsberger and Malia Burkhardt;
-126: Mia Oribello;
-131: Emily Segner and Izzie Deahl;
-137: Lauren Sloboda and Haley Winans;
-143: Katie Palmer;
-150: Sophia Smegal;
-160: Aubrey Reese;
-170: Olana Chapman;
-189: Olivia Ishmael;
-235: Heily Ramos-Valez.
The state tournament will be held Saturday, Feb. 20 and Sunday, Feb. 21 at Hilliard Davidson High School.
Half of the weight classes will be contested on Feb. 20, with the other half the following day.