Marysville’s Erryl Will (top photo) and Lincoln Heard (bottom) have control over their opponents during the matches for seventh/eighth place at Hilliard Darby High School on Sunday. Will and Heard claimed seventh place in their respective weight classes during the Division I state tournament. (Journal-Tribune photos by Tim Miller)
Marysville High School wrestlers earned three medals during the final day of the 2020-21 Division I state tournament that was held at Hilliard Darby High School.
Only a couple of Monarch grapplers, however, were actually able to take to the mat.
Senior Lincoln Heard (138) and junior Erryl Will (152) each placed seventh in their respective weight classes.
Colton Powers, MHS’ 170-pound sophomore, had to default on Sunday due to an ankle injury he suffered during a match Saturday evening. As a result, he finished eighth.
Heard began the tournament Saturday morning with a 5-3 victory over Max Boaz of Lakota East.
It was the 100th victory of his high school career.
That was followed by Heard’s most difficult match of the tournament.
Colin Roberts of Austintown-Fitch had complete control during a championship quarterfinal bout.
Roberts scored a 20-5 technical fall, which sent Heard into the consolation bracket.
Heard kept himself alive for a possible third/fourth place finish with a 3-1 verdict over Daniel Eggelton of Maple Heights.
Heard, however, slipped further down Sunday morning when he was pinned in 4:50 by Jacob Reed of Lancaster.
That put in him in the match for seventh/eighth place.
He faced a familiar foe for that placing when he was matched once again with Boaz.
The first period of that battle ended with a 0-0 stalemate.
Boaz notched an escape during the second period to take a 1-0 lead into the final two minutes of regulation.
Heard (who finished 27-8 for the season) tied the match at 1-1 with an escape and got a takedown to win the match, 3-1, for seventh place.
“The tournament had some ups and downs for me,” said Heard. “I got to the awards podium, which was my goal, but I would have liked to place higher.
“Still, I was able to finish my high school wrestling career with a win.”
Heard said he is undecided about his future.
“I’m either going to go to West Virginia University as a student or go to Ashland and also wrestle,” he said.
Will began his state journey Saturday afternoon with a 4-3 triumph over Luke Marsh of Lebanon.
The MHS junior then found himself in a difficult battle with Victor Voinovich of Brecksville (ranked No. 1 in the nation).
Will couldn’t get much offense going and was put to the mat in 2:26.
The Monarch grappler needed overtime during his first consolation match.
He was, however, able to edge Danny Martich of Painesville Riverside by a 6-4 verdict.
Will was still alive for a shot at third or fourth place.
He was deadlocked with Westland’s Jakob Hurley after the first period of Sunday’s opening match.
Will went on top, 1-0, with an escape, but soon trailed 2-1.
Hurley then pinned Will with 36 seconds left in the second period.
Will lost to Hurley at the sectional and district tourneys.
That setback pushed Will into the match for seventh and eighth place.
There, he tangled with Daniel Devera of Parma.
Will took a 2-0 lead in the first period on a takedown and upped his advantage to 4-1 in the second set for another such maneuver.
Both grapplers notched escapes during the third period with Will coming out on top, 5-2.
“I got caught during my first match today against Hurley,” said Will (who finished the 2020-21 campaign with a 38-8 record). “I didn’t work at taking it one match-at a time.
“I came back for a final win and got to the podium,” he said. “My goal now is to place higher next year.”
Powers began the tournament with a 1-0 loss to Luke Vanadia of Brecksville.
His first consolation bout resulted in a 4-0 victory over Mitchell Reardon of Sycamore.
Powers remained in the running for a third/fourth place finish with he toppled Tyler Hicks of Beavercreek during another consolation bout on Saturday.
That was the match in which the MHS grappler injured his ankle.
He warmed up prior to the start of Sunday’s bouts, but discovered he couldn’t put much weight on the ankle.
A default resulted in Powers (who finished at 32-8 for the season) placing eighth.
“It was tough not to be able to wrestle today,” he said. “I couldn’t go any further and didn’t want to mess up my ankle for football.
“I’m a sophomore and I’ll have two more chances at the state wrestling tournament.”
Marysville had three additional grapplers who competed Saturday evening.
They were as follows:
-160: Jack Golla, lost his first-round match to Enrique Munguia of Elyria by a 14-1 major decision; fell to Nick Campbell of Brecksville, 3-1 in overtime.
-195: Ben Bickerstaff, dropped his opening match to Marvelous Rutledge of Stebbins by an 11-4 count; was pinned in 51 seconds by Zach Porch of Berea-Midpark.
-Hwt: Zach McMinn, was pinned in 4:38 during his opening bout by Radical Rothermel of Trenton-Edgewood; suffered a 1:13 pinfall at the hands of Aeden Begue of GlenOak.