The Marysville High School wrestling team is pictured from left, front row, Tyler Bates, Payne Miller, Jaimeson Bigler, Michael Jones, Quentin Miller, Jake Marsh, Sam Shroyer, Nathan Dewitt, Logan Painter, Jacob Legge and Adam Hettel; second row, coach Nathan Andrews, Tyler Connolly, Ian Johnson, Steven Shamhart, Joey Robinson, Cole Hosterman, Zach Lowe, Walker Heard, Jake Ishmael, Jayden Simmons and Ethan Smegal; third row, head coach Shawn Andrews, Will Metheny, Garrett Seger, Lucas Moser, Dexter Coffee, Blayne Landon, Logan Hawn, Alex Reveron, Lincoln Heard and Parker Reese; fourth row, coach Ivan Mullett, Zach Eades, CJ Grose, Jager Snyder, Nathan Thompson, Nathan Morey, Grant Marshall, Chris Lambert and Joey Palmer.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)
The Marysville High School wrestling program looks rebound toward a championship campaign during the 2017-18 season.
The Monarchs have numerous athletes who have competed for conference, district and state honors in the past.
This year hopes to be no different, as numerous lettermen return in the various weight classes.
A look at each weight class follows:
-106/113: MHS returns two letter winners in Michael Jones and Quentin Miller.
“At one point we thought Michael may have grown into a 113-pounder, but early on it looks like he will be back at 106,” said head coach Shawn Andrews. “We will have a wrestle-off between the two of them. The way our schedule looks this season, we could see both of them at 106 at different times of the year. In the end, we will have some wrestle-offs and the loser will be the leading candidate for 113.”
-120: “We will likely see returning district qualifier Jamieson Bigler at this weight class,” said Andrews. “He hasn’t ruled out a return to 113, but will likely start the year at 120.
“Jamie made big gains during last season and has been working extremely hard in the off-season.” He said. “I am excited to see him compete.
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-126: Payne Miller was MHS’ back-up 120 last season and wrestled in a few varsity events.
“I anticipate him being the guy at the start of the season at 126,” said Andrews.
-132: Cole Hosterman has been in and out of the line-up during his first two years in the program.
“He is wrestling with more confidence right now than I have seen in the past,” said Andrews. “If he can keep that attitude, I think it will go along way towards a successful season.”
-138: A couple of athletes, Chris Lambert and Jayden Simmons, will battle for this spot early in the season.
“Both had productive freshman campaigns and will push to get into the lineup,” said Andrews. “As the season progresses, we could see Sam Shroyer at this weight as well.”
The Monarchs may have a variety of athletes competing in the weight classes between 145 and 170.
They will include Shroyer, Jacob Marsh, Walker Heard, Joey Robinson, Zach Lowe, Ian Johnson and Tyler Bates.
“All of these guys bring back experience from last season, highlighted by Marsh, Heard and Bates who all return as state tournament placers to fill three of the four weight classes,” said Andrews. “I anticipate some tough battles in the room for the fourth spot in that range of weight classes.
“By the middle of the year, I think you could see someone like Sam drop to 138 or Zach or Ian move up to 182 to challenge.”
-182: Nathan Dewitt, Jacob Ishmael and Jacob Legge will look to fill this spot. Dewitt is a returning district qualifier, while Ishmael and Legge earned their first varsity letters last season.
-195: This weight class will also see a battle between the incumbent Logan Painter, who was a district qualifier last year, and Adam Hettel, who competed 220 a year ago.
-220: District qualifier Ethan Smegal made the drop to 220 from heavyweight late in the season, This year, he has already made steps to be able to compete at 220 early on in the season.
“I look for him to make big improvements on his 1-2 finish at the district tournament last year,” said Andrews.
-285: Returning state qualifier Tyler Connolly looks to have the edge at heavyweight to start the season.
“He will, however, be pushed by fellow (football) offensive lineman Steven Shamhart,” said Andrews.
The Monarch coach said he expects his lettermen to lead the squad this year.
“We have big expectations and a rich tradition within our program,” said Andrews. “However, the leadership of our athletes will set the tone and identity for this year’s team.
“As coaches, we are excited at what we see so far, but we know that the season is long and we have to keep getting better every day.”
Marysville finished second to Dublin Coffman in the Ohio Capital Conference Central Division last season. As such, Andrews feels the divisional race will start this year with the Shamrocks.
“Hilliard Davidson is much improved after what would be considered a down year for them last season,” he said. “Central Crossing has some great individuals and a core of young talent.
“Our expectation is to be the top team in our conference this season, however, we won’t begin league matches until after the first of the year,” said Andrews. “We aren’t focusing on that too much at this point.”
The Monarch coach said the team’s yearly end-of-season goals have not changed.
“We think we have a team that can challenge for a district title, but we have a lot of work to do to make that a reality,” he said. “Olentangy Liberty returns some core pieces to their district championship team and Lancaster has a very talented team.
“At the state level, we return four wrestlers with state experience,” said Andrews. “Our focus has to be getting them higher up on the podium and adding a couple more of their teammates alongside them.
“We want to see Marysville on the board again (top 10) at the state tournament,” he said. “In order for us to do that, we have to maximize (our efforts) every single day.”