Marysville High School wrestlers Logan Painter (left) and Walker Heard will compete in all-star matches on Tuesday at Worthington Kilbourne High School. The matches will be a part of the annual Central District Wrestling Coaches Association All-Star event.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)
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The 2018-19 wrestling season will unofficially get under way on Tuesday for a pair of Marysville High School athletes.
Walker Heard and Logan Painter are scheduled to compete in the Central District Wrestling Coaches Association (CDWCA) All-Star matches.
The bouts will begin at 7 p.m. at Worthington Kilbourne High School.
Monarch grapplers have been competing in the All-Star event for a number of years, back at least to the early 1990s.
The event was held at Gahanna-Lincoln High School for many preseasons, but school officials chose to no longer host it several years ago after a switch in coaches/athletic directors.
Marysville High School has hosted the event once.
“Coaches may volunteer to host the event, but it really comes down to being in a centralized location,” said Marysville High School head coach Shawn Andrews. “Marysville is not centrally-located for most schools in the Central District.”
Despite some travel over the years, the Monarch boss likes the event.
“It’s a good way to mark the unofficial start of the season,” he said. “After a couple of weeks of practice, this is a good change of pace for high school wrestlers.”
The event’s format has changed this year.
“The CDWCA is trying a new format this year by pairing guys up regardless of division,” said Andrews. “Tuesday is going to be a busy day for us, as our team completes hydration testing that day.
“However, we are excited for our guys to compete.
“The executive board of our coaches association tried to make some changes in order to increase interest,” said Andrews. “There has been a drop-off in the number of teams attending, so they are looking to increase the appeal of the event. I am not sure if the new format will do so or not.”
Heard, who placed sixth during last year’s state Division I 145-pound division, will wrestle at 152 pounds during the All-Star event. He will face Billy Luft of Newark Catholic, who placed sixth in the weight class during last year’s Division III state tournament.
Painter will compete at 195 pounds against Jack Wilson of New Albany.
That will be a rematch from the 2018 Division I district fifth-sixth place match.
Painter claimed victory in that bout with a 2:32 pin over Wilson.
“I would expect both Walker and Logan to do well in this event,” said Andrews. “It is a match consisting of three, one-minute periods and is by definition an exhibition match.”