Marysville’s Carson Mize (left) ties up with Sam Moloney of Dublin Coffman (right) during the Division I district finals match at 175 pounds. The Monarch defeated the Shamrock in a 5-1 decision to take first place at the Hilliard Darby.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Kevin Behrens)
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Marysville’s boys wrestling team finished fifth during the Division I district tournament that was held Friday and Saturday at Hilliard Darby High School.
Dublin Coffman claimed the district team title with 237.5 points.
Olentangy Liberty was the runner-up with 216.5.
Olentangy was third with 110.5, followed by Mount Vernon-99, Marysville-97.5, Teays Valley-76, Lancaster-71, Dublin Scioto-66.5, Upper Arlington-59 and Olentangy Berlin-49.5 to round out the top 10.
There were a total of 45 programs represented at the district tournament.
Carson Mize of Marysville won the district championship of the 175-pound weight class.
Mize scored a 5-1 victory over Dublin Coffman’s Sammy Molony during the championship bout.
Mize is one of two area wrestlers to win a district title.
Awsom Mitchell of Triad captured the 175-pound crown during a Division III district tournament at Troy High School.
Mitchell is the first district wrestling champion for the Cardinals in recent memory.
He claimed the championship when he defeated Versailles’ Michael Osborne by a 3-1 count.
Mitchell was the lone Triad wrestler to qualify for the state tournament and place in the district.
Triad finished 16th in the D-III district with 40.5 points.
The top five teams in that tournament were Legacy Christian (136.5), Miami East (114.5), Alter (111.5), Covington (106.5) and Brookville (88.5).
More than 50 teams sent wrestlers to the tournament.
Marysville’s Gage Counts was the runner-up in the D-I 285-pound category.
Counts dropped a 10-4 verdict to Lancaster’s Luke Cox during the championship round.
Boston Burkhardt was the final Monarch grappler to qualify for the state.
He placed fourth in the 144-pound division.
Burkhardt dropped a 4-3 verdict to Mavrik Gregory (Mount Vernon) during the third-fourth place match.
The top four placers in each weight class have now advanced to the state tournament.
The Ohio High School Athletic Association state tournament will be held Friday through Sunday at the Schotteinstein Center on the campus of The Ohio State University.
Trent Sharp of MHS placed fifth in the 126-pound weight class and will be an alternate to the state meet.
That means he will compete if any of the top four district placers in his weight class would not be able participate in the state tournament.
Sharp secured his fifth-place finish with a 12-2 major decision over Nathan Cunningham of Marion Harding.
Jonathan Alder’s boys placed sixth during the Division II district that was held at Wilmington High School. They tallied 83.5 points.
St. Paris Graham, which has had a stranglehold on the D-II state title for a number of years, claimed the district championship with 236 points.
Columbus Bishop Watterson was the runner-up with 180 and Butler was third with 101.5.
Benjamin Logan placed fourth with 91 and Columbus Bishop Hartley was fifth with 84.5.
Rounding out the top 10 (behind the Pioneers) were Highland-79.5, Franklin-77.5, Granville-76 and Reading-62.
There were 48 teams in the district tournament.
Anthony Kroninger of Alder was the runner-up in the 165-pound weight class.
He was edged 10-9 by Watterson’s Michael Boyle during the title match.
Ethan Kuhns brought home a third-place finish for the Pioneers in the 144-pound category.
He defeated Luke Hangen of Watterson, 8-5, in the third-fourth place battle.
Dominic Kroninger placed fourth in the 285-pound class. He was pinned by Jeffery Blair of Dayton Chamindae-Julienne, :50.
Others placing for the Pioneers were as follows:
-106: Rayce Watson, fifth, pinned Layton Combs of Butler in 40 seconds;
-113: Junior Anderson, sixth, fell to Baiden Root of Graham, 7-3;
The Wildcats of North Union placed 20th (35 points) during the Division III district at Heath High School.
Barnesville (245.5), Northmor (104.5), Mechanicsburg (90.0), Garaway (85) and Elgin (84) secured the top five places during the event that attracted wrestlers from more than 50 teams.
North Union did not have any wrestlers qualify for the state tournament.
Tyler Cline placed fifth in the 215-pound division.
He scored a 7-1 verdict over Tayson Palmer of Martins Ferry during the placement bout.
Heath Ferguson of NU was fifth at 150.
He was pinned in 2:51 by Colton Domer of Garaway during the placement match.