Zach McMinn of Marysville (top) has the arm of Jonathan Alder’s Damon Hay under control during a 285-pound bout at the Ron Thomas Sr. Invitational. McMinn won the match, 8-2, and went on to win the championship of the weight class on Saturday. (Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)
Marysville’s varsity boys wrestling squad had little trouble capturing top honors at Jonathan Alder on Saturday.
The Monarchs tallied 225.5 points to win the annual Ron Thomas Sr. Invitational.
Licking Valley was the runner-up with 166.5 points.
Jonathan Alder was third with 156.
The Pioneers were followed by:
Little Miami-125, Bidwell River Valley-123.5, Westerville Central-117.5, Caledonia River Valley-116.5, Norwayne-103, Westland-95.5, Kenton Ridge-72.5; Columbus Bishop Watterson-38.5 and Bexley-24.6.
Jack Golla (152), Colton Powers (170) and Zach McMinn (285) earned first-place accolades in their respective weight classes.
Golla won his first three matches by pinfalls.
He took Joey Wehmeyer of Little Miami down in 1:33, toppled William Short of Columbus Bishop Watterson in 1:26 and sent Logan Miracle of Caledonia River Valley to defeat in 4:56.
Golla earned a 2-1 sudden victory over Jakob Hurley of Westland.
That put him into the championship match, where he won an ultimate tiebreaker.
Powers opened the tournament with a 4:34 fall over Jonathan Alder’s Pryce Watson.
He followed with a 26-second pinfall over Norwayne’s Benjamin Burtt and a 1:07 pin over Westerville Central’s Logan Moore.
Powers notched a 3:41 pin over Danny Siegel of Columbus Bishop Hartley in the championship bracket.
He then defeated Alex Hobbs of Little Miami, 9-4, in the title match.
McMinn began the tournament with a 3-2 victory over Bishop Watterson’s Derek Caswell.
He then defeated Alder’s Damon Hay, 12-9.
McMinn won by injury default over Colt Weaver of Caledonia River Valley.
Another River Valley grappler, this one from Bidwell, was pinned by McMinn. That bout finished in 2:46.
McMinn claimed the 285-crown with a 5-3 verdict over Collin Streuer of Little Miami.
Nathan Thompson (126) placed second.
His results were as follows:
-Pinned Luis Gonzales (Westerville Central), 1:13;
-Took Lincoln Guthrie of Norwayne down in 3:04;
-Toppled Andy Huck of Bidwell River Valley by a 17-4 major decision;
-Scored a 4-2 verdict over Eli Turbovich of Jonathan Alder;
-Fell by a 17-7 major decision to Licking Valley’s Alijah Stevens in the title match.
Erryl Will of MHS placed second at 160.
He pinned Nick Finke of Jonathan Alder and Shayd Cellar of Caledonia River Valley by respective times of 1:57 and 1:41.
Will scored a 14-3 major decision over Aiden Greene of Bidwell River Valley and then pinned Tate Sterling of Westerville Central in 2:51.
Will was pinned in 3:29 by Dylan Dodson of Licking Valley during the championship match.
Ben Bickerstaff earned the second spot at 195 pounds.
He claimed his first four matches by pinfall or a major decision.
Bickerstaff put Jayden DeWitt of Kenton Ridge to the mat in 1:05.
Wyatt Reynolds of Westerville Central fell victim to the MHS grappler in 1:53.
Bickerstaff notched a 15-4 major verdict over Jacob Mullens of Westland.
He earned the right to advance to the title match with a 1:25 pin over Will Heisler of Jonathan Alder.
Bickerstaff lost in the finals by an 18-6 technical fall against Hadyn Daniels of Caledonia River Valley.
Lincoln Heard (145) placed second.
He pinned Jack Traudt of Westerville Central and David Ivan Medina of Westland with respective times of 2:49 and 2:40.
Heard scored a technical fall (22-6) over Owen Crabtree of JA and scored a 5-3 victory over Bidwell River Valley’s Nathan Cadle.
Heard dropped a 7-0 verdict to Norwayne’s Austin Shepherd during the title bout.
Josh Proper of Jonathan Alder took first place in the 120-pound weight class.
Oliver Byerly did the same at 138.
Reese Chapman (113) and Xavier Pierce (106) of Jonathan Alder earned runner-up spots in their weight divisions.
Additional places for the Monarchs (and their records) were as follows:
-120: Emilio Guerrero, third, 4-1;
-182: Christian McCartney, third, 3-2;
-132: Lincoln Witt, fourth, 2-3;
-113: Zach Pfarr, fourth, 2-3;
-220: Steven Garcia, seventh, 2-3.
Colton Powers (top) attempts to turn Jonathan Alder’s Pryce Watson during Saturday’s Ron Thomas Sr. Invitational at JA. Powers won the match and later captured top honors in the 170-pound weight class.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)