Jack Golla, top, Marysville’s 160-pounder, locks legs with a Lancaster opponent in this file photo. The Monarchsd will host a Division I sectional tournament on Saturday. (Journal-Tribune photo by Sam Dillon)
The host Monarchs, Lancaster and Olentangy Liberty figure to be the top three teams when Division I sectional wrestling action is held on Saturday.
The tournament at Marysville High School will be split into two sessions due to COVID-19 guidelines.
Athletes in the 106-145 weight classes will take to the mats at 9 a.m.
Competition for those from 152 to heavyweight will begin at 4 p.m.
Additional teams in the field are Westland, Westerville South, Worthington Kilbourne, Franklin Heights, Mifflin, Columbus Northland, Columbus Walnut Ridge and Columbus Briggs.
“We’ve competed against both Lancaster and Olentangy Liberty this season,” said MHS head coach Shawn Andrews. “We defeated Lancaster (during the state duals tournament) and lost to Olentangy Liberty.
“We figure it’s going to be a three-horse race between us and those two schools for the sectional championship.”
A key to capturing the sectional crown will depend, the coach said, on each grappler doing his own part.
“Each guy is 1-14th of a team,” he said. “It’s going to come down to scoring bonus points, such as pins, major decisions and technical falls.
“It’s also going to depend on which team gets the most wrestlers into first and second-place finishes.”
The Monarchs will send seven grapplers into the tournament with 20 or more victories for the season.
They are as follows:
-126: Nathan Thompson, 24-3;
-138: Lincoln Heard, 20-4;
-152: Erryl Will, 28-4;
-160: Jack Golla, 27-4;
-170: Colton Powers, 26-3;
-195: Ben Bickerstaff, 24-7;
-Hwt.: Zach McMinn, 29-3.
The remainder of MHS’ lineup for the sectional includes:
-106: Ethan Skiles, 17-9;
-113: Zach Pfarr, 18-13;
-120: Emilo Guerrero, 16-8;
-132: Lincoln Witt, 17-14;
-145: Josh Melms, 9-3;
-182: Brady Seger, 18-2;
-220: Stephen Garcia, 10-10.
Andrews said several schools have top-notch athletes in various weight brackets.
Westland has brothers Trey (106) and Tyler (113) Jude and 152-pounder Jacob Hurley.
“All three have competed on the state level,” said Andrews.
Another strong athlete for the Cougars is Bryson Palmer, who will compete in either the 126 or 132 bouts.
Lancaster wrestlers with state tournament experience include Jacob Hustler (120-126), Jacob Reed (138) and Aiden Agin (120-126).
Andrews said Liberty is ranked among the top D-I teams in the state.
The Patriots are led by 220-pounder Dylan Russo, Jayce Fitzpatrick (170), Hunter Ford (132) and Jackson Roselli (106).
The top four wrestlers in each weight class will advance to next week’s district tournament.
Andrews said the Monarchs are going into the sectional with a team that has a good deal of tournament experience.
“Due to the coronavirus, we were only able to compete in one tournament during the regular season,” he said. “That has made it a very unusual season.
“However, most of our guys have competed in the post-season before,” said the coach.
The split sessions, though, will make competition different from past sectional tournaments.
“With two sessions, matches are going to come around much more quickly for everyone,” said Andrews. “Our guys are going to have to be ready to wrestle again with much less time between matches.
“We are just going to need to take the sectional tournament match-by-match and round-by-round.”