Members of Marysville High School’s wrestling team display their Division I regional championship trophy. The Monarchs will face St. Paris Graham in the opening round of the state duals on Sunday at The Ohio State University’s St. John Arena.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)
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The Marysville Monarch wrestling team will battle in a rematch with St. Paris Graham during the opening round of the Division I state duals tournament on Sunday.
The Monarchs are the No. 8 seed and the Falcons are rated No. 1 for the tournament that will begin at 11 a.m. at The Ohio State University’s St. John Arena.
Graham, which is a Division II powerhouse, has taken advantage of a new Ohio High School Athletic Association rule that permits schools to wrestle up a division during the state duals tournament.
The Monarchs and Falcons squared off during the first week of the season during the annual Marysville Invitational.
Graham won that match, 46-18.
Marysville is one of eight teams that won regional championships and qualified for the state duals.
MHS won regional titles in 2013, 2014 and 2015.
After a two-year dry spell, the Monarchs captured the 2018 regional crown last week by beating Westerville North and Lancaster.
Lakewood St. Ed’s is the second-seeded team for Sunday’s competition.
Seeds three through seven are Brecksville, Elyria, Cincinnati LaSalle, Massillon Perry and Mason.
The No. 2 seed will face No. 7, No. 3 will tangle with No. 6 and the fourth and fifth seeds will compete against each other during initial matches.
The winners of the opening bouts will advance until a state champion is crowned.
MHS head coach Shawn Andrews said his squad won’t back down from the challenge of facing the Falcons.
“This is what you sign up for with the state duals,” he said. “We wrestled Graham the first week of the season and this will be a good opportunity to see how far we have advanced since that time and what we still need to work on two weeks out before our sectional tournament.”
The Monarchs won four of the 14 bouts during the earlier-season contest against the Falcons.
“No matter who we would face in the state duals, it would likely be a team that’s ranked not only among the top in Ohio, but also in the nation,” said Andrews. “We want to be in the conversation with those teams and we’re excited to compete (on that level).”
Graham is ranked fifth in the nation, while St. Ed’s is eighth, LaSalle is No. 12, Brecksville is No. 20 and Massillon Perry is No. 32.
Andrews said MHS’ lineup for Sunday won’t vary from previous matches. The roster by weight class will be as follows:
-106: Quentin Miller;
-113: Michael Jones;
-120: Jamieson Bigler;
-126: Payne Miller or Lincoln Heard;
-132: Cole Hosterman;
-138: Sam Shroyer;
-145: Walker Heard;
-152: Jake Marsh;
-160: Tyler Bates;
-170: Nathan Dewitt;
-182: Ian Johnson or Jacob Legge;
-195: Logan Painter;
-220: Ethan Smegal;
-285: Tyler Connolly.
The Monarchs will be in action prior to the state duals when they host Hilliard Davidson at 7 p.m. today in an Ohio Capital Conference Central Division match.