Marysville’s Cole Clarridge (bottom) tries to stand up while Olentangy Berlin’s Austin Huffine (top) attempts to hold him down. The senior 165-pounder defeated the opposing Bear with a 9-7 decision in sudden victory.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Aleksei Pavloff)
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Marysville’s boys wrestling squad resumed its conference dual meet journey Thursday night with a 38-27 win over Olentangy Berlin.
“We’d like to have more pins than giving up pins,” MHS head coach Nate Andrews said. “In terms of intensity, I think we started the match intense in every situation, but didn’t end them with the same intensity.”
Eyeing to maintain consistency, the Monarchs (4-0 in OCC dual matches) sought to remain steady during their Ohio Capital Conference (Cardinal Division) tour.
“It feels good to get this win… it was expected of us,” senior Cole Clarridge said. “It is nothing new… it is what we wanted to do.”
In their second-to-last conference dual match of the regular season, fans and teammates honored seniors Clarridge, Matt Eley, Erick Nelson and Gage Riley.
“They are good leaders,” Andrews said. “They are quiet leaders and lead by example.
“The potential is there for a lot of leadership qualities and opportunities and they take advantage of that,” said the coach. “I love them.”
Before the match began, Eley ventured onto the mat for an exhibition bout. The 150-pounder went the distance against Berlin’s John Snuffer before taking a 5-3 loss.
Starting the dual meet was 285-pounder Gage Counts. He quickly took care of Berlin’s Graecyn Hercules with a first-period pin.
Circling back to the lower weights, Marysville’s Evan Beany (106) claimed a 13-1 major decision over Zayne Cassidy.
The Bears fought back at 113 pounds as Maddux Nauman pinned Ben Jones in the second period.
Gage Riley (120) got MHS back on track by pinning Carter Tiball in the third period.
Marysville’s Trent Sharp (126) came up short against Luke Martin during a 10-9 decision.
Brayden Shuster (132) gave MHS some breathing room with a 10-6 decision over Logan Whited.
Nelson (138) delivered a second-period pin against John Perterson.
Boston Burkhardt (144) went the distance against Berlin’s Braydon Shaw before winning 10-1.
Monarch Carter Shank (150) stayed the course with a 5-2 win over Liam Fahey.
After experiencing a scoring drought, the Bears added six points to their end after Chase Cone pinned Cameron Taylor in the third period.
In the most exciting match of the night, Clarridge (165) claimed a 9-7 sudden victory decision over Austin Huffine.
“It means a lot to get the win,” Clarridge said. “I kind of went into the match that even if I don’t win, I am going to leave it all on the mat.
“I feel I really did that.”
Berlin’s 175-pounder Liam Doneyhue earned six points with a second-period pin over Malachi Anderson.
Berlin’s Ethan Guevara (190) secured another pin in the opening period against Shane Brickner.
The final match saw MHS’ 215-pounder James Lowe beat Zander Tompkins, 10-5.
The Monarchs will close out their conference dual schedule on Thursday at Olentangy.
“It is going to take a lot more going into next Thursday,” Andrews said. “Berlin is a good team, but it shouldn’t have been that close.”
Marysville already has some dual experience against Olentangy. MHS beat the Braves, 42-26, during the regional regional tournament.
“Four of their starters were out so we picked up four forfeits,” said Andrews. “Another two matches were against their backups.
“Right there, in a non-favorable way, could be a 24-point swing in a dual meet.”
“It is going to take a lot,” Clarridge said. “It is going to take everyone on the team wrestling their best.”
“We talked with the team about their warmup routine that reflexs a six-minute match, not a two-minute match,” Andrews said. “It will be tough.”