Jonathan Alder’s Oliver Byerly shoots and attempts to finish a double leg takedown on Cleveland Benedictine’s Nicholas Abounader during the Division II state tournament. Byerly, a 150-pounder, defeated Aboundader twice during the tournament, including this match for third-place honors. (Journal-Tribune photo by Aleksei Pavloff)
Monarch Erryl Will, right, goes for a double-leg takedown against Westlake’s Aiden Ashburn during the Division I state mat tournament. Will placed fourth for Marysville. (Journal-Tribune photo by Aleksei Pavloff)
Monarch 175-pounder Colton Powers, top, applies a cross-face to Luke Vanadia of Brecksville-Broadview Heights. Powers lost the match, but placed seventh overall in the tournament. (Journal-Tribune photo by Berkley Behrens)
A trip to the awards podium after any state tournament signifies a high school athlete is one of the best at his or her craft in Ohio.
A quartet of Union County-area wrestlers experienced that feeling after the 2022 state tournament was held at The Ohio State University.
The podium at OSU’s Schottenstein Center highlighted the accomplishments of Jonathan Alder’s Oliver Byerly, Marysville’s Erryl Will and Colton Powers and Gabe Hansen of North Union.
Byerly, a junior, finished third in the Division II 150-pound weight class.
Will, a senior, and Powers, a junior, respectively finished fourth and seventh in the 157 and 175-pound divisions for Division I.
Hansen, also a senior, claimed eighth-place in the Division III 126-pound category.
The first-round matches of the tournament produced victories for three of the local wrestlers.
Hansen got things started when he claimed a 3-2 sudden victory over J.P. Wrobel, a sophomore from Mantua Crestwood.
Byerly manhandled Ashtabula Edgewood sophomore Josh Biller and put him to the mat in 3:30.
Powers scored a 6-2 verdict over Springboro freshman Aidan Weimer.
Will hit a slight bump in the road during his initial match.
He held a 6-2 lead over Cincinnati Moeller senior Brad Hornback.
The pair battled into the third period, where Will climbed to a 7-4 margin on an escape.
A couple of takedowns, however, helped lead to an 8-7 loss for the Monarch grappler.
The setback meant Will had to battle back through a tough consolation bracket for his state placement.
Byerly appeared to be in trouble during his second-round match against Cleveland Benedict senior Nicholas Abounader.
A couple of single-leg takedowns through the first two periods left Byerly trailing by a 4-0 count.
The JA matman cut that deficit in half, but Abounader climbed to a 5-2 advantage with a reversal.
The final nine seconds of the match were about as exciting as fans could imagine.
“I knew I had to do something,” Byerly said. “I got my shot in and took him down.”
Byerly trailed 5-3 before he took down his rival.
He held on long enough for a three-point near-fall that won the match, 6-5.
The victory kept Byerly in the championship round where he faced Dominic Paterra, a junior from Wintersville Indian Creek.
Paterra took a 47-5 mark into the match, while Byerly sat at 37-5.
Paterra had no trouble beating Byerly 7-1 and sent the local grappler into the consolation round.
Byerly opened the final day of wrestling with a 4-1 victory over Elida senior Connor Douglass.
That set up a battle to determine third and fourth place between Byerly and a familiar foe, Abounader.
This time, Byerly went full-bore and easily won 12-6.
“It feels great to finish third in the state, but I would have rather placed first,” said Byerly.
Still, it wasn’t a bad three days of competition for someone who missed last year’s state tournament due to an injury.
“This was the first match this weekend that I saw Oliver really wrestle like I know he’s capable,” said Alder coach Tony Watson. “He showed his character by coming back from his loss with two victories and I am very proud of him.”
Byerly (39-6) has already established his goal for his senior season of 2022-23.
“I want to come back and win this thing,” he said.
Will took out the frustration of losing his first-round match by beating his next four opponents.
Aidan Ashburn, a senior from Westlake, went down 6-4.
That was followed by a 5-4 victory over Elyria junior Erich Trinski.
Will scored his third consecutive victory, taking Tyler Lintner, a junior from Austintown-Finch, by a 4-3 verdict.
Another close match, a 5-3 win over Medina-Highland senior James Scavuzzo, elevated Will into the match for third and fourth place.
Will, however, couldn’t get much going during that battle which resulted in a 5-2 victory for Noah Ewen of Perrysburg.
“I know Erryl is disappointed he lost the final match of his high school career,” said MHS coach Shawn Andrews. “However, he has a lot of which to be proud.”
Will finished the season with a 32-8 record.
Powers’ victory over Weimer was followed by a setback.
He ran into trouble against Luke Vanadia, a junior from Brecksville Broadview Heights.
Vanadia controlled the bout and finished with a 15-5 major decision.
Sent to the consolation bracket, Powers needed just 41 seconds to pin Payton Lupton, a junior from Clayton Northmont.
That was followed by a 2-0 setback at the hands of Kurt Thompson, a senior from Cincinnati Moeller.
That loss pushed Powers into the match for seventh and eighth place.
He put Canton GlenOak junior Brandon Batson to the mat in 2:10.
“We tested each other in the first period,” said Powers of his final match in the tournament. “During the second period, I got my underhook dug in and went for his arm.
“I was able to roll him up after that.”
It’s no secret that Will and Powers (32-6) would have liked to finish higher in their weight classes.
Andrews, though, said he isn’t disappointed in them.
“I’m disappointed for them, but not in them,” he said. “Colton went in fired up and finished his season with a win.
“You always expect and want more for your guys, but it was great to see Erryl make a jump from a seventh-place state finish last year to fourth this year.”
Hansen’s one-point win over Wrobel was a little different.
The bout was deadlocked at 2-2 after regulation.
Hansen won the match when Wrobel was called for stalling.
“You don’t usually see stalling called in overtime,” said NU coach Garret Andrews. “However, it worked out in our favor and we’ll take it.”
Hansen was then pinned in 55 seconds by defending state champion Max Shore, a junior from Casstown Miami East.
Shore went on to claim the state championship for a second consecutive year.
Hansen went into the consolation bracket, where he edged Antonio Salazar, a freshman from Gibsonburg, by a 4-3 count.
That was followed by a 7-6 loss to Drake Kanyuch, a senior from Sarahsville Shenandoah.
That pushed Hansen into the match for seventh and eighth place against Caden Schmeltzer, a freshman from Apple Creek Wayndale.
Hansen was tied up for most of the bout, which he lost 6-0.
“My state tournament was all right, but I didn’t close it out,” said Hansen. “Maybe this will light a fire under me for when I go to wrestle at Ohio Northern University.”
Hansen finished the season with a 48-6 record.
“Gabe was a great leader for our program,” said Garret Andrews.