Eventually winning the tournament was No. 15 Elyria, which had eight wrestlers place, and amassed 188 points. The Pioneers were led by tournament champions J.T. Brown (182) and No. 10 Kevin Vough (285), with Brown's win in the final coming by 10-4 decision over returning state champion Kaden Russell (St. Ignatius). They also overcame the absence of state champion Brandon Fenton (120), Super 32 placer Tristan Brady (160), and state qualifier Brendan Price (170).
Other placers included Dylan Shawver (113) finishing second, Mick Burnett (106) and Josh Breeding (126) in fifth, Cameron King (195) taking seventh, along with Matt Zuckerman (120) and Drew Butera (152) placing eight. Shawver beat three state placers on the way to his runner-up finish, which included a 9-7 win in the quarterfinal over No. 7 Gabe Tagg (Brecksville).
Second in the standings was Mechanicsburg, which finally had all of its lineup components in place and performed most impressively. The Indians placed six wrestlers, including five within the top three. Anchoring their effort was their lone champion, No. 1 Kaleb Romero (170), who had two pins, three major decisions, and a technical fall in the tournament. Runner-up finishes came from Tyler Wetzel (126), Alex Rhine (132), and Colt Yinger (152); Yinger fell 4-3 in the tiebreaker in the second to last championship match, a match that if he won gives Mechanicsburg a tie of the team title. Other placers were Tanner Smith (145) in third and Dylan Hartley (285) in fifth.
An impressive third place finish came from No. 10 Olentangy Liberty, which placed seven wrestlers despite missing two-to-three key components in state placer Trey Grenier (145), state runner-up Trevor Lawson (170), and Ironman placer Cole Fitzpatrick (182). The Patriots were led by their tournament champion Brakan Mead (113), along with runner-up finishes coming from Jordan Rosselli (120) and No. 4 Kyle Lawson (160). Other placement finishes on the way to a 176.5 point performance came from No. 9 Connor Brady (152) finishing third, Blake Saito (106) taking fourth, Carson Kharchilava (145) in fifth, and Zach Furnas (132) earning seventh.
The tournament's Outstanding Wrestler was No. 8 Georgio Poullas (Canfield), champion at 160 pounds, who upended three-time state chamion Kyle Lawson 6-3 in a battle of returning state champions and top ten in the nation talent. Other matches in the tournament for the Ironman champion Poullas were won by technical fall, 7-1 decision, pin, and major decision.
In the other finals showdown involving nationally ranked talent, No. 5 Lucas Byrd (LaSalle) avenged an Ironman finals defeat to No. 4 Julian Tagg (Brecksville) with an 8-4 victory on Friday evening in the 106 pound match. Byrd scored a pair of first period takedowns, Tagg had a takedown in the third period, while Byrd scored a takedown very late in the third to close it out. Byrd also had victories in the tournament over Ironman placer Mick Burnett (Elyria) 3-1 in the quarterfinal and a 7-1 semifinal victory over No. 17 Jake Canitano (Solon), while Tagg beat No. 9 Jacob Decatur (CVCA) 3-2 in the semifinal.
One additional match of ranked wrestlers took place during the tournament, and it came in the 126 pound semifinal match, where No. 8 Jordan Decatur (CVCA) beat No. 12 Drew Mattin (Delta) 11-4 in the semifinal round. That result also denied Mattin the chance to win a fourth title in this event, something that just four have done in the 56-year history of the event. Decatur won his finals match 9-4 over Wetzel.
The host school Brecksville, which is ranked No. 29 nationally, placed fourth in the tournament with 163 points. The Bees placed six wrestlers led by runner-up Julian Tagg (106); Gabe Tagg (113) placed third, Jason Bronstrup (145) and Andrew Perelka (120) placed fourth, Marco Regalbuto (132) placed fifth, and Nolan Wochna (126) finished seventh.
No. 47 Lowell (Mich.) placed sixth in the event with 138.5 points, as the Red Arrows placed five on the podium. Freshman Austin Boone (132) placed third, Dave Kruse (182) and Elijah Boulton (220) took fourth, Avery Mutschler (138) earned sixth, while Austin Engle (170) finished eighth. Fifth in the standings was Cincinnati Elder with 158 points, led by tournament champion Antonio McCloud (220). Other placers for the Panthers included Ti'Ric Evans (160) and Alec Moore-Nash (285) earning third, Connor Craig (152) taking seventh, and Jake Meredieth (138) finishing eighth.
Rounding out the weight class champions were three-time state placer Greg Quinn (Shadyside) at 120 pounds; two-time state placer Jarrod Brezovec (Aurora) at 132; No. 18 Corey Shie (LaSalle) at 138; state champion Kevon Freeman (Lake Catholic) at 145; state placer Jake Marsh (Marysville) at 152, who beat nationally ranked Brady 6-5 in the semifinal; and No. 7 Brandon Whitman (Dundee, Mich.) at 195.
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