No. 3 St. Edward is the clear favorite to win the Division I state title, as the Eagles have qualified a tournament high 13 wrestlers in the bracket. They are seeking a third straight title, which would be a sixth in seven years and a 19th in 21 seasons. No. 14 Elyria and No. 18 Olentangy Liberty each qualified ten wrestlers to the state tournament, while No. 16 Massillon Perry and No. 49 Cincinnati LaSalle each have nine in the brackets. No. 31 Wadsworth and No. 36 Mason have eight, Cincinnati Elder qualified seven to state, while No. 37 Brecksville has six in the tournament.
Within Division II, No. 5 St. Paris Graham is the obvious favorite to win a 17th straight state title, and the Falcons could possibly triple the point total of the runner-up team. They have 11 in the state brackets. Second place is likely to be contested between two-time dual team runner-up Wauseon (seven qualifiers), last year's individual tournament runners-up Canfield (six qualifiers), Carrollton (six qualifiers), and CVCA (four qualifiers, but three potential finalists).
In the small-school competition, Mechanicsburg is likely to win its first ever state wrestling title in Division III. Even though the Indians lost narrowly in the dual team state semifinals, they have the most individual firepower with three projected state champions and two others expected to finish in the top three. Contenders for second include Oak Harbor (seven qualifiers, all district finalists), Genoa (five qualifiers, a trio projected to finish in the top three), and dual team state champion Milan Edison (six qualifiers). Qualifying a tournament high of eight was dual team state runner-up Tuslaw.
Across the three tournaments, there are seven weight classes with multiple nationally ranked wrestlers present (six in Division I, one in Division II).
Division I: 106 pounds
A trio of nationally ranked wrestlers feature in this big-school division opening weight class. Due to no wrestler being a returning top three in the state finisher, the draw here is completely random. It just happens that No. 3 Lucas Byrd (Cincinnati LaSalle) and No. 4 Julian Tagg (Brecksville) are the district champions in the same bracket; Byrd placed seventh in this weight last year as a freshman. These two wrestlers have split matches on the season, Tagg winning in the Ironman final in overtime, while Byrd earned an 8-4 victory in the late December finals meeting at Brecksville.
Both wrestlers have earned at least a victory over the third of the ranked wrestlers, No. 12 Mick Burnett (Elyria), who is sitting in the opposite half. Byrd beat Burnett 3-1 in the quarterfinal at Brecksville, while Tagg has two wins over Burnett, 4-3 in the Ironman semifinal and a 4-1 tiebreaker in the Bill Dies Memorial final in mid-January. Burnett is looking at a quarterfinal against returning state placer Zach Shupp (Fairfield), sixth in this weight last year, who has lot narrow matches to Byrd the last two weeks in the sectional and district finals.
The semifinal for Burnett or Shupp would most likely be against freshman Logan Agin (Lancaster), a Super 32 placer who won his district. In the upper half-bracket, Tagg is mostly clear to the semifinal, while Byrd is looking at a quarterfinal against Cadet freestyle All-American Angelo Rini (St. Edward), an opponent he beat semi-comfortably in a late January dual meet.
Division I: 152 pounds
Another weight with three of the nation's top twelve wrestlers, with the added attraction of a potential state champ vs. state champ finals bout. One of the biggest moments of the scholastic wrestling season came the first Saturday of February when No. 4 Jaden Mattox (Central Crossing) made an absolute statement during the Rieman Invitational at Delaware Hayes. He knocked off nationally ranked 145 pound wrestler Dominick Demas (Dublin Coffman) by a 14-5 major decision in the semifinal, before out-lasting No. 5 David Carr (Massillon Perry) in the championship bout. Both Mattox and Carr are juniors with a pair of state finals appearances, Mattox won state last year while Carr has a pair of titles; last year's title for Carr came in another champ-champ showdown when he beat Demas.
In the district final this past Saturday, Mattox upended No. 12 Connor Brady (Olentangy Liberty) by a 1-0 score. This was the second straight year that Mattox beat Brady at the district level, though the previous year at 132 it was in the semifinal round; Brady placed fourth at state last year, but was third at this year's Ironman and (competing at 145) fifth at the Super 32 Challenge. As a result, Mattox and Carr were seeded into opposite half-brackets. Brady is in Carr's half on the basis of finishing second to Mattox in the district tournament, and the draw has made the Brady vs. Carr match a quarterfinal bout on Friday morning.
Division I: 170 pounds
This is the third weight class in the big-school division for Ohio that features three nationally ranked wrestlers, though all are in the lower portion of the rankings. Returning state runners-up No. 17 Trevor Lawson (Olentangy Liberty) and No. 19 Joey Baughman (Wadsworth) both won their respective district tournaments, which meant that they earned seed positions in opposite half-brackets. Baughman pinned now No. 20 Emil Soehnlen (Massillon Perry) in the district semifinal to avenge a loss in the consolation quarterfinal at the Ironman three months ago. In other common opponent results, Soehnlen has a pair of wins over Lawson on the season, 3-1 overtime in the Ironman consolation final and then last month in a dual meet via a late penalty point; while Lawson has a 2-1 victory over Baughman from mid-January.
While Soehnlen has a combined 1-4 mark in two previous tournaments, there is a third wrestler with podium finishes in this weight class. That would be two-time state placer Andrew Sams (Fairfield), who placed sixth in the 152 pound weight in which Soehnlen went 1-2 last year, while also placing eighth at 126 as a freshman in 2014. Those two wrestlers are slated to meet in the quarterfinal, with the winner most likely to face Lawson in the semifinal. Baughman is relatively clear in the upper half, with a most likely semifinal against the winner of a first round battle between returning/previous state qualifiers Michael Baker (Cincinnati LaSalle) and Josiah Harrell (Licking Heights).
Division II: 126 pounds
No. 13 Hunter Kosco (Canal Fulton Northwest) and No. 15 Jordan Decatur (CVCA) are likely to face each other in the state final, it would be a third championship match for them this season; Kosco won in mid-January at the Top Gun, while he earned a pin this past weekend at the district tournament. A nominal challenge could come for each in the semifinal, where a returning state placer could be the opposition, state runner-up Jeff Thomas (St. Paris Graham) for Kosco, Matt Taylor (Ashland) for Decatur.
Division I: 132 pounds
No. 5 Zack Donathan (Mason) and No. 10 Allan Hart (St. Edward) have already met this season, Donathan winning 6-3 in the dual team semifinal; Donathan was champion at the Ironman, while Hart placed fourth. The undefeated Donathan is looking at a quarterfinal against UWW Cadet freestyle All-American Marco Regalbuto (Brecksville), and then a semifinal most likely against returning state placer Luke Hernandez (Tri-Valley). A 2015 state champion, and three-time state placer, Hart's path to the final most likely involves a semifinal against undefeated Jarrod Brezovec (Aurora), a two-time state placer.
Division I: 138 pounds
No. 16 Moises Guillen (Perrysburg) and No. 18 Corey Shie (Cincinnati LaSalle). Ironman champion Guillen suffered his first loss of the season in overtime during the district semi against two-time state placer Nick Henneman (Oregon Clay), an opponent he beat one month earlier; Henneman would then lose an overtime decision in the district final against returning state placer Sam Dover (St. Edward); two-time state placer Shie won his district. Guillen and Henneman occupy different quarters of the top half, while Shie and Dover are in opposite quarters of the lower half. The most viable threat to break up those semifinals comes in a first round bout for Guillen against sophomore Chris Donathan (Mason).
Division I: 160 pounds
No. 12 Nick Kiussis (Brunswick) and No. 16 Kyle Lawson (Olentangy Liberty). Kiussis is a three-time runner-up, and trying to avoid the ignominious distinction of being the first four-time runner-up in Buckeye State history. On the other hand, Lawson is a three-time state champion; failure to win this year would make him just the second ever three-time champ not to win their fourth while competing at the state tournament. Both wrestlers won district titles and are in opposite half-brackets. It should be noted Kiussis beat Lawson 5-3 in mid-January at the Bill Dies Memorial.
Kiussis is looking at a quarterfinal against returning state placer Mike Carpenter (St. Edward), and then a semifinal against two-time state qualifier Ti'Ric Evans (Cincinnati Elder). Lawson could draw returning state placer Cody Surratt (Wadsworth), one of three wrestlers to beat Lawson this season. Past state placers Joe Koontz (Massillon Perry) and Jack Stein (Mason) meet in a first round bout in the other quarter of the Lawson half, while returning state qualifier Brendan Price (Elyria) is the district champ there.
Other nationally ranked wrestlers in the tournament:
Division II: 106 pounds: No. 7 Jacob Decatur (CVCA). He is the only returning state placer in the weight class.
Division III: 113 pounds: No. 11 Dylan D'Emilio (Genoa). His primary challenge would come in the final against three-time state placer, and the runner-up in this weight class last year, Greg Quinn (Shadyside).
Division II: 120 pounds: No. 15 Jordan Crace (St. Paris Graham). Primary challengers include two-time state placer Eric Bartos (Medina Buckeye) in a possible semifinal, and then in the final with the winner of a quarterfinal between two-time state placer Caleb Brooks (Circleville) and returning state placer Lukus Stricker (Akron Hoban).
Division I: 120 pounds: No. 19 Bryce Andonian (St. Edward) is among nine past state placers in this weight bracket, which is highest among the 42 weight classes this year in Ohio. Most notable challenges would come in a possible semifinal against two-time state placer Gio DiSabato (Hilliard Davidson) and possible final against returning state champion Brendon Fenton (Elyria) or two-time state placer Colin Schuster (Mason). A match against Fenton would be a champ vs. champ final, and a rematch of the district final that Andonian won 7-6, while Schuster beat Andonian in a high scoring bout at the team state tournament last month.
Division I: 126 pounds: No. 16 Matt Kazimir (St. Edward) is looking at a likely finals match against returning state runner-up Matt Fields (Walsh Jesuit). Fields beat Kazimir in the state semifinal last year 3-0, but lost to Kazimir in a preseason exhibition match; while Kazimir placed sixth at the Ironman, with Fields failing to place.
Division III: 126 pounds: No. 19 Drew Mattin (Delta) seeks a third state title. His primary challenges come from a semifinal against two-time state placer Tyler Wetzel (Mechanicsburg), and a likely final against one of two returning state placers, Bruce Hrynciw (Oak Harbor) or Ruger Goeltzenleuchter (Wayne Trace).
Division II: 132 pounds: No. 3 Mitch Moore (St. Paris Graham) is prohibitively favored to win his third state title in as many years. Returning state runner-up Ben Pasiuk (Carrollton), who was at 106 last year as a freshman, is in the other half.
Division I: 145 pounds: No. 7 Dominick Demas (Dublin Coffman) is most likely going to face returning state placer Jake Marsh (Marysville) in the final for a third straight week. Demas is 3-0 against Marsh on the season, winning all the bouts by one or two points.
Division II: 152 pounds: No. 14 Rocky Jordan (St. Paris Graham). The junior is prohibitively favored to win a second title in three finals appearances. The other three returning state medalists in the weight are all in one quarter of the opposite half-bracket.
Division II: 160 pounds: No. 8 Georgio Poullas (Canfield) is undefeated on the season, including a title at the Ironman and is after a repeat state title. He is most likely going to face returning state placer Ashton Eyler (Claymont) in the semi and then two-time state placer Ryan Thomas (St. Paris Graham) in the final, Thomas placed fourth in the Ironman weight that Poullas won.
Division III: 170 pounds: No. 1 Kaleb Romero (Mechanicsburg) is probably the state's best wrestler this season. The three-time state champion is bound for Ohio State, and has not lost since the early part of his sophomore season. Returning state runner-up Cole Draper (Mohawk) is in his quarter bracket, the only other state placer in the weight class. Even so, look for an all bonus-point journey to gold for Romero.
Division III: 182 pounds: No. 17 James Handwerk (Lutheran West) is a two-time state champion, and pitted in the third of three potential champ vs. champ showdowns this weekend. Zach Steiner (Norwayne) scored a 6-3 victory over Handwerk in this past weekend's district final, while Handwerk won the battle between state champs when they met in late December's Medina Invitational final 11-5.
Division I: 220 pounds: No. 5 Jared Campbell (St. Edward) is the prohibitive favorite after finishing as runner-up to Matt Stencel each of the last two seasons.
Division I: 285 pounds: No. 8 Kevin Vough (Elyria) was state champion two years ago as a sophomore, before suffering defeat in last year's state final against Kameron Teacher. This year's potential state final against Duke football recruit Ben Frye (Dublin Coffman) poses a similar challenge in an athletic and mobile opponent, though Teacher was probably the more talented of the two.
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