St. Paul third at FC championships

OLIVESBURG — A missed opportunity — but not in the big picture.The St. Paul wrestling team had a great chance to wrap up second place at Saturday's Firelands Conference championships at Crestview High School. The Flyers put five wrestlers into the finals of their respective weight classes — but stumbled to a 1-4 record in the title matches.That dropped the Flyers, who scored 103 points with seven underclassmen, from second to third behind the Cougars (153) and Plymouth (109)."I'm pleased in getting five into the finals. But for any coach, to go 1-4 in those matches is a little disheartening," St. Paul coach Casey Harrington said. "But we're not disappointed by any means, because we're peaking at the right time. We're getting closer with sectionals, and I'd say I'm proud of how we wrestled today."Winning for the Flyers was Sam Meyer at 160 pounds. He started his day with a pin over Crestview's Garrett Hunt in 1:10 — then pinned Plymouth's Zach Oney in 3:52 in the title match."Sam is one of those kids who listens, is coachable and always says 'yes sir, no sir' — just very polite and a great leader," Harrington said. "I'm proud he's on our team and to represent our program as a champion today."At 120, St. Paul's Myron Stoll fell in the finals to Crestview's Clay Eagle in a 12-1 major decision. Ryan Gross was pinned by Mapleton's Nate Kissinger in 1:56 at 126, while Eric Crabbs was pinned in 1:36 by the Cougars' Dakota Blanton at 132.St. Paul's last loss in the title match was a heartbreaker, as Mapleton's Dalton Abfall was able to secure a takedown in overtime to top Cam Caizzo in a 7-5 decision at 170 pounds."We definitely had some ups and downs this season with wrestling some tougher tournaments and having a younger team," Harrington said of his lineup that features no seniors. "We haven't put people high on the podium like we have in previous years, so coming away here in third place — I'm pleasantly surprised and pleased with how the kids performed today."Monroeville's Smith, Western's Martz win titlesAlso coming away with the top spot on the podium on Saturday were a pair of wrestlers from Monroeville and Western Reserve.The Eagles' Daniel Smith came away with a tight 4-2 decision over Crestview's Levi Kibler at 152 pounds. Smith opened with a pin in 2:59 over New London's Aaron Reed.At 138, Jacob Martz scored an 18-2 technical fall over South Central's Nathanyal Parson to begin his day. He then scored more bonus points with a 15-3 major decision over Crestview's Klay Patton in the title match.At 106, South Central's Jayden Strickland was the individual champion — though with no other wrestlers in his weight class, he never wrestled a match.Four other area wrestlers finished second along with Plymouth's Oney and Monroeville's Montgomery Walls — who lost to Plymouth standout Seth Bailey at 220.Western's Tyler Ramage was pinned in 3:46 by Mapleton's Beau LaFever at 145, while Colton Campbell scored an 18-3 tech. fall over Monroeville's Tche Leroux at 195.Both LaFever and Campbell were named the Most Outstanding Wrestlers of the tournament for the lower and upper weights.Also, Plymouth's Tony Vasquez fell by major decision, 12-2, to Crestview's Cade Rogers at 182.2018 Firelands Conference championshipsTeam standings: 1. Crestview 153; 2. Plymouth 109; 3. St. Paul 103; 4. Mapleton 95; 5. Monroeville 66; 6. New London 63; 7. W. Reserve 61.5; 8. South Central 51.First place106: Jayden Strickland (SC) bye113: Hunter Frederick (MAP) dec. Brent Eicher (CVW), 5-3120: Clay Eagle (CVW) maj. dec. Myron Stoll (STP), 12-1126: Nate Kissinger (MAP) pinned Ryan Gross (STP), 1:56132: Dakota Blanton (CVW) pinned Eric Crabbs (STP), 1:36138: Jacob Martz (WR) maj. dec. Klay Patton (CVW), 15-3145: Beau LaFever (MAP) pinned Tyler Ramage (WR), 3:46152: Daniel Smith (MON) dec. Levi Kibler (CVW), 4-2160: Sam Meyer (STP) pinned Zach Oney (PLY), 3:52170: Dalton Abfall (MAP) dec. Cam Caizzo (STP), 7-5 (OT)182: Cade Rogers (CVW) maj. dec. Tony Vasquez (PLY), 12-2195: Colton Campbell (CVW) tech. fall Tche Leroux (MON), 18-3220: Seth Bailey (PLY) maj. dec. Montgomery Walls (MON), 13-3285: Trey Leroux (MON) dec. Lane Fry (CVW), 7-3Third place113: Keith Tuttle (PLY) pinned Mickey Dalton (NL), 2:34120: Jorge Gabriel (SC) pinned Arryk Davidson (NL), :41126: Noah Trimmer (PLY) bye132: Jacob Echelbarger (PLY) dec. Camden Kline (MAP), 6-3138: Kenyon Cathey (NL) pinned Nathanyal Parsons (SC), 5:31145: Austin Reed (NL) pinned Luke Cox (PLY), 4:05152: Aaron Reed (NL) inj. default Evan Branham (PLY)160: Landon Sholes (SC) dec. Garrett Hunt (CVW), 16-9170: Peyton Young (PLY) pinned Chase Greaser (SC), 1:53182: Ben Meyer (STP) bye195: Mitchell Phillips (NL) pinned Devin Good (WR), :37220: Zach Schlessman (WR) pinned Lucas Yost (CVW), :55285: Breyden Allen (PLY) byeSt. Paul's Sam Meyer controls Plymouth's Zach Oney while attempting to turn him on his back during their 160-pound Firelands Conference championship match Saturday at Crestview High School.Western Reserve's Jacob Martz tries to secure the arm of Crestview's Klay Patton during their 138-pound Firelands Conference championship match Saturday at Crestview High School.South Central's Chase Greaser works to get arm control of New London's Dylan Bless during their third-place match at 170 pounds at Saturday's Firelands Conference championships at Crestview High School.