Edison wins Division III state duals title

COLUMBUS — After a two-year break, a state championship trophy is coming home to Milan.Edison entered Sunday's state dual team championships as the No. 1 seed and the Chargers proved why from the beginning of the day until the final whistle blew.Edison took down No. 2 Waynedale, 57-14 to win the second Division III state championship in four years for the Chargers."We did it like we did all year," Edison coach Davey Hermes said. "We are 34-0. We knew we were the best team on November 15 at our team meeting. We said we were the best team in Division III. We have beaten some darn good teams."Edison finished as runners-up to Genoa last year, losing in the finals by 29 points."This year we had some pressure and we have had something to prove," Hermes said. "Last year we ran into a team better than us."The 57 points is a Division III record for the championship round, surpassing the mark of 52 points set by Delta in 2013 and Genoa last year. The 40-point win moves into first place past Delta's 37-point victory in 2013."Waynedale is a good team and I think we put on a show," Hermes said. "This is what we have been doing all year. This is a great group of kids and they stayed focused."To start, freshman Max Hermes scored his third pin of the day when he topped Caiden Heller in :52. Jared Fantuzzi followed with a close 6-4 win in which he scored a reversal with 25 seconds left for the win.Alec Homan then tallied a 6-0 decision at 120 pounds to extend the lead to 12-0 for the Chargers. At 126, Hunter Vogus pinned Prestin Snyder in 39 seconds, wrapping up a 3-0 day for the freshman."It is nice to start at 106 pounds," Hermes said. "There is no hole. We call it Murderer's Row because there is nowhere to run. If you are a team looking to jump somewhere to get a forfeit or an easy pin, it is not going to happen on our team."Waynedale took a decision win at 132 pounds, but former state champion Casey Barnett got the Chargers back in the winning column. The junior raced out to a 5-0 lead before pinning Gabe Mathias in 3:18. Barnett also went 3-0 with three pins on the day.Griffin Soviak picked up a pin at 145 pounds in 2:45 and Shadrick Slone followed suit at 152 in 1:52. Soviak and Slone both went 3-0.Waynedale took an 18-3 major decision win at 160 and then a forfeit at 170 pounds. Logan Lloyd slammed the door shut with a pin in 1:23 to finish off a 3-0 day with three pins."We have a pinning team, which helps in duals," Hermes said. "We pin a lot of people and we do not get pinned."Brewer was the beneficiary of a forfeit win for Edison at 195 before Jackson Berardi won a close 4-2 decision at 220 pounds."This title is awesome," Hermes said. "We have the greatest fans in the world. They have been traveling all over with us and supporting us."In the semifinals, the Chargers slugged past No. 4 Brookville, 56-15. Hermes noted that Edison had faced Brookville in the final of the Division III duals at Sandusky St. Mary recently."It was about the same as that time," Hermes said. "We lost at 220, heavyweight and 182 pounds last time. The one change was 160 pounds. Our freshman (Landon Cook) got pinned before and we got the win today."Hermes started Edison off right with a pin in :56. From there, Fantuzzi scored a 13-4 major decision at 114 and Homan was the beneficiary of a forfeit. Vogus scored a pin in 25 seconds before Jakey Neer grinded out a 2-1 decision win at 132 that was scoreless after one period.Barnett kept the party going when he scored a pin in 1:03 for a 31-0 Edison lead. The match of the dual came at 145 where Soviak came out victorious over Devon Myers, 9-8. Soviak led 5-3, after one period before the match was tied at 6 going into the third period. Soviak tallied an escape and takedown to fend off Myers' last second reversal for the win."(Myers) is new," Hermes said. "That is a state qualifier who just came back from injury. Griffin is a senior who has been wrestling well. He has goals of getting to state."Slone kept the run going when he got a pin at 152 in 25 seconds. Cook followed with a 12-3 major decision that did not come easy. The match was tied at 2 after two periods, but Cook scored two takedowns and two near falls to pull away."Landon is freshman and he has taken his lumps," Hermes said. "A freshman at 160 is not easy to do. You are wrestling juniors and seniors. He came out and flipped the tide after being pinned by that kid earlier in the year."Lloyd (170 pounds, 0:58) and Brewer (195, 0:59) also scored pins in less than a minute for the win.Edison made quick work of No. 8 Shenendoah in the quarterfinals, 66-3. The Chargers lost just one match and scored eight pins to gain points in bunches."This is our fourth time down here in eight years, so the kids that have been in the program know what to expect," Hermes said. "We wrestle a tough schedule all year and this is the reason we do."Hermes (106 pounds, 0:28), Vogus (126, 2:52), Barnett (138, 1:29), Soviak (145, 3:39), Cook (160, 1:33), Lloyd (170, 0:20), Jacob Thompson (182, 3:42), and Brewer (195, 0:37) all scored pins to carry Edison."Starting at 106 pounds is a benefit for us," Hermes said. "Our lightweights — we call it Murderer's Row — we have some hitters down low. Once you get three or four pins in a row, the momentum gets going and it is hard to stop."The Chargers also got a nice win from Jaden Timbs at 220. He picked up a 4-3 decision win after leading 4-0 at one point."Jaden is a kid that has not wrestled in five years and came out for his senior year," Hermes said. "He wanted to be apart of something be thought could be special. He has been working hard in the room and does a good job."