Norwalk advances five to host district site

SANDUSKY — The Norwalk wrestling team advanced five competitors on Saturday to next week's district tournament that will be hosted at Norwalk High School. The Truckers had one individual champion, one runners-up, and three third-place finishers at the Division II sectional hosted at Sandusky High School. Perkins (211.5) won the event, followed by Shelby (164), Huron (154), Mansfield Madison (141) and Norwalk (136) in fifth. The top four finishers in each weight class advance to the district round. Senior Ethan Phillips improved to 31-2 after winning the 160-pound weight class for Norwalk. He pinned three opponents in 35 seconds, 1:47 and 1:33 before winning via disqualification against Perkins' JD Thom, who he had edged in the second round at the SBC Lake Division championships on Feb. 9. At 120 pounds, junior Haydn Graffice placed second after a narrow loss in the finals. After a first-round bye, Graffice pinned Port Clinton's Cadence Wallace in 42 seconds, then outscored Vermilion's Kreston Shaw, 17-10, to reach the finals. Facing Perkins' Zach Oprzadek in the finals, Graffice (12-3) lost on a takedown, 4-2, in sudden victory. At 106, freshman Austin Ware was in a four-person bracket. He lost to Mike Thomas (Madison) in 34 seconds, then beat Port Clinton's Skyler Cornell by a 6-0 decision for third place. Also taking third for Norwalk was juniors Kaleb Ruhl (113) and Jesse Cole (126). Ruhl (22-12) opened with a pin in 2:52 over Shelby's Anderson Roll, then fell to Maumee's Esaiah Wrighten by a 13-7 decision. In the consolations, Ruhl won by a 15-0 technical fall over Vermilion's Lewis Strama, then edged Huron's Braylen Williams, 9-7, for third place. Cole had two byes to begin his day, then fell to Port Clinton's Williams Jackson, 8-6, in the semifinal round. Cole (21-10) then pinned Vermilion's Joey Brass in 2:47 and won an 8-3 decision over Perkins' Joey Meggitt to claim third. The district tournament is scheduled for three days at Norwalk High School, beginning with the 106-145 weight classes on Thursday, followed by the 152-285 weights on Friday. There will then be two separate sessions for the same two sets of weight classes for the semifinals and finals on Saturday, starting at 9:30 a.m. and finishing up at 8:45 p.m. Div. II sectional at Sandusky Team standings: 1. Perkins 211.5; 2. Shelby 164; 3. Huron 154; 4. Madison 141; 5. Norwalk 136; 6. Rossford 112; 7. Vermilion 107; 8. Port Clinton 92; 9. Sandusky 89; 10. Maumee 58. First-place matches 106: Billy Smith (PER) pinned Mike Thomas (MAD), 4:50 113: Wyatt Nemitz (PER) pinned Isaiah Wrighten (MAU), 1:21 120: Zach Oprzadek (PER) dec. Hadyn Graffice (NOR), 4-2 SV 126: Hunter Drury (HUR) pinned William Jackson (PC), 3:27 132: Garrett Montgomery (SHE) pinned Jaxson Thom (PER), :50 138: Max Oprzadek (PER) tech. fall Garrett Baker (SHE), 16-0 145: Jameson Mullens (PC) pinned Trace Thomas (SHE), 2:41 152: Elijah Hunter (SAN) pinned Logan Catri (PER), 3:35 160: Ethan Phillips (NOR) won by DQ J.D. Thom (PER) 170: Hunter Hutcheson (MAD) tech. fall Dominic Schuler (ROS), 17-2 182: Nate Barrett (MAD) pinned Herbert Eckhart (ROS), :32 195: Trenton Osborne (MAD) pinned Dillon Pollard (SAN), 5:39 220: Carson Ingram (SHE) pinned Brock Runner (PER), 1:05 285: Nathan Zehner (SHE) pinned Drake Shaw (VER), 2:36 Third-place matches 106: Austin Ware (NOR) dec. Skyler Cornell (PC), 6-0 113: Kaleb Ruhl (NOR) dec. Braylen Williams (HUR), 9-7 120: Tommy Gast (MAU) dec. Kreston Shaw (VER), 7-6 126: Jesse Cole (NOR) dec. Joey Meggitt (PER), 8-3 132: Mason Henley (SAN) dec. Aiden Miller (VER), 5-3 138: Owen Kyser (VER) pinned Cameron Wilgus (MAU), 4:30 145: Jake Detlor (HUR) pinned Ayden Wilson (ROS), 3:18 152: JaSharein Holliday (HUR) dec. Nevan Hanthorn (ROS), 5-2 160: Joseph DeBortoli (ROS) pinned Mason Luipold (HUR), 1:42 170: Max Weaver (SHE) pinned Brandon King (PC), 2:29 182: Chris Bennett (VER) pinned Decarvion Jones (SAN), 1:34 195: Zach Zoellner (PER) pinned Evan Trevino (HUR), 2:01 220: Elijah Perkins (HUR) dec. Dominik Whitesel (MAD), 1-0 285: Gavin Mansor (ROS) dec. Simon Cooley (HUR). 5-0