Seven area wrestlers through to quarterfinals

COLUMBUS — All four Monroeville wrestlers and a trio from Edison opened with first round wins Friday at the OHSAA state championships inside the Jerome Schottenstein Center in Columbus. In Division III, Monroeville went 4-0 in the opening round with wins from Owen Patchen (120 pounds), Landen Roeder (150), Brencyn Evans (190) and Brycen Dunlap (285). Patchen (24-5) and Evans (43-7) each won decisions while Roeder (46-8) and Dunlap (46-11) were on the right end of major decisions. Edison saw Mason Hermes (113), Abe Hermes (138) and undefeated Luke James (175) move on. Abe Hermes, who was a state champion two years ago, will face Graham's Colten Taylor in the second round. Taylor (30-18) won a 5-0 decision in his opener. James, the Div. III defending champion at 175, will put his undefeated 43-0 record up against Union Local's Brody Perzanowski in the quarterfinals. Perzanowski scored a first-round pin. Mason Hermes (48-9) scored a pin in 3:12, Abe Hermes (49-6) was victorious via major decision and James needed just 45 seconds to pin his opponent and improve to 43-0. Entering Saturday's action, the Chargers are in fifth place in the team standings, while the Eagles are in a five-way tie for seventh. Also Friday, St. Paul sophomore Rafael Gross took a 10-3 loss in the first round. He responded with a 6-3 decision over Sugarcreek Garaway's Colton Domer by scoring a takedown as time expired in the third period. Gross will wrestle in the second consolation round Saturday. Also recovering from first-round losses included Willard's Jose Figueroa, who used a 12-3 decision in the consolations to keep placement hopes alive. South Central's Diton Farnsworth (120) did the same with 14-5 major decision. Edison junior Xander Gfell-King bounced back from a pin defeat in the first round to do the same in 2:20 to Preble Shawnee's Zarrin Walton. Western Reserve senior Drake Munroe suffered two defeats by pin and saw his season come to an end Friday night. In Division II, Norwalk sophomore Andersen Evans bounced back from a surprise defeat by pin in the first round to keep his season alive at 190 pounds. He dominated Chillicothe's Zach Janes from start to finish in a 16-1 technical fall win. Evans awaits the loser from a quarterfinal match between Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy's Paul Tepley (35-12) and Columbus DeSales' Lincon Shulaw (1:03). Shulaw is the favorite to win the weight class. With the first round consolation win, Evans (24-3) is the first Norwalk wrestler to register a win at state since 2019. "It was an up and down kind of day, because we didn't expect to lose that first round match," Norwalk head coach Erich Metzger said. "But Andersen bounced nicely in his second match. "Andersen is focused and ready to go for Day 2. Right now he just needs to sit back and relax, and be prepared for (Saturday). But overall, it's nice to be back in Columbus and representing the Truckers." -------------------------- Area wrestlers on Day 1 at stateDivision IIFirst round (Round of 16)190: Christopher Mijavec (Howland) pin Anderson Evans (Norwalk) 1:53 Consolation Round 1190: Anderson Evans (Norwalk) tech. fall Zach Janes (Chillicothe) 16-1 Division IIIFirst round (Round of 16)106: Jesse Pemberton (Caldwell) maj. dec. Jose Figueroa (Willard) 16-8113: Mason Hermes (Edison) pin Mitch Meyer (Independence) 3:12120: Ethan Cantrell (West Union) pin Xander Gfell-King (Edison) 0:47120: Owen Patchen (Monroeville) dec. Robert Weekley (Bridgeport) 8-2120: Isaak Skelly (Waynedale) pin Diton Farnsworth (South Central) 1:44138: Abe Hermes (Edison) maj. dec. Holden Hodgson (Nelsonville-York) 13-2144: Mitchell Tetreault (Garaway) pin Drake Munroe (Western Reserve) 5:24150: Landen Roeder (Monroeville) maj. dec. Phil Partin (Manchester) 8-0150: Gavin Cornell (Port Clinton) dec. Logan Haer (Tuslaw) 4-2157: Carson Campbell (Northmor) dec. Rafael Gross (St. Paul) 10-3175: Luke James (Edison) pin Preston Garling (Berkshire) 0:45190: Brencyn Evans (Monroeville) dec. Chett Mannier (Graham Local) 9-2285: Brycen Dunlap (Monroeville) maj. dec. Caden Holliday (W.S. Northwestern) 9-1 Consolation Round 1106: Jose Figueroa (Willard) maj. dec. Rocco Castricone (Mount Gilead) 12-3120: Diton Farnsworth (South Central) maj. dec. Jordan Henderson (Indian Lake) 14-5120: Xander Gfell-King (Edison) pin Zarrin Walton (Preble Shawnee) 2:20144: Charlie Puklavec (Independence) pin Drake Munroe (Western Reserve) 1:45157: Rafael Gross (St. Paul) dec. Colton Domer (Garaway) 6-3