Two district champs lead state qualifiers

Eight area individuals, led by a pair of district champions, earned their spot at the Division III state championship on Saturday at Rossford High School. The top four individuals in the 14 weight classes at the district championship meet qualified for the state tournament, set for March 13-15, at the Jerome Schottenstein Center in Columbus. Leading that contingent of locals were Edison freshman Cohen Reer and Monroeville junior Owen Patchen. Reer (45-2), the top-ranked wrestler in the state all season at 106 pounds, buzzed through four opponents over the two-day tournament. He opened with a pin in 57 seconds over Gibsonburg's Gage Hockenberry, then used three straight technical falls (15-plus points) to win his bracket. They included wins over Liberty Center's Braxton Tammarine (19-4), Eastwood's Gabe Brough (21-6), and Willard's Jose Figueroa (17-0) in a rematch of a sectional final win on Feb. 28 in Plymouth. Meanwhile, Patchen (18-2) nearly pinned his way through his bracket, starting with one in just 23 seconds over Defiance Tinora's Trevor Sobola. He needed 1:03 to pin Fremont St. Joseph's Cole Stout, then won a 6-2 decision over Archbold's Isaac Brown. In the finals, Patchen pinned Zachary Schafer of Elmwood in 2:22. Three other area wrestlers placed second to also move on to state, including Figueroa at 106. The Willard senior is 37-6 after opening with a pin, followed by decisions by 9-2 and 4-3 scores to reach the final before falling to Reer. Western Reserve sophomore Jaxson Davidson (36-6) also placed second at 138 pounds. His tournament began with a 15-0 technical fall, followed by a tight 7-5 decision over Mohawk's Brant Kirian in the quarterfinals. Davidson earned his trip to Columbus with an 18-2 technical fall before losing in the finals by an 11-6 decision to Liberty Center's Dayne Bayer. Rounding out the trio of runner-ups was St. Paul junior Rafael Gross (43-5) at 165. Gross, now a three-time state qualifier, opened with a pin in 2:21 and an 8-0 major decision. He reached the finals with a 6-3 decision over Genoa's Luke Clement. In the finals, the state No. 4-ranked Gross was then edged by No. 6-ranked Gunner Taylor (40-7) of Delta in the matchup of two potential state placers. Three other area wrestlers overcame losses to come back through the consolation rounds to extend their season to the state's biggest stage. Monroeville's Brycen Dunlap (39-10) opened with a pin in 48 seconds at 285 pounds before losing a 3-2 tiebreaker match in the second round to Archbold's Parker Bixler. The senior then came all the way back with four consecutive wins by pin in times of 1:25, 24 seconds, 4:38, and three minutes in the third-place match in a rematch with Bixler. Bixler was ranked No. 2 in the state and Dunlap fourth by borofanohio.net. South Central junior Wyatt Martin (113) and Edison freshman Brayden Barker (120) each recovered from semifinal losses to win their blood round match in the consolations. Martin opened with pins in 1:15 and 5:07 but then was pinned in 3:39 by Liberty Center's Braedyn Tammarine. In the semis, he faced Western Reserve's Lucas Summerfield in a rematch of the Firelands Conference title match at the weight, won 9-6 by Martin, on Feb. 21. Martin won by pin in 4:26 to punch his ticket to state. Martin fell by a 4-2 decision to Defiance Tinora's Jaxten DeWeese for third place. Barker won by fall twice in 3:26 and 5:49 to reach the semis, where he took a 6-2 loss to Archbold's Ty Bosco. Barker won his next match with a 13-3 major decision before falling to Carey's Fisher Montgomery by another 6-2 score for third place. Finishing fifth place as state alternates included South Central's Greyson Fisher (157) and Edison's Joel Smith (285).