Gross places fifth, Dunlap seventh at state

COLUMBUS — There are some things Rafael Gross would like back. However, the St. Paul junior was still able to finish his banner season with a win at the Division III state championships for the first time in three tries. Gross (47-8) placed fifth on Sunday at 165 pounds inside the Jerome Schottenstein Center in Columbus. As a freshman, he went 1-2 at the tournament and did not place. Last season, he nearly came all the way back from an opening round loss, but fell by a point in the third-place match to take fourth. This weekend, Gross lost in the quarterfinals, then responded with two wins to reach the consolation semifinals. But eight days after a 4-3 loss to Delta's Gunner Taylor in the district championship at Rossford, the two met again and went to overtime on Sunday. Taylor was able to get the takedown to claim the 8-5 win and advance. That put Gross in the fifth-place match, where he left no doubt with a 10-0 major decision over Versailles' Landyn Knapke. "I think the greatest thing about Rafael this weekend is the way he responded after adversity," St. Paul head coach Sam Springer said. "Sure, we would've liked to have some things back, especially the Taylor match, but he never flinched and he responded greatly." With one year left, Springer said Gross learned a lot about himself over the weekend. "He's learning that when you get around this great competition, you cannot make any mistakes," Springer said. "I think he knows he wants to fine tune the basics so he can be a state champion, and that's his goal. Gross opened the tournament on Friday with an 8-0 major over Dalton's Sam Ediger. After a 19-4 loss by technical fall to St. Paris Graham's Jake Hoke, the projected state champion, Gross responded Saturday with a pin in 1:24 over Enoch Patterson (Symmes Valley) and an 8-0 major decision over Maddux Kidd of Waynedale to set up the rematch with Taylor. "Rafael knows that if he takes away a few of the mistakes, being a champion is definitely a possibility for him," Springer said. "It was also huge to finish with a win going into his last season. We couldn't be more proud of him." Also Sunday, Monroeville senior heavyweight Brycen Dunlap secured his spot on the podium for a third straight year. He started the tournament with a loss by pin in 3:10 to Waynesville's Jett Manley. He came back Friday night to pin Jackson-Milton's Cole Cappelli in 2:44. On Saturday, Dunlap then pinned Martin Hernandez (Newcomerstown) in 4:23 before falling by a 4-2 decision to Liberty Center's Logan Sifuentes. In the seventh-place match Sunday, Dunlap made an escape point stand in a 1-0 win against Brandon Walters of Waynedale. Dunlap (42-12) also placed seventh as a sophomore in 2024 and fifth as a junior in 2025. He and current teammate and finalist Owen Patchen (132) became the seventh and eighth Monroeville wrestlers to All-Ohio three or more times. Five other area state qualifiers competed n Friday and Saturday in Columbus. At 106 in Div. III, Willard senior Jose Figueroa (37-8) lost by fall in 1:12 to Sugarcreek Garaway's Bryce Broke. He lost his first consolation by major decision, 11-3, to Canfield South Range's Ralph Stellato. South Central's Wyatt Martin and Western Reserve's Jaxson Davidson each made it to the second day of action Saturday morning before their seasons came to a close. A junior, Martin opened with a loss by pin in 1:26 at 113 pounds to Martins Ferry's Jayce Nixon. He extended his season with a 6-4 decision over Rocco Castricone (Mount Gilead) in the first consolation, then lost by major (17-3) to Defiance Tinora's Jaxten DeWeese. Martin finished with a 43-9 record. A 138, Davidson lost by a 9-4 decision to Baltimore Liberty Union's Jimmy Landis in the first round. He bounced back with a pin in just one minute over Mechanicsburg's Hayden Smith. In the second consolation round, Davidson lost a 9-0 major decision to Mentor Lake Catholic's Tyler Ineman. The sophomore finished with a 37-8 record this season. Also for Edison, freshman Brayden Barker also went 1-2 at 120 pounds. He opened with a 20-3 technical fall loss to Miami East's Spencer Shore, then claimed a 4-0 decision victory over Buckeye Local's Nathan Dentz. His season ended with a 37-18 mark in the second consolation with a 20-4 technical fall loss to Harrod Allen East's Langston McClain. In Div. II, Norwalk senior Gavin Lepley fell by fall in 3:37 to West Geauga's Brian Denamen in the first round at 165 pounds. Needing a win to extend his season, Lepley (34-11) fell by an 8-5 decision to Washington Courthouse Washington's Malachi McCullough.