Defending champion Olentangy Orange, Marysville primed for girls wrestling state duals

A state championship will be decided Sunday at Marysville.

While the postseason for individual competitors doesn't get underway until late February, eight teams are preparing to compete in the second annual girls wrestling state dual tournament. The event is sponsored by the Ohio High School Wrestling Coaches Association.

The top two teams from each of the four districts qualified for the state duals. Olentangy Orange and Delaware Hayes advanced from the Central/Southeast District, and Marysville qualified from the Northwest District.

Boys wrestling: Hartley’s Dylan Newsome, Olentangy Liberty’s Dylan Russo share bond

The girls individual state tournament, in its first season of OHSAA sanctioning, will be held along with the boys tournament March 10-12 at Value City Arena.

A preview of the state duals leads off our five storylines so far this season.

1. Olentangy Orange looks to defend state duals title

With the OHSAA adding girls wrestling, Orange decided its team should be a separate program under coach Vanessa Oswalt. She had been an assistant the past three years, when the girls were under the umbrella of the boys program.

One of the main goals this season is to repeat as champions of the state dual tournament. Orange is seeded first and will face eighth-seeded Alliance in the first round at 11 a.m.

“I don’t mind being the (No.) 1 seed,” Oswalt said. “It shows that the girls have been working hard and performing well. We’re the returning state dual champs, so we do have a target on our back. We’re ready to wrestle.”

In other first-round matches, second-seeded Harrison will take on seventh-seeded Findlay, third-seeded Marysville will face sixth-seeded Minerva and fourth-seeded Delaware will battle fifth-seeded Lebanon.

The title match is tentatively scheduled to begin at 3 p.m.

“It’s not going to be easy,” Oswalt said. “These teams are tough. They’re going to be the top teams in the state and they have tough girls who work just as hard as our girls. It will be challenging (and) exciting to see these girls go head-to-head, cheering on their teammates in a dual meet with the top teams in the state.”

Key wrestlers for Orange include Josephine Nickoloff at 115 pounds (22-3), Surraiya Mahmud at 145 (21-3), Kascidy Garren at 170 (21-2), Alicia Coleman at 135 (19-2), Talia Mitchell at 190 (19-3), Lucy Scheibeck at 130 (19-6), Lydia Heinrich at 155 (18-4) and Jennifer Huaracha-Arellanos at 235 (15-4).

“I definitely think we have a target on our back,” Garren said. “As long as we work hard this week, we’re going to pull through and get the (title).”

Marysville has been led by Cali Leng, who is 18-0 at 120. Leng was named All-Metro Wrestler of the Year last season after finishing second at 120 in the individual state tournament. She won the state title at 116 as a sophomore.

Other key wrestlers for Marysville have been Malia Burkhardt at 125 (23-7), Katie Hammersmith at 155 (18-9), Desi Lee at 190 (16-3), Addi Lyon at 145 (16-8) and Katie Palmer at 130 (14-5).

“These girls are really tough, really hardworking and really dedicated, but the new girls have impressed me the most,” first-year Marysville coach Tim Crane said. “We have a lot of first-year wrestlers that really have bought into what we’re trying to do. They’ve been very dedicated to the program, to the team and to the process.”

Last season, Orange defeated host Marysville 42-32 in the championship match.

“We talk about last year a little bit, we don’t dwell on it too much,” Crane said. “It was there. We all understand that we didn’t wrestle our best in the final. It’s a learning opportunity, so we’re trying to correct some of those things going into this year.”

Marysville got the better of Orange in last season's individual state tournament. The Monarchs were second (96) and Orange was third (83) as Harrison (111) captured the title.

2. Olentangy Orange's Alicia Coleman draws inspiration from father

The senior doesn't have trouble finding motivation. She looks to her father, Larry Coleman, a 1993 Upper Arlington graduate who wrestled for the Golden Bears.

“I wrestle because of my dad,” Alicia Coleman said. “I figured I would pick up where he left off.”

She has done that — and more. She finished fourth at state at 140 last season; her father competed at district but never advanced to state.

"(Wrestling is) something they have in common and they bond over it, and that's a good thing," Orange assistant coach Brian Nicola said. "She puts in a lot of time on her own. She's made a big jump in her mental toughness this year. She looks great. She's wrestled awesome."

Coleman said she has received valuable support and tips from her father.

“My dad would always say wrestle every second because any match can change in a second,” she said. “All it takes is a takedown, reversal or even an escape to change the whole match. No matter how tired you are, never give up because you don’t have a time machine to travel back to that match, (so) give it your all.”

3. Melania Szawranskyj leading Westerville North

As North coach David Grant continues to grow his girls team, one wrestler has been a mainstay for four seasons.

Szawranskyj wants to stand atop the awards podium at state after finishing fifth at 130 last season and sixth at 126 as a sophomore.

“My goal is to win a state title,” she said. “There are a few girls who I have gone head-to-head with this year and last. We know the girls I need to beat, so we’ve been watching them at tournaments and we’ve been trying to attend the tournaments that they’re going to.”

Szawranskyj, who hopes to wrestle in college, was 14-2 after finishing second at 130 in the Heart of Ohio Invitational on Sunday at Mechanicsburg.

“She’s really good,” Grant said. “She’s always been talented. Now she’s putting a style together. She’s more patient. She gets better and better every day.”

Grant said there are 11 competitors on his girls team, six more than a season ago.

“OHSAA having it as an official sport this season has sparked some more interest,” he said. “It made us try a little harder to recruit some girls. We’re just going to grow with four, five girls at a time. These girls work really hard.”

4. Justine Perez enjoying success in first season at Dublin Scioto

Competing against boys in 18 of her 19 matches, the sophomore move-in from Spokane, Washington, is 11-8 at 106.

Perez weighs approximately 102 pounds and is 4-foot-11.

“It’s been a challenge, but I like it,” she said. “(The boys) push me. Coach (Adam) Huddle has helped me a lot. He helps me in doing different setups.”

Perez will compete in her first girls tournament Saturday at Whetstone.

“We saw this day coming,” Huddle said. “We projected it a lot earlier, but it’s never really happened for us. It’s hard to have one girl versus having multiple, but Justine has a unique personality where she’s in good shape. She’s been in a room with all guys before and she’s completely comfortable with it, which has made it pretty easy on us.”

5. Reynoldsburg turns in strong showing

Led by Savannah Holderby, Reynoldsburg finished seventh (56) of 68 teams in the Heart of Ohio Invitational at Mechanicsburg behind champion Harrison (162) and runner-up Marysville (111).

Holderby finished first at 155, Gia Weaver was fourth at 110 and Summer Batts was sixth at 100. A year ago, Batts placed eighth at 100 in her state tournament debut.

Last summer at nationals in Fargo, North Dakota, Holderby went 5-2 to finish fourth in the 16U competition.

fdirenna@dispatch.com

@DispatchFrank

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Greater Columbus high school girls wrestling news, notes