Gearing up: Jon Spencer’s Top 25 area wrestlers of 2022-23
MANSFIELD – Monday’s all-star preview meet in Galion can’t come soon enough for area high school wrestlers.
Everything points toward this being one of the more promising and rewarding winters in recent memory on the local mats.
Never mind that Ashland, coming off a fourth-place finish at the state duals, will be gunning for its sixth straight J.C. Gorman Invitational title and sixth Ohio Cardinal Conference title in eight years.
Never mind that Ontario, a reigning league champ for the first time in 12 years, will have its hands full with the opposition in what should be another hotly-contested Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference race.
And never mind that Brent Tyrrell’s Galion Tigers, one of Ontario’s rivals in the MOAC, has a lineup brimming with youth and talent that got its baptism under fire last season and might now be ready to crack the top 10 on the team board at the end of the year in Columbus.
There will be plenty of time to talk about all that as the season unfolds, but the focus here is on 25 of the top individuals to watch, based on 2021-22 results and the recent rankings of statewide analyst Billy Schaefer on his borofanohio.net site.
One of the big reasons for optimism: Schaefer has 24 area wrestlers ranked in his top 20, including two projected state champions and 11 in the top six.
Many of them will be in action Monday at 6 p.m. when Galion hosts the annual North Central Ohio Wrestling Officials Association all-star showcase. This traditional kickoff to the 2022-23 season will feature matches of three one-minute periods (no overtime) in every weight class. Donations will be accepted at the door.
If you go, this top 25 list, in ascending order, could help serve as a primer:
No. 25 Cam Wagers, Plymouth (113 pounds)
This junior is already a two-time district qualifier and a returning Firelands Conference champ. He was 32-8 last year and should be ready to take the next step after winning a match at the district level.
No. 24 Mitch Cline, Crestview (285 pounds)
Cline might be the latest in a nice line of heavyweights at Crestivew. He was 29-21 last season, which may only hint at what’s to come this winter.
No. 23 Fred Proto, Clear Fork (215 pounds)
A Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference champ, Proto was 30-17 a year ago. He pinned his way to his MOAC crown, winning five matches.
No. 22 Andrew Miller, Plymouth (132 pounds)
A senior, Miller was 36-12 last year and a state alternate after finishing as a Firelands Conference runner-up. He was the team’s Most Improved wrestler last year and according to coach Jeremiah Balkin has put on a lot of muscle since then.
No. 22 Luke Schlosser, Clear Fork (165 pounds)
Schlosser was 34-19 last season, earning a No. 16 ranking from borofanohio.net this season.
No. 21 Michael Thomas, Madison (132 pounds)
A sectional runner-up last season, Thomas finished 30-10 and has earned a No. 16 ranking from borofanohio.net.
No. 20 Korbyn Jones, Ashland (113 pounds)
A state alternate last year as a sophomore, Jones was a Gorman and sectional runner-up en route to a 34-13 record,
No. 19 Griffen Adkins, Ashland (138 pounds)
Last year as a freshman, Adkins put together a 35-11 season as an Ohio Cardinal Conference champ, a Gorman runner-up and third-place finisher at sectionals.
No. 18 Angelo Seitz, Ashland (175 pounds)
An Ohio Cardinal Conference runner-up and district qualifier, Seitz was 38-12 last season. He checks in at No. 14 in the borofanohio.net rankings.
No. 17 Cayden Spotts, Ashland (215 pounds)
In finishing 34-17 a year ago, Sports consistently finished high in tournaments. He was an Ohio Cardinal Conference champ, a sectional runner-up, third at the Gorman and fourth at districts, grabbing the last state berth.
No. 16 Milan Parobeck, Ashland (132 pounds)
Milan won five more matches than his brother,. Roman, last season, finishing at 40-8. He was a Gorman, Ohio Cardinal Conference and sectional champion. He’s ranked 13th by borofanohio.net.
No. 15 Roman Parobeck, Ashland (126 pounds)
One of the lightweight anchors in the Arrows’ lineup, along with his brother Milan, Roman was 35-11 last year, winning sectional and Gorman titles on his way to the state meet. He’s ranked No. 11 by borofanohio.net.
No. 14 Caleb Cunningham, Crestview (215 pounds)
A Firelands Conference champ and district runner-up, Cunningham checks in at No. 9 in the borofanohio.net rankings. He was 39-13 a year ago.
No. 13 Garrett Montgomery, Shelby (138 pounds)
Montgomery was 34-7 in a stacked weight class (132) that also included Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference rivals Mason Turnbaugh of Ontario and Aydan Reyes of Galion. But this could be a breakout season for the Shelby senior if his No. 10 borofanohio.net ranking means anything.
No. 12 Aydan Reyes, Galion (138 pounds)
A state alternate last season, borofanohio.net not only believes Reyes will make it to Columbus but do some damage there. Hence, his No. 7 ranking. He was 36-10 last winter, finishing as a sectional runner up.
No. 11 Mason Turnbaugh, Ontario (138 pounds)
Ranked No. 8 by borofanohio.net, Turnbaugh got overshadowed last season at 132 by Crestview’s two-time state placer Hayden Kuhn. But Turnbaugh put together a solid freshman season, finishing 41-10. He won a Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference title in dramatic fashion, upending Pleasant’s returning champ Daxton Chase to avenge an early season 4-2 loss.
No. 10 Colton Sparks, Plymouth (175 pounds)
Sparks had a big junior year, finishing 40-5 and earning district runner-up honors as well as a Firelands Conference title. Despite a rough draw he did win a match at state and beat two opponents during the season who ended up on the podium. He has a chance to break the record for all-time wins at the school. He is already the only three-time district placer in program history and hopes to become the school’s second state placer.
No. 9 Leo Hess, Mansfield Senior (165 pounds)
Hess is ranked No. 6 by borofanohio.net after being a state alternate last season. He was 31-6 and won an Ohio Cardinal Conference title for the Tygers.
No. 8 Jon Metzger, Ashland (165 pounds)
No area wrestler won more matches last season than Metzger, who was 50-10. Four of those wins came in the state meet consolations as he battled back to take fifth. Metzger was a Gorman, Ohio Cardinal Conference and sectional champ and has earned a No. 5 ranking by borofanohio.net, which is even more impressive given that the Arrows have bumped up to Division I this season.
No. 7 Cowin Becker, Northmor (126 pounds)
There wasn’t a hotter wrestler in the area at the end of last season. Not only did he win conference, sectional and district titles en route to a seventh-place state medal at 113, but his 11-2 record in the post-season included six pins (four in the first minute and another in 61 seconds), two technical falls and a 13-6 major decision in the district finals to avenge two earlier losses. He’s ranked No. 5 by borofanohio.net and has put himself in position to become just the second four-time state placer for Northmor, joining state champ Tyler Heminger. He was the best freshman in the area last season and has shown the potential realized by his older brothers Conor (state champ) and Conan (state runner-up).
No. 6 Landon Campbell, Galion (215 pounds)
Already a two-time Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference champ with two years to go, Campbell heads into this winter ranked No. 3 at his weight by borofanohio.net after earning a sixth-place medal at state. He finished 44-5 last season, three of those losses by close decisions to Madison’s Hunter Hutcheson, a projected state champ this season.
No. 5 Mekhi Bradley, Mansfield Senior (215 pounds)
His success as a defensive star is well-documented. The reigning Division III Northwest District co-Defensive Player of the Year in football, Bradley has also leaned on his defensive skills on the mat. He won a lot of low scoring matches last season en route to a 39-8 record and seventh place finish at state. He won three matches at state, but scored only three points in each of those victories after losing his district title match 3-1 in overtime on the only takedown he allowed the entire tournament. His defense is great. This season there will be more emphasis on being offensive-minded. With more scoring in his arsenal, he should have no trouble living up to his No. 5 ranking by borofanohio.net.
No. 4 Alex Griffith, Galion (285 pounds)
A projected state finalist by borofanohio.net, Griffith showed that he’s worthy of such acclaim last season in the district finals when he took defending state heavyweight champ Todd Allen of Medina Buckeye to overtime before falling 5-2. Griffith pinned his way to a Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference title, needing only 32 seconds to win the first three of his four matches en route to a 38-9 record for the winter. The year before, he became the first freshman in Galion’s storied history to make it to state.
No. 3 Hayden Kuhn, Crestview (138 pounds)
Hard to believe, but this All-Ohio quarterback led the Cougars to back-to-back undefeated regular seasons and it’s not even his best sport. A third-place medalist in 2021 and fourth-place medalist in 2022, Kuhn has a chance to become the first three-time state placer in Crestview history. He was eight seconds away from competing for a state title last season when he got reversed as time expired in an overtime loss to eventual champ Hunter Long of Wayne Trace. He finished the season 49-8 and is ranked No. 3 in the state by borofanohio.net.
No. 2 Hunter Hutcheson, Madison (190 pounds)
Ranked No. 1 at his weight in Division II by borofanohio.net, Hutcheson had a breakout season last winter, winning J.C. Gorman, Ohio Cardinal Conference, sectional and district titles en route to a 39-6 finish and fourth-place finish at state. Three of his wins were over Galion state placer Logan Campbell, including an 8-4 overtime decision in the state consolation semis that guaranteed him a top four medal. The Madison senior admits he’s not the flashiest, strongest or fastest, but he finds a way to win. And he’s almost impossible to take down.
No. 1 Jacob Ohl, Ontario (113 pounds)
Coming off a state runner-up finish as a sophomore, Ohl is now a projected state champ. He was 36-0 last year before getting pinned in the 106 finals by repeat champ Beric Jordan of St. Paris Graham, whom many felt was the best in the nation at that weight. Despite that loss, Ohl opened eyes with a major decision and two pins en route to the finals. Now he has a chance to join his father Monty, an Ontario assistant, his uncle Perry and his head coach, Wes Turnbaugh, as state champions for the Warriors.
Final thought: Even though they have yet to compete in a varsity match, four freshmen have cracked Billy Schaefer’s rankings at borofanohio.net: in Division II, Ontario’s Aiden Ohl, Josh’s younger brother, is No. 6 at 106 and Galion’s Gradey Hardin is No. 5 at 120; and in Division III, Northmor freshmen Ethan Amens and Carson Campbell are No. 16 at 113 and No. 5 at 138, respectively.
Just a hunch, but they will probably look like veterans by the end of this season.
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Gearing up: Jon Spencer’s Top 25 area wrestlers of 2022-23
