Hail to the Warriors! Final poll salutes across-the-board achievements in area wrestling

MANSFIELD – Given all of the young talent put on the mats, the 2022-23 wrestling season was destined to be viewed largely as a springboard to next winter and beyond.

And what a launching pad it was.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, nine of Ontario’s area-best 11 district qualifiers will be back as will six of Galion’s eight qualifiers and five of Clear Fork’s nine qualifiers.

Meanwhile, history was being made everywhere you look.

Ontario’s Aiden Ohl and Galion’s Gradey Harding became the first freshmen state medalists in programs that have a combined eight state champions between them. Clear Fork junior Luke Schlosser became his school’s first state medalist since 2012. And Northmor extended an incredible streak of producing multiple state qualifiers – none of them this season older than a sophomore – to 20 years.

But this isn’t all about looking optimistically to the future. It’s also about celebrating the present.

Crestview senior Hayden Kuhn became the first three-time state medalist in school history. Tyger seniors Mekhi Bradley and Leo Hess gave Mansfield Senior two medalists in the same season for the first time since 2014. Madison senior Hunter Hutcheson became just the third Ram ever to win multiple state medals in his career. Ashland’s Jon Metzger ascended to rarified air as the Arrows’ first four-time state qualifier. And Plymouth senior Colton Sparks became not only the all-time pin leader in Richland County and one of the top 50 all-time in Ohio, but just the second medalist from his school and first since 1979.

Considering all of the good things happening in so many area programs, it’s no wonder that this fourth and final team poll of the season has a different No. 1 for the third time. So cue the trumpets and raise a toast to poll champion Ontario.

Here’s how the 12 teams in the final poll stack up:

1. Ontario Warriors

One week after being dethroned in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference tournament, the Warriors avenged their loss by five points to Clear Fork by beating the Colts by seven points for the Division II sectional title at Clyde.

In the process, they sent an area-high 11 qualifiers to the Norwalk district meet and then an area-high four qualifiers to the state meet – without a senior in the Columbus-bound bunch, unless you include state alternate Bralen Boone.

The Ohl brothers – Aiden, a freshman 106-pounder, and Jacob, a junior 120-pounder – ended up on the state podium, while sophomore Mason Turnbaugh (138) and freshman Julian McGinty (144) made state debuts that should only help them going forward.

You can also add this to Ontario’s resume this season: The Warriors finished third at districts behind only Wauseon and Columbus DeSales, which were fifth and second, respectively, at state.

It would have been fun to watch what destruction Jacob Ohl might have wrought had he not suffered rib and knee injuries in the league meet. He was ranked No. 1 all season at 120 pounds, but his dad, Monty, an Ontario assistant, estimated that he was only about 30 percent for state, where he finished eighth.

Keeping fingers crossed that Jacob has a healthy senior campaign and is able to join his dad, uncle Perry and coach, Wes Turnbaugh, as an Ontario state champion. And how cool would it be if Jacob and Aiden, who was fifth this year, ended up atop the podium together?

2. Clear Fork Colts

The Colts not only won the MOAC for the second time in three years, but they had three state qualifiers for the first time since 2011, which is just one off the school record.

Schlosser, by finishing fourth at 165, became the first state medalist for eighth-year head coach Nick Allerding – another clear sign of what the Colts are building in the Valley.

Junior Peyton Hoskins (126), a sectional champ, and senior Eric Hicks (285) were Clear Fork’s other state qualifiers and senior Jaxon Swank (132) was a state alternate.

It flew under the radar, largely because it was a dual meet, but one of the highlights for the Colts had to be their 51-27 win over Division I Ashland on Feb. 11. You’ll know why when you read about the team right behind them in this poll.

3. Ashland Arrows

Hated to see Sean Seder step down as head coach right after the state meet, but he is leaving an indelible mark on a program that has always had a great feeder system and great support personnel.

Seder took the program to new heights in an Ohio Cardinal Conference that had been owned by Lexington, winning four straight OCC titles and five in eight years. In that same span, the Arrows won a record five straight crowns in the J.C. Gorman Invitational, one of the oldest regular season tournaments in Ohio, and it almost certainly would have been six in a row if not for the 2021 tourney being canceled by the pandemic.

The Arrows bumped up to Division I this season, making them one of the smallest schools in the big school division. But they still produced two state qualifiers in Metzger (157) and Cayden Spotts (215) and a pair of state alternates in Korbyn Jones (120) and Milan Parobek (132) while finishing fourth in a district field that included state champion Lakewood St. Edward and state runner-up Perrysburg.

And they did all that even though 2022 state qualifier and two-time Gorman champ Roman Parobek was sidelined for the final month.

4. Galion Tigers

The Tigers were right behind Ontario and Clear Fork in both the MOAC and sectional standings. They produced two sectional champs in Harding (120) and Alex Griffith (285) among their eight district qualifiers and those two also made it to Columbus.

Griffith became the first Galion wrestler to make it to state in his freshman, sophomore and junior years and Harding made it to the fifth rung on the podium as a ninth-grader.

With a little better luck, the Tigers could have matched Ontario’s area-high haul of four state qualifiers, especially in the 215-pound class where Landon Campbell, a three-time MOAC champ, was one point away from winning a sectional title.

While Mansfield Senior’s Mekhi Bradley won that bout 3-2 and went on to finish fourth at state, Campbell’s lack of mat time caught up with him at districts and he had to settle for being a state alternate.

A hyperextended elbow limited Galion’s star upperweight to nine matches going into the MOAC meet. If not for all of that down time, we most likely would have seen a much different Campbell late in the season. Fortunately, he has another year.

5. Crestview Cougars

Junior Caleb Cunningham’s run to the state podium was as improbable as senior Hayden Kuhn’s was predictable.

Cunningham overcame a myriad of injuries – shoulder, ankle, hand – to finish eighth in Division III at 215 when it appeared that he might be shut down for good at mid-season. Kuhn knocked off the projected state champ for a sectional title at 144 and proceeded to finish an area-best third at state. He never finished lower than fourth the last three years and in his last two state appearances came within seconds of wrestling for a title.

This year marks the seventh time Crestview has had multiple state placers in a season, which tells you something about the program’s rich history. The Cougs had seven district qualifiers so Cunningham could be leading something special again next season.

6. Northmor Golden Knights

It’s really remarkable when you think about it. The Knights have had multiple state qualifiers every year since 2003. The last time they didn’t have any was 1998.

They were able to keep that tradition alive this season with now two-time medalist Cowin Becker (sixth at 120) and Carson Campbell (138). Brady Carr, son of head coach Scott Carr, also qualified at 106 but was declared ineligible because of a technicality.

Add in Ethan Amens, a state alternate at 113, and the Knights have a great foundation to build upon next season. And here’s why:

Becker, who has a state champ and state runner-up for brothers, is a sophomore and the other three are freshmen.

In all, Northmor produced seven district qualifiers with Scott Carr fielding his youngest team ever.

7. Plymouth Big Red

Sparks was a big story, winning all three of his matches at state by pin en route to a seventh-place finish in DIII at 190. But he wasn't the only story this season for coach Jeremiah Balkin and his Big Red.

They finished fourth in arguably the toughest DIII sectional in Ohio, which they hosted, and produced seven district qualifiers.

Now that Sparks has given Balkin his first state medalist, maybe Plymouth can double that next year with junior three-time district qualifier Cam Wagers (113), sophomore sectional champ Noah Robinson (215) and freshman sectional finalist Ben Trimmer (132) leading the way.

8. Mansfield Senior Tygers

Many forecast a high podium finish for Bradley (215) and Hess (175), but no one could have predicted a mid-season coaching change.

Kudos to them for keeping their eye on the prize en route to matching fourth-place finishes in DII and to coach Jacob Endicott for his role in making the transition as seamless as possible.

Now we’ll see if Bradley and Hess have inspired the young wrestlers in the program to follow in their footsteps. Leading the returnees next winter will be a couple of sectional placers – freshman James Davis (fifth at 138) and sophomore Maurice Bradley (sixth at 190).

9. Madison Rams

Hutcheson had a big second half to his senior season en route to a fourth-place state medal at 190 and will be sorely missed. But Bryan Mosier’s Rams did win a regular season tournament in Columbus and three of their four sectional finalists will be back, so the pantry won’t be bare.

Junior Mike Thomas won a sectional title (126) and joined Hutcheson in Columbus. Freshmen Jase Braden (106) and Jaxin Stancombe (285) were sectional finalists and among Madison’s six district qualifiers.

10. Shelby Whippets

The Whippets began the season looking at a massive rebuild under a new coaching staff and finished with four district qualifiers in Tristen Carr (113), Chance Jamison (150), Skyler Winters (190) and Christian Santiz (215).

They also filled 12 of the 14 weight classes in the Sandusky sectional, with only one senior in the lineup, so things are trending upward.

11. Lexington Minutemen

Lex was also basically starting from scratch, with new leadership, and came away from the Clyde sectional with two district qualifiers in Cole Eichorn (175) and Cayden Kunkle (138).

The Minutemen filled 12 weight classes that weekend and, like Shelby, had only senior in the lineup. Those are positive signs for the future.

12. Lucas Cubs

The smallest program in the area had two district qualifiers among their five sectional competitors in Rayden Caudill (190) and Damon Mauk (285).

This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Hail to the Warriors! Final poll salutes across-the-board achievements in area wrestling