Mapleton's Durbin, Crestview's Kuhn become three-time state placers

It was so close, they both could almost taste it.

Mapleton’s Brock Durbin finished second and with Crestview’s Hayden Kuhn placing third last weekend at the state wrestling championships, both Mountie and Cougar fans had plenty to cheer for.

Along with those two standouts, Ashland, Black River, Crestview, Loudonville and Northwestern all had the privilege of sending a few of the area’s finest to compete against the best Ohio had to offer.

Durbin climbs into rare Mountie Air

Becoming only the fourth Mapleton athlete to place three times at the state level, Durbin’s only loss over the weekend was to three-time state champion Dillon Campbell.

His first match was a 9-2 decision over Delta’s Evan Hanefeld followed by a tight,3-2 decision over the second-ranked wrestler Jason Schaffer from Troy Christian. Durbin scored on an escape and a takedown to secure the victory.

In Saturday’s semifinals, Durbin faced 2022 106 lb. state champion Casper Caizzo form St. Paul. A 2-0 win put the Mountie junior in Sunday’s finals where Durbin lost in the second period to Campbell.

“It was a good weekend,” said Mapleton coach Derek Durbin. “Brock placing at state this year makes him a three-time state placer for Mapleton. This also makes him the fourth at Mapleton to do so with the other three being Corey Kline, Marcus Gordon and Zach Durbin.”

Northwestern duo leave their mark

In the 120-pound division in Div. III, Northwestern’s Trent Sigler placed seventh overall. Sigler won his first match by a first-period pin before losing to three-time state champion Max Hermes of Edison.

Dropping into consolation rounds, Sigler eventually defeated Trace Williams of North Union for a fine seventh-place finish to finish his senior year with a 41-4 record.

Collin Good began his trek at 175 pounds with a 13-7 victory over Elgin’s Nels VanGundy. Good then dropped his next pair of matches (5-1 dec.) to finish the season at 41-9 and just one match away from All-Ohio Status.

Loudonville’s Gregory has solid weekend

After losing his first match to Abe DeLano of Ayersville, Loudonville's Caleb Gregory proceeded to fight back and win his next two matches to place eighth in the 190-pound class.

Gregory dropped Drake Bennett of Miami East and Lee Burkett of Troy Christian as part of his outstanding weekend.

“Caleb showed his toughness getting his first win in the last six seconds and then beating a district champion (Burkett) 3-2 in the blood round,” said Loudonville coach Ryan Thatcher.

“As a coaching staff we couldn’t be happier with Caleb’s performance and ability to lead by example throughout the entire season.”

Ashland competes in Div. I bracket

Jon Metzger (157) and Cayden Spotts (215) both had tough draws.

"Both guys had challenging draws but wrestled tough,” Ashland coach Sean Seder said.

Metzger lost to Andrew Supers (who finished third) of Medina in the first match before defeating Donavyn Watts of Pickerington North. Metzger then bowed out with a loss to Logan Smalley of Reynoldsburg.

Spotts lost to Antonio Bottiggi of Riverside and to Eugene Gibbons of St. Ignatius over the weekend.

Cougars continue legacy of excellence

Crestview’s Kuhn (144) gave area fans another reason to celebrate as he finished third in Columbus with wins over Bodie Martin and Braeden Stallworth before falling to eventual runner-up Boede Campbell of Legacy Christian. The senior then went on to defeat Maxwell Cooper from Tuslaw and Daxton Chase from Pleasant.

In the 215-pound division Caleb Cunningham became an All-Ohioan with his eighth-place finish over the weekend.

Cunningham defeated Columbus Grove’s A.J. Schafer before a loss to Lucas Thomas dropped him into the consolation round. A win over Spencerville’s Logan Johnson and a loss to Mechanicsburg’s Zane Hitchcock would be enough for All-Ohioan honors for the Cougar junior.

“Caleb missed half the season with an injury but came back at the end to battle and become an All-Ohioan,” said Crestview coach Steve Haverdill.

Black River’s trio has solid showing

Joe Dennis (120) lost his opening match to Cooper Shore of Miami East but bounced back with a win over Mikey Soto of Genoa Area. His loss to Cowin Becker of Northmor ended the day.

Charlie Wells (215) had the same fate as his Pirate teammate, losing his first match before defeating A.J. Schafer of Columbus Grove and then dropping his match to Liberty-Benton’s Gavin Gillig.

At 285, Cooper McKean lost to Liberty Center’s Owen Box and Westfall’s Hunter Probasco.

This article originally appeared on Ashland Times Gazette: Wrestling: Mapleton's Durbin, Crestview's Kuhn place again at state