Newark's Smith, Untied win OHSAA sectional wrestling titles
NEWARK — It was a long journey years in the making for Calvin Untied.
The Newark senior went out in style at Jimmy Allen Gymnasium, winning the 144-pound title during Saturday's Division I sectional tournament. Untied clinched his first berth to next weekend's district tournament at Hilliard Darby in the semifinals, but he did not stop there.
"I was pretty confident coming in because you have to be. It's my senior year, last chance, leave nothing left," Untied said. "From all four years and actually since grade school and middle school, (my teammates and coaches) have helped me to where I am now. They might be hard on me. They might have bust my butt throughout the day, but at the same time, it was getting me better."
Classmate Jibreel Smith at 126 joined Untied as a champion. Juniors Eli Justice (150) and James Daugherty (165) also wrestled in his respective championship match, each taking runner-up, and senior Reece Redman (190) third and sophomore Kallan Baker (175) fourth gave the host Wildcats six district qualifiers.
Untied, the No. 3 seed with a deceiving 14-11 record because of Newark's strong schedule, pinned all three of his opponents in the first period, including Teays Valley's Wesley Henderson in the final.
Smith repeated as sectional champion, and he now will attempt to make a return trip to state. He recorded a pin and a hard-fought 3-0 victory against Teays Valley's Braxton Sheets before beating Olentangy's Jake Piontkowski 7-3.
"I like being the underdog, so it is a little weird coming in at a higher level than I was last year, but it's just more reason for me to wrestle every match as hard as possible, 100%," Smith said.
"I have to work on my defensive wrestling," he added. "I sometimes get myself in positions where I shouldn't be, but that's how wrestling is."
Justice fell 12-1 to Olentangy Liberty's Tyler Deericks and Daugherty 14-5 to Delaware's Devin Halliday, each bested by top seeds.
Redman rebounded from a semifinal loss to earn a pair of wins to secure his trip to district and his place. He won by technical fall in his final home match.
"It feels good because I can feel the support of everyone with Newark," Redman said. "Everyone else's families are here. When they said my name, they started cheering, and it means a lot."
Baker had a technical fall and pin during his run to fourth, giving the Wildcats six qualifiers after advancing five each of the last two years.
"It's definitely a step forward," Untied said. "It's probably the most determined group I have ever been with. It has the most heart and by far the most sportsmanship. I love these guys to death."
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Coming up
For coverage of the other sectional tournaments in Licking County, read Tuesday's Advocate.
This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Newark's Jibreel Smith, Calvin Untied win OHSAA sectional wrestling
