State wrestling: New Lex makes history; Lincicome injured

COLUMBUS — Ethan Burkhart and Zane Pletcher couldn't be more different, particularly in stature. On Saturday, though, they were much the same.

Brilliant.

As the lights shined brighter than ever on New Lexington wrestling, none sparkled like the 106-pound Burkhart and 285-pound Pletcher. Both reached the finals in their respective classes, heading a strong day from the Muskingum Valley League in the Division II state tournament at Ohio State's Value City Arena.

No team in league history has had two finalists in the same season. The Panthers, who left Saturday tied for sixth in the team standings with Wintersville Indian Creek, also became the first school in league history to have four total finalists. Burkhart and Pletcher joined former champion Matt Adams and runner-up Dimitri Williams.

Just a few hours after securing their Final Four berths with quarterfinal wins, Burkhart built a 5-0 lead in a 5-2 win against Medina Buckeye's Blake Bartos, and Pletcher outlasted Claymont's Wyatt Shaw, 9-7.

Burkhart finished a pair of high single-leg shots to convert takedowns. The second, in the third period, provided ample breathing room. He rode Bartos out for much of the second without yielding an escape.

Burkhart said he felt dominant throughout the match. He has been taken down just once in 44 matches without a loss.

"I just stayed with my routine," Burkhart said. "I've worked all year for this. All year I have felt really good."

Burkhart, now 44-0, will face Copley junior Javaan Yarbrough (37-2) in the finals. He is the projected state champ and Burkhart the runner-up, according to borofan.net.

Burkhart said he feels fully prepared mentally and physically. Longtime New Lex assistant Matt Reed, who sat in on Burkhart's match, said that it seemed the Burkhart-Yarbrough matchup was inevitable given the landscape of the weight class overall.

A win would be well-earned, he said.

"I've seen a lot of wrestling this year and it just seemed like Ethan and Javaan Yarbrough are just a head above everyone else," Reed said. "It's not that those other guys aren't good, you just didn't see them making any mistakes."

Burkhart was dominant in his quarterfinal match, posting a 13-2 major decision over Marion Highland's Konner Blaney. Pletcher posted a 10-1 major decision over Clear Fork's Eric Hicks in the quarterfinal.

Pletcher had a rare high-scoring match with the undersized Shaw, who was ranked at 215 before entering the heavyweight fray. He trailed 2-0 early in a back-and-forth match that was close until late in the third, when Pletcher eventually got the lead for good.

"He was faster than me and had a good shot, I just had to keep my legs back and be ready at all times," Pletcher said. "I had to just be ready for the shot, because that's all he does. And cradle on top. I didn't let him do any of that, other than one time when he scored. I just had to keep my balance, know when to sprawl and get two."

His only loss in the postseason is a 5-2 loss to top-ranked Elisha Baldridge, of West Holmes, who reached the semifinals before falling, 2-1, to Circleville's Trentt Fulgham after leading 1-0 in the final seconds.

It set up a rematch, just not the one Pletcher expected. He thought he'd get Baldridge again, like he did in the district finals at Steubenville. Instead, he gets a heavyweight his equal in size in Fulgham, whom he defeated in an ultimate tiebreaker in the sectional semifinals.

Nonetheless, he is riding a strong wave of momentum into the finals after a string of impressive wins against ranked opponents. He never thought he would be in this position at the season's outset.

"I thought I could make it to top four at districts and top eight at state, but I didn't know if I could make it this far," Pletcher said. "All of the semis are people from my district."

The finals will be held at 5:15 p.m. following the Parade of Champions at 5. Consolation matches begin at 9:30 a.m.

They are part of a contingent of six placers from league schools, joining classmate Hunter Rose (165), Sheridan's Coltyn Reedy (138), Morgan's Logan Niceswanger (190) and River View's Cruz Mobley (215).

Injury ends Lincicome's run

Philo senior Drew Lincicome endured the day's biggest heartbreak, suffering a fractured ankle during a takedown in his quarterfinal match against Wauseon junior Austin Kovar. He was leading 3-0 just 20 seconds into the second period at the time, and he was on his way to a 5-0 lead when he felt the ankle break on impact.

He tried to keep wrestling, but told Electrics coach Evan Loughman that he couldn't continue. X-rays at the arena revealed the fracture.

Lincicome was 50-1 and had the same championship aspirations as Burkhart and Pletcher, which Loughman said left him "pretty devastated."

He finished 138-28 in his career and holds more than 10 school records.

"He's obviously really disappointed, wondering why this had to happen to him," Loughman said Saturday night. "This is going to make him stronger, hungrier for whatever he decides to do at the next level.

"I was about as heartbroken as I have been in my life," Loughman added. "It's one thing to lose and it happens that way, but it's another thing when it's lost to misfortune and can't do anything about it."

Reedy rolls in consolations

Meanwhile, Reedy still has third place on his mind after winning twice in consolation matches at 138 on Saturday. He can get no worse than sixth after a dominant 14-2 major decision against Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary's Braden Dunlap in the third round consolation.

He now faces a consolation semifinal against Carrollton's Josh Carman, which edged him 7-5 at the district, for a chance to wrestle for third place.

It came after He controlled his morning match and earned a 3-1 decision over Ontario's Mason Turnbaugh to secure a top-eight finish.

"I stuck with my game plan. I stayed on my feet and kept attacking," Reedy said. "It means a lot to see that my work pay off, but I'm not done yet."

Three eyeing seventh

Rose was pinned in 5:39 by Clear Fork's Luke Schlosser in the quarterfinals, but he responded with a pin of Tiffin Columbian's Manny Aller in 3:55 to advance.

"I kept my head in the match and came out on top," Rose said. "We're going to set a school record for placers in the same state tournament, so it means a lot to be a part of it."

Rose dropped his third-round consolation match to Wauseon's Zaidan Kessler, 13-7, in a chippy match that saw both hit with unsportsmanlike points. Rose, who was as close at 8-6 in the third, will take on Peninsula Woodridge's Steven Duffy, a district champion, in the seventh-place match.

Niceswanger entered as a 4-seed and lost his opening match, but two straight wins, including a pin of Bedford's Trent Thomas in 2:36, put the Raider junior on the podium.

His third-round consolation match was close throughout until being taken to his back and eventually pinned by Chardon Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin junior Bryce Wheatley in the third round of consolation.

"I trusted my coaches. I put in a lot of time and effort, and the work I put in be prepared me for this moment," Niceswanger said after his placing match. "This was a new tournament. I believed in myself and wrestled the way I knew I could."

River View's Cruz Mobley (215) was pinned in 3:01 by Columbus DeSales' Max Shulaw, who is top-ranked and in the finals, but picked up a 16-9 decision over Oakwood's Carter Stack to keep his season going.

He will wrestle for seventh after a 4-1 loss to Carrollton's Jimmy Bechter in the third round consolation. He gets Columbus Linden McKinley's Marquise Lucas for seventh.

"I wanted to wrestle as hard as I could, knowing it could be potentially be my last match," Mobley said. "It was instinct, and I left it all out there. I'm just going to jump back on the ball and keep rolling."

New Lex's Sam Longhenry (175) fell short of the podium, suffering a 4-0 loss to Vincent Warren's Aden Strahler in his second round consolation match.

In Division III, West Muskingum's Konnor Samson (150) also failed to reach the top eight. After winning his first match on Friday, Samson lost an 18-6 major decision to Beachwood's Joshua Greenwood in the quarters then McComb's Montana Pierce earned a 4-2 decision to eliminate Samson in the second consolation round.

Maysville's Kelsie Bryan (145) also didn't reach the podium after losing an 8-2 decision to Olentangy Orange's Surraiya Mahmud in her second round consolation match.

sblackbu@gannett.com; Twitter: @SamBlackburTR

bhannahs@gannett.com; Twitter: @brandonhannahs

This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: State wrestling: New Lex makes history; Drew Lincicome injured