Wrestling: Columbus Academy Vikings’ Gyvnn Mendenhall seeks return to state
Coming off an all-state performance in football, Columbus Academy’s Gyvnn Mendenhall wasted little time before beginning his training for wrestling.
The senior prefers it that way.
Mendenhall is seeking his third Division III state tournament berth after going 1-2 at 220 pounds last winter, when the event was held at Marion Harding. This season, all three divisions are expected to return to Ohio State on March 11-13.
“Last year definitely motivated me, especially since I was (close) to placing at state,” Mendenhall said. “That’s definitely my goal this year. I heard wrestling at Ohio State is great.”
Mendenhall started on the offensive and defensive lines in football, finishing third on the Vikings in tackles with 64.5 as they went 8-5. He was named first-team all-state on defense along with Defensive Player of the Year in the district and Lineman of the Year in the MSL-Ohio Division.
He began training with the wrestling team two days after football season ended with a 41-0 loss to Harvest Prep in a Division V, Region 19 semifinal Nov. 13.
“I got right back to it the following Monday,” Mendenhall said. “It was a little hard, but I wouldn’t change anything.”
After competing at 220 last season, Mendenhall has moved to heavyweight. He weighs about 235 pounds, but isn’t concerned the maximum weight for a heavyweight is 285.
“Coach (Paul Bukky) and I agreed that I should move to heavyweight so I wouldn’t have to drop weight or try and lose muscle coming from football,” Mendenhall said. “Over the years I’ve been going into higher weight classes. Heavyweight was the place to go. The weight doesn’t really bother me at all. I’m confident in my ability.”
Bukky believes Mendenhall is prepared for the challenge of moving to heavyweight.
“I don’t think there’s too many guys around at heavyweight that he won’t be able to beat,” said Bukky, who is in his 16th season. “He’s used to pushing big guys around and moving. He’s quick and he doesn’t get caught flat-footed.”
As the lone senior on the team, Mendenhall also has the responsibility of being a leader.
“He and I have been talking about leadership for quite some time,” Bukky said. “One of the things that we talk about is he has to step up. He has no choice. He’s the best wrestler we have based on his performance. He might be one of the best overall wrestlers in the area.”
Mendenhall was recruited to compete in both sports in college, but ultimately decided to focus on football. He has a 4.13 GPA and is awaiting acceptance from Division III Washington University in St. Louis.
He also remains open to the possibility of competing in wrestling at the next level.
“I chose (Washington) because they have the perfect balance of academics and a very solid football team,” he said. “I know a lot more people that go there than I thought and (St. Louis) is beautiful. I think I’ll do very well there.”
Following the wrestling season, Mendenhall will cap his prep career as a defender for the boys lacrosse team in the spring.
“Gyvnn is a machine,” football coach Robin Miller said. “He’s certainly cut from a different cloth. He just never quits, never gets tired and has an endless amount of intrinsic motivation. That makes it very easy, and enjoyable, to coach him.”
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COLUMBUS ACADEMY
•Coach: Paul Bukky, 16th season
•Top athletes: Tiko Bdoyan, Parker Knapp and Gyvnn Mendenhall
•Key losses: Keir Gorospe, Ethan Stahl and Chris Sugar
•2020-21 MSL-Ohio standings: Buckeye Valley (3-0), Columbus Academy and Whitehall (2-2), Bexley (1-2), Grandview (1-3)
•2021 postseason: 13th at sectional, tied for 38th at district, tied for 68th at state
•Outlook: Academy again should be led by Mendenhall, a senior who went 1-2 at state last season at 220 pounds. As a sophomore, Mendenhall qualified for state at 195, but the tournament was canceled because of COVID-19. He will wrestle at heavyweight this season.
Bdoyan, a junior, went 1-2 at district at 152 last season and finished 13-6. He is competing at 165 this season.
Sophomores Knapp (142), Philip Nedeltchev (190) and Nick Yakam (157) also should be key contributors. Knapp went 9-0 last year but missed the postseason with a thumb injury.
•Quotable: “We have a lot of young wrestlers, but they’re good kids. If you look at them you wouldn’t think they’re very good athletes, but some of them are surprising. They’re scrappy. They work hard.” — Bukky
—Frank DiRenna
GAHANNA LINCOLN
•Coach: Mike Flusche, fourth season
•Top athletes: Chandler Block, Griffin Flusche, Emily Leeseberg, Jayden Lewis, Javon Lewis and Preston Olah
•Key losses: Ricky Alli, Quran Burns, Marcus Rogers, Tim Steele and Charles Williams
•2020-21 OCC-Ohio standings: Grove City (5-0), Gahanna and Westerville Central (both 3-2), New Albany and Pickerington North (both 2-3), Westland (0-5)
•2021 postseason: Ninth at sectional, 28th at district, tied for 66th at state
•Outlook: The Lions have just one senior in Block (157) and will be without all three of their Division I district competitors from last year with Alli (182) and Williams (145) lost to graduation and sophomore Charlie Foster (126) expected to miss the season with a dislocated kneecap. Williams was a two-time state qualifier who went 1-2 at state last year, finishing his prep career with a 115-28 record.
Sophomore Jayden Lewis is expected to be at 215 after placing sixth at 195 at last year’s sectional and finishing 12-7. Junior Griffin Flusche, the coach’s son, placed sixth at heavyweight at sectional to finish 14-9 and is expected to be at the same weight.
Sophomore Javon Lewis will start at 190 after going 11-7 last season mostly at 170 but is expected to move to 175 later in the season.
Leeseberg is a sophomore who went 2-2 in the girls district tournament and 0-2 at state at 101 and will compete in boys matches at 106.
Olah (165) is a junior second-year competitor and sophomore Anthony Judd (132) is another returnee.
Others expected to crack the lineup include junior Brian Goh (138), sophomore Hayden Thompson (150) and freshmen Emmanuel Anyiakak (190), Jabari Hill (144), Musa Jalloh (120) and Jaylen Sanchez (126). Juniors Skylar Bard (150), Finn Devine (175), Ali Kaba (215), Jay Pearson (126/132) and Dylan Smith (165/175), sophomores Brandon Givens (126) and TreyMel Morris (heavyweight) and freshmen C.J. Alli (113), Liam Crawford-Van Meter (113) and Aiden Sayre (106) are in the mix for lineup spots.
•Quotable: “We’re even younger than we were last year, but we actually have quite a few more kids. Our numbers are probably 10 to 12 higher than last year, so that’s a good problem to have.” — coach Flusche
—Jarrod Ulrey
NEW ALBANY
•Coach: Larry Reichard, eighth season
•Top athletes: Alex Chattos, Colin Mahoney, Owen Perry, Michael Roth and Jack Sautter
•Key losses: Jack Lee, Gianni Nocera and Colin Swincicki
•2021 postseason: 10th at sectional, tied for 34th at district
•Outlook: Mahoney, a senior, is the only one of three Division I district qualifiers to return after going 7-6 last season. He will wrestle at 165, on the lower side of a veteran group between 157 and 215.
Roth, a junior, began this season by finishing fifth at 215 in the John Brown Memorial Tournament on Dec. 4 at Mount Vernon. Freshman Nick Hernandez was seventh at 106.
Chattos and Perry should provide senior leadership at 190 and 144, respectively, after combining for 28 wins a season ago. Roth was 20-7 as a sophomore.
Other veterans on the roster include seniors Ganan Balakrishna (175), Montay Baugh (132), Payton Galbraith (215) and Sautter (182/190). Sophomore Aaron Alavad began the season at heavyweight.
•Quotable: “We are going to be tough this year and (we are) just getting the rust off now. Our upper weights are trying to get back into a flow after the long run in the football season. ... We have several first-year kids that are looking promising and could help us out come (league dual) time.” — Reichard
—Dave Purpura
This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Wrestling: Columbus Academy Vikings’ Mendenhall seeks return to state
