By: Mike Reeves
Archbold and Wauseon wrestling took care of business this past Saturday in their home gyms to advance to this week’s state dual tournament.
In Division II, the host Indians opened against the Bengals from Cleveland Benedictine.
Starting at 106 Joe Lugabihl won by forfeit and Zavian LaFountain (112) gave the Indians six more points with a fall in 1:55.
Larry Moreno (120) continued the onslaught with a hard-fought battle and a 7-5 victory before senior Collin Twigg (126) won by fall.
Zaden Torres (132) scored with a :52 pin fall before Antonio Torres (138) lost a hard fought 5-1 decision and the Bengals were on the board.
At 144 pounds, Wauseon junior Benicio Torres pinned his opponent in just :54 seconds for a 30-3 Wauseon lead.
Manny Gante (150) earned narrow 8-7 victory as the Indians continued to roll.
Kale Waxler (157) pinned his opponent and Zadian Kessler added another pinfall at 165 as Wauseon finished off the match with wins by Chance Snow (175), Austin Kovar (190), and Justin Duncan (215) to advance to the finals after the 63-9 win over Benedictine.
In the finals, the Indians would take on the Napoleon Wildcats The two teams had met earlier in the year with Wauseon winning a close match.
Lugabihl started things off at 106lbs losing 9-0 to Roman Cordoba, then at 112lbs Napoleon’s Alex Gonzales beat Wauseon’s LaFountain on a major decision and the Wildcats had a 8-0 lead.
Moreno (120) would begin turning things around for Wauseon with a decisive 15-8 win and that set up Twigg at 126lbs, who was victorious with a 9-2 decision over Romeo Cordoba.
Zaden Torres (132) took his opponent to task and Wauseon would not look back. At 138lbs, Antonio Torres was disqualified after having a huge lead he was called for a slam and Napoleon was awarded a 6-point win.
Benicio Torres earned a dominant win at 144 and Gante (150) won 10-1 as Wauseon took control.
At 157, Waxler fell behind early in his match but wrestled nicely to score a fall and add to the Indian tally.
Up next, Kessler (165) scored at will against his foe and gave Wauseon the needed points to assure the victory.
Wauseon punched their ticket to state by wrapping up the 47-18 win over Napoleon with wins by Snow (175), Kovar at 190 in one of the best matches of the day, and Duncan (215).
The Indians will wrestle Feb 11 in the State Dual meet finals in New Lexington.
Archbold hosted Division III action and started the day by facing Genoa in the semifinals after the Comets defeated Liberty-Benton in the semifinals.
After a Genoa won at 106 to start things off, Archbold got a pin from Jordan Rodriguez (113) and Ashton Stuckey (120) was victorious by major decision 10-1.
Genoa would take three of the next four matches before the Bluestreaks came back to win six of the final seven matches by fall to close out a 46-24 win.
Archbold faced Oak Harbor in the finals as Mason Miller (106) picked up a 7-2 win to get the Bluestreaks on the board.
Following an Oak Harbor win at 113, Stuckey (120), Tristan Wyse (126), and Gabe Chapa (132) all secured wins by decision.
Archbold finished off the match and locked up their spot at state with Hayden Dickman (175), Wyat Ripke (190), Dylan Aeschliman (215), and Carson Dominique (285) all winning by fall to give Archbold a 46-20 win.
The state finals will take place on February 11 with Wauseon traveling to New Lexington in Division II and Archbold will be at Versailles for Division III.