113LB DIVISION … Joseph Lugabihl (right) got a first round decision (1-0) over Drew Aigler of Columbian on his way to a fifth-place finish for the Indians. (PHOTO BY KEVIN EIS)
By: Mike Reeves
NORWALK – The Norwalk Trucker gymnasium was the scene for another Wauseon wrestling district championship led by Collin Twigg (126) cruising to his title.
The senior qualified for the state meet in Columbus via two falls, a 14-0 decision in the semifinals before he faced Mike Thomas from Madison Comprehensive in the finals and stuck him in 1:47 to earn first place.
Zavian LaFountain (106) wrestled well, earning a second-place finish falling in the finals to state ranked Aiden Ohl from Ontario 4-1.
At 120, senior Larry Moreno placed third with a solid performance. After pinning his first opponent he ran into highly projected state placer in the quarterfinals losing a hard-fought battle.
He would drop to consolation where it is always a win or go home situation and Moreno would prevail through the field beating Wyatt Nemitz from Perkins 3-0.
At 132, Zadan Torres captured a runner-up finish, losing 6-1 to Mason Ducat from Defiance in the finals.
At 165, Zaidan Kessler fell in his semifinal match only to wrestle back and earn his ticket with a solid third place finish beating Manny Aller from Columbian with a major decision (14-6).
Indian senior Chance Snow (175) was not going to be denied a trip to Columbus wrestling to a fourth place finish as he dropped a major decision (10-1) to Leo Hess of Mansfield Senior in the third-place bout for the second time on the weekend.
Junior Austin Kovar (190) punched his ticket via a solid third place finish as he would lose to projected state champion Max Ray of Columbian (7-3) in the semifinal before then beating Jace Knous of Wapakoneta.
Bryan High School senior heavyweight Zain Bell earned a spot in Columbus by knocking off three number one seeds on his way to a 5-0 weekend, concluding with a 5-0 win over Bowling Green’s Dominick Burch 5-0.
Bryan sophomore Jordan Cook saw his season end up short due to an injury after reaching the semifinals and wasn’t able to continue in the placement rounds. At 175, Jaydon Dennis saw his season come to an end after going 0-2 on the weekend.
TEAM SCORES: 1. Wauseon 200.5; 2. Col. DeSales 194.5; 3. Ontario 132.5; 4. Clyde 90.0; 5. Perkins 84.0; 6. Clear Fork 82.0; 7. Wapakoneta 80.5; 8. Mar. Highland 78.0; 9. Napoleon 73.5; 10. Galion 72.0; T16. Bryan 36.0; T19. Defiance 29.0
FIRST-PLACE MATCHES: 106 – Aiden Ohl (Ontario) d. Zavian LaFountain (Wauseon) 4-1; 126 – Collin Twigg (Wauseon) d. Mike Thomas (Mad. Comprehensive) fall 1:47; 132 – Mason Ducat (Defiance) d. Zaden Torres (Wauseon) 6-1; 285 – Zain Bell (Bryan) d. Dominick Burch (Bowling Green) 5-0
THIRD-PLACE MATCHES: 120 – Larry Moreno (Wauseon) d. Wyatt Nemitz (Perkins) 3-0; 165 – Zaidan Kessler (Wauseon) d. Manny Aller (Columbian) md14-6; 175 – Leo Hess (Mansfield Senior) d. Chance Snow (Wauseon) md10-1; 190 – Austin Kovar (Wauseon) d. Jace Knous (Wapakoneta) 7-2