Trending
KENSTON -- In the meat-grinder that is the Kenston Div. II district tournament only one area boy finished in the top four in his respective weight class on Saturday.
West Branch senior Beau Nezbeth (48-1) finished third at 150 pounds. He pinned Firelands' D'Mari Campbell in 1:42 in the consolation final to earn his spot at the state tournament set for Friday through Sunday at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus.
Nezbeth took his first loss of the season with a 2-1 defeat in the semifinals at the hands of eventual district champion Chance Schlauch of Perry.
Independence Div. III
INDEPENDENCE -- Southern Local senior Rowan Wiley finished fourth at 157 pounds on Saturday at the Independence district tournament to become the only area wrestler to earn a Div. III state tournament bid.
Wiley (46-9) was pinned by Pymatuning Valley's Bennett Claypoole in 2:35 in the third-place match.
The state tournament is set for Friday through Sunday at Ohio State University's Schottenstein Center.
Gallia Academy
Div. II
GALLIPOLIS -- Beaver Local produced two champions on Saturday at the Div. II district wrestling tournament at Gallia Academy High School.
Freshman Jordan Bates topped New Lexington's Brody McNabb 9-4 in the 106-pound bout and improved to 44-2 on his way to his first state tournament berth.
Sophomore Jake Hughes, ranked 16th in the country by FloWrestling, scored a 3-1 victory over West Holmes' Louden Dixon in the 157-pound final. Dixon (40-6) had beaten Hughes (41-4) at sectionals.
Beaver Local senior Bobby Buchheit reached the final at 150 pounds byt was defeated 4-3 by Cambridge's Marshall Laishley. Buchheit (30-2) had beaten Laishley 1-0 in the OVAC final earlier this season. Buchheit's only other loss coming from West Branch's Beau Nezbeth.
East Liverpool also bagged three state qualifiers.
Junior Kyle Ingram (38-5) took third at 106 pounds, while senior Wyatt McCune (33-10) was third at 132. Junior Xavier Lara (22-10) took fourth at 190.
Beaver Local junior Evan Ours (35-9) earned third at 165, while John Burkett (31-18) was fourth at 113.
The state tournament is set for Friday through Sunday at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus.