A Viewers Guide to the Ohio State Tournament

By Ian McCutcheon

 

This coverage is overwhelming.  With as many as five cameras going at a time during the early rounds, and every semi and final recorded, there are literally hundreds of hours of Ohio high school wrestling to watch.  That’s not even including the interviews, awards ceremonies, and me in a singlet.  This is a good thing (well maybe not me in the singlet, but all the wrestling is awesome).  HOWEVER, the enormity of the coverage makes it difficult to sort through and find all of the really good stuff.  Consider this your Best Of.

 

Below, I’ve picked out all of the matches that for one reason or another stood out.  Some are instant classics (Ward-Bright, Kern-Nelson being the big two), others are remarkable individual performances (Bo Jordan-Whoever He Mauled in that Particular Round).  All are worth your time.  One caveat is, from semis on, I only filmed Division I matches, so that is what I saw with my own eyes and most clearly remember.  This explains why this list is skewed towards big schools.  If there are other must watch matches that I missed in the other divisions, feel free to put them in the comments. 

 

The Absolute Essentials 

Joey Ward vs Edgar Bright 132 Finals:  Defending champ Joey Ward takes on one of the anchors in St. Ed’s lineup.  132 was the marquee weight class in Division I, with Ward, Bright, and Kagan Squire all ranked nationally.  Ward was thought to be a “fluke” champion in 2011 and there were whispers around Columbus that Bright was actually the Eagles best wrestler.  He also had a previous win over Ward (not two like that boneheaded announcer tells you) and was in the rare circumstance of being universally favored over last year’s champion.  But somebody forgot to tell Ward he wasn’t supposed to repeat. 

Luke Kern vs Zane Nelson 138 Final:  If Ward-Bright wasn’t the match of the tournament, this one is.  A wild and entertaining final between two upper body specialists was high scoring, full of throws, and the single best finish of the tournament.

Garrett Gray vs Nick Tavanello 285 Finals:  With Greg Kuhar out for the year with a knee injury, the spot across Nick Tavanello was wide open.  Gray, attempting to become Oregon Clay’s first state champion, was more than game to challenge the two-time champion from Wadsworth.  After losing to Tavanello in the District final, Gray came in with a spot-on gameplan and frustrated the smaller Tavanello.  But what makes the bout essential is the controversy in the bout’s second overtime, with a crazy takedown/reversal situation that may forever draw the ire of the Oregon Clay faithful.

Joey Ward vs Kagan Squire 132 Semifinal:  This one is an absolute heartbreaker.  Last year’s 125 pound finalists had their rematch in semis.  Squire, runner up the last two seasons and third as a freshman, was seeking to match his older brother Brad and break through with a title in his senior year.  However, a controversial first period takedown threw a wrench in things.

Connor McMahon vs Jacob Davis 160 semifinal:  The weekend was supposed to be a coronation of St. Edward and this phenomenal Eagles team.  Pundits were predicting between 7-9 champions, including 160 pounder Jacob Davis.  This may not be the most technically proficient match, but it’s a lot of fun, with tons of reversals, weird scrambles, and a to the wire finish in overtime.

Max Byrd vs Colin Heffernan 120 Quarterfinal:  It was a stroke of luck that we caught this one, but thank God we did, because it was the best match of the round.  Byrd, a finalist in 2011, came out like a house on fire and took Heffernan down twice.  But in the third, fatigue hit, and he had to withstand a furious comeback from Heffernan.

Mitch Newhouse vs Jake Ryan 138 First Round: This was the feature bout on Thursday.  Former finalist Mitch Newhouse drew a tough Jake Ryan (Tom Ryan’s son, certainly adding to national intrigue) in the tournament’s opening round.  Newhouse only wrestled ridiculous matches in this tournament, and this one features some of the best scrambling all weekend, and a miracle reversal to win it.

Chaz Gresham vs Huston Evans 182 Final: THUD!!! A rematch of last year’s final, Gresham-Evans II was another clash of titans.  Illegal or not (and it has supporters on both sides), The mat return in the 2^nd period is a thing of beauty.  But it’s the controversial end of regulation and overtime period that really has everybody talking.

Brent Fickel vs Arron Thompson 132 Semifinal:  Brent Fickel has experienced nothing but heartbreak in the semifinal round at the Ohio State Tournament.  This time, the shoe was on the other foot, as there were all kinds of bizarre occurrences in this year’s semi that resulted in him punching his first ticket to finals. 

 

Impressive Performances

Michael Baker vs Dom Abounader 182 Final:  This was Division I’s only match up of returning state champions, and was one of the more anticipated bouts in the tournament.  However, even though the final score was relatively close, Dom Abounader left no doubt as to who the best Division I wrestler is at 182 pounds.  The clinic on top is particularly impressive given how good Baker is.

Anthony Collica vs Zane Zeman 145 Quarterfinal:  Zeb spent the entire weekend crying about how underrated Anthony Collica is.  Well, if he needs video evidence, he has some here.  Collica puts on a clinic against a returning finalist in their quarterfinal.

Chalmer Frueauf vs Ty Walz 220 Quarterfinal:  Most pundits had this as the anticipated final at 220.  But an upset at the District level meant Frueauf and Walz had to bang heads in quarters.  Ty Walz is a fun guy to watch anyway, because he wrestles with such incredible pace for a big man, and this is him at his best, schooling the promising sophomore from Moeller.

Bo Jordan vs Kyle Burns 152 Final:  This was another match up of returning champions.  The talk before finals was that Burns would make Jordan work for his third title.  It must have made him mad, because Bo left no doubt.

Ryan Taylor vs Mike Rix 120 Semifinal:  Few wrestlers have improved as much between their junior and senior years as Ryan Taylor.  The Wisconsin commit absolutely throttles a fellow returning champion in their semifinal.

Bo Jordan vs Alex Bergman 152 Semifinal:  Zeb filmed this one, and told me that “Bo Jordan should have been dragged out of the arena in handcuffs for the beating he just delivered.”  He’s one of the greatest in Ohio history, and all of his skills are on display during his quarterfinal. 

Riley Shaw vs Travis Gusan 285 Final:  Travis Gusan was developing buzz as one of the heavyweights to watch in this tournament.  He looked fantastic on Friday night in his semifinal, and it looked like he’d be a strong challenge to Riley Shaw’s title defense.  Shaw had other plans.

 

Big Moves

Mitch Newhouse vs Mike Labry 138 Final:  Their District match was 15-10, so expectations were high for the rematch in state finals.  The future Ashland teammates traded huge throws that put the crowd on their feet.  Unfortunately for the loser, only one scored points.

Curtis Miller vs Kennedy Smith 220 Final:  This match features the rarest of birds, a turn in overtime that seals it.  Generated a big “ooooo” from the crowd which caught my attention.

 

 

Overtime!

Brandon Thompson vs Aaron Assad 113 Semifinal:  Thompson is a vastly underrated returning champion who had to go through Ironman semifinalist Austin Assad just to get back to finals.  It turned in to a nailbiter.

Jacob Davis vs Justin Kresevic 160 Quarterfinal:  Davis, the favorite at 160 coming in, had his back against the wall in his quarterfinal before using his superior mat wrestling to eek out a victory. 

Michael Baker vs Brandon Walker 182 Semifinal:  While Abounader was cruising through the bottom half of the bracket, Baker was tested in every match to hold up his end of the bargain to match up returning champions.  Wrestling the state’s third ranked wrestler, Baker survives a marathon match to punch his second ticket to finals. 

 

Miscellaneous Other Matches Because Coming Up With Categories Was Harder Than I Thought

Mitch Newhouse vs Nick Barber 138 Semifinal:  Mitch Newhouse shoots out to a 9-2 lead.  But when he hits a wall in the second period, Barber furiously tries to make up the difference in a fun end of the match.

Richard Robertson vs Chase DeLande 152 Semifinal:  Arguably the biggest upset of the tournament.  Robertson knocks off defending state champion Chase DeLande in the crown jewel of a solid overall weekend for Maple Heights. 

Nick Barber vs Colin Taylor 138 Quarterfinal:  One of the keys to St. Ed’s quest for the team scoring record was the performance of Nick Barber at 138.  He found himself in a tighter than anticipated quarterfinal and needed a big move to pull it out.

Jake Faust vs Blake Kastl 145 Final:  Jake Faust was seeking to become the first state champion in Lexington history.  Standing in his way was Ironman runner-up and two-time California state placer Blake Kastl of Division II’s top dog, St. Paris Graham. 

Jake Faust vs TJ Fox 145 Quarterfinal:  Before Faust got his shot at Kastl, he had to go through fellow two-time placer TJ Fox in quarters.  He did things the hard way by not scoring a takedown.

Matt Kolodzik vs Jared Ganger 106 Final: Kolodzik was one of the top 106 pounders in America coming into the state series, but took a surprise loss to Ganger in his district semifinal.  This is the rematch in state finals.

Dexter Lee vs Christian Cleary 113 Quarterfinal:  A fun match I happened to catch during quarters, Lee makes the risky choice of top in the 3^rdwhile trailing by a point.