2024-01-04 08:50:50
MANSFIELD – If expansion is good enough for the Big Ten Conference and the College Football Playoff for 2024, it’s good enough for Jon Spencer’s list of Who’s Who in north central Ohio wrestling.
Full disclosure: Limiting the list of area wrestlers to 25, which was last year’s cut-off, was never going to work.
2023 IN REVIEW: What a year: 15 headlines to perfectly recap an amazing 2023 in Richland County sports
All you have to do is look at the state rankings. Analyst Billy Schaefer posts updated individual and team rankings several times each season on his site, borofanohio.net. There are 29 area wrestlers currently in the rankings.
I’m going to do him six better and release my Top 35, in ascending order. Many of them will be in action this weekend at the 61st J.C Gorman Invitational, the showcase event locally each season.
Medina Buckeye, coming off a repeat title in the 30-team Medina Invitational Tournament, will try to make it two in a row in the Gorman as well following ending Ashland’s record five-year title run in 2023.
Buckeye will be led by three defending champs, including the only two-time Gorman MVP in Eddie Neitenbach. Ashland, runner-up last year, will once more present a stiff challenge as should Ontario, off to a strong start with invitational titles at Galion and Kenston.
Plymouth and Lucas are the only Richland County schools that won’t be competing in the Gorman, so consider this Top 35 list a primer for the two-day tournament at Mansfield Senior:
35: Christian Santiz, Shelby: The sophomore upperweight (190-215) is one of four district qualifiers back as the rebuilding Whippets remain a work in progress. Santiz was a runner-up as Shelby scored 109 points for seventh in Galion’s Kooper McCabe Memorial Tournament.
34: Landyn Penfield, Mansfield Senior: The Tyger upper weight (175-190) proved that his runner-up finish in the season-opening Ton Ellis Classic at Madison was no fluke by finishing second at the Jeremy Ammons Kilted Klassic at Sparta Highland
33: Cole Eichorn, Lexington: A runner-up finish in any tournament by the Minutemen might have seemed inconceivable a couple years ago, but they continue to make strides under second-year coach John Watkins Lex rolled up 225 points to finish second in the 12-team field at the Hillsdale Invitational and Eichorn, a district qualifier last year as a freshman, was one of four Minutemen to make the finals. He’s singled out here because of how far he got in the last post-season.
32: Rayden Caudill, Lucas: Caudill’s career got new life when the school reinstated the wrestling season just before the season began following the head coach abruptly resigned. Billy Caudill is now the coach and his son is the team’s best wrestler with runner-up finishes at Hillsdale and Clear Fork.
31: Cole Dille, Ontario: A 31-match winner last season, Dille placed third (157) to help the Warriors win last week’s 30-team Kenston Invitational.
30. Max Ohl, Ashland: One of several talented freshmen in the Arrows’ lineup, Ohl went 2-2 at the rugged MIT. He has bloodlines going for him. His dad, Perry, and uncle, Monty won state titles for Ontario. His brother, Sid, was a state runner-up for Ashland, and his cousins, Jacob and Aiden Ohl, are state title contenders for Ontario.
29. Brady Carr, Northmor: A state qualifier last season as a freshman, Carr, whose dad, Scott, is head coach, won a title at the Elgin Pool Tournament and won by pin in a dual meet with powerhouse Ontario. In the DIII state rankings, he’s No. 22 at 113 pounds.
28. Jaden Hedrick, Crestview: The senior 150-pounder is No. 14 in the DIII state rankings. So far, he’s been runner-up at Elgin and Kenston.
27. Cayden Spotts, Ashland: A two-time state qualifier, Spotts was the heavyweight champ at the Ashland Sarver Paving Invitational and finished third at the MIT. In the DI state rankings, he’s No. 24 at 215 pounds.
26. Arthur Cain, Shelby: A junior 126-pounder, Cain was runner-up to Galion state medalist Gradey Harding in the Kooper McCabe Memorial Tournament.
25. Hezekiah Molina, Clear Fork: In the state rankings, Molina is No. 15 at DII 106. He was a champ at the 16-team Clear Fork Invite, winning his title match by pin in 47 seconds.
24. Aidan Proctor, Madison: A talented freshman who should help the Rams overcome the loss of two-time state medalist Hunter Hutcheson. Proctor was one of three Madison champs as it finished runner-up in its own invite, the Tom Ellis Classic. He’s popped up in the DII state rankings at No. 14.
23. Guardian Miller, Ashland: The freshman son of Ashland assistant coach Wade Miller and a middle school All-American, he’s already making his mark at the varsity level with a title in his home invite and a third-place finish at the MIT, where he went 5-1.
22. Ethan Amens, Northmore: Part of a group of talented underclassmen at Northmor, Amens was a state alternate last season. He owns a title at Elgin and is No. 16 in the DIII state rankings at 120.
21. Grason Bias, Ontario: Moved up from 215 to heavyweight this season to accommodate the arrival of state medalist Landon Campell from Galion. Ranked No. 8 in DIII, Bias was third at the McCabe Memorial Invite and fifth at Kenston.
20. Angelo Seitz, Ashland: A two-time district qualifier, the Ashland senior is ranked No. 11 at DI 190 pounds.
19. Aydan Reyes, Galion: A 2022 state alternate, Reyes is ranked No. 17 in DII at 150 pounds.
18. Julian McGinty, Ontario: A state qualifier last year as a freshman, McGinty is ranked No. 9 in DII at 132 pounds. He was third at the McCabe and Kenston invites, helping the Warriors win both tournaments.
17. Noah Robinson, Plymouth: The highlight from last season for Robinson was pinning Crestview state medalist Caleb Cunningham for a sectional title. Now a junior, he’s ranked 16th in DIII at 215. He finished third in the 37-team Marion Harding Invite and helped the Big Red win the Hillsdale Invite with a first period pin in his title match.
16. Jaxin Stancombe, Madison: The seventh-ranked heavyweight in DII, Stancombe won a title at home in the Tom Ellis Classic.
15. Cameron Wagers, Plymouth: Already a three-time district qualifier and two-time Firelands Conference champ, Wagers achieved his 100th career victory earlier this season. He won a title at Hillsdale, helping his team win the championship, and was third at Clear Fork. He’s ranked No. 9 in DIII at 113.
14. Peyton Hoskins, Clear Fork: He was 46-9 last year and made it to state. So far this season he has a title in his home invitational, capped by a first period pin in the finals. He’s ranked 10th in DII at 132 pounds.
13. Mike Thomas, Madison: Helped host Madison to a runner-up finish at the Tom Ellis Classic by winning the 113-pound title. Thomas is ranked No. 1 in DII at his weight.
12. Mason Turnbaugh, Ontario: He was third at the Kooper McCabe Memorial and runner-up at the Kenston Invite. He made it to state last season as a freshman and goes into the J.C. Gorman Invitational as a returning champ. Turnbaugh’s DII state ranking is No. 9
11. Carson Campbell, Northmor: A junior high state champ two years ago, he qualified for state last winter as a freshman and made enough of an impression to earn the No. 5 ranking in DIII at 157, He won a title at the Elgin Pool Tournament and was eighth at the MIT.
10. Alex Griffith, Galion: Griffith is the first Galion wrestler to qualify for state in his freshman, sophomore and junior seasons and is on track to becoming the first four-timer as a Tiger. He is ranked No. 2 in DII at heavyweight and might shoot up to No. 1 with a title at the Gorman. He won the Kooper McCabe Memorial Tournament in his home gym and his only loss in the MIT was in the finals to Lancaster’s Luke Cox, ranked fourth in DI.
9. Cowin Becker, Northmor: Already a two-time state medalist, the Knights junior prepped for the Gorman by going 6-0 at the MIT. He had two pins, two tech falls and two close decisions, beating Solon’s Aiden Hays 3-0 in the finals. He’s 21–0 and should be higher than No. 8 in the DIII state rankings when an updated poll comes out this week,
8. Luke Schlosser, Clear Fork: Sidelined all season so far by a football-related injury, Schlosser took home a fourth-place medal from last year’s state tournament, the highest finish by a Clear Fork wrestler since 2012. He’s the highest returning medalist in the area and ranked No. 5 in DII at 165.
7. Landon Campbell, Ontario: Hurt much of last season, Campbell is looking for a bounce back season at his new school following finishing sixth at state for Galion in 2022. In the state rankings he’s fourth in DII at 165.
6. Aiden Ohl, Ontario: Last year he became the first freshman in program history to end up a state medalist, placing fifth. He’s ranked No. 1 in DII at 106, having bounced back from a 3-2 loss to Carter Trukovich in the Kooper McCabe Memorial Tournament to win the 113 title at Kenston.
5. Mason Bauer, Ashland: No area wrestler has looked better than the Arrow freshman. He won his home invite and went 5-0 at the MIT, with four first period pins and a tech fall. A middle school All-American whose dad, Tommy, is the new varsity head coach, Bauer is ranked No. 10 in D1 at 106 pounds. He should move up a few notches in the next state rankings, due out this week.
4. Carter Trukovich, Galion: One of a handful of freshmen to crack this list, Trukovich is ranked No. 2 in DII at 113 pounds. He didn’t compete at last weekend’s MIT and his status for the Gorman is unknown. But he has already raised eyebrows with two close wins over Ontario state medalist Aiden Ohl, most recently a 3-2 decision in the finals of the Kooper McCabe Memorial Tournament in Galion.
3. Caleb Cunningham, Crestview: He fought through a slew of injuries last season to end up on the state meet podium with an eighth-place medal. This season he has made a seamless transition to 285. He was 2-2 at the renowned Walsh Ironman tournament and won a title at the Elgin Pool Tournament, living up to his No. 4 state ranking in DIII,
2. Gradey Harding, Galion: He became the first Galion freshman to place at the state meet with a fifth-place medal and he’s off to another fast start. He won a title at Galion’s Kooper McCabe Memorial Tournament and took third at the MIT. After competing at 126 at the McCabe Invite he was at 120 for the MIT, which means we might see a resumption of the great rivalry with Ontario’s 120-pounder Jacob Ohl at the Gorman. They met seven times last year, with Ohl winning the first four and Harding the last three, including two by injury default. In the DII state rankings, Harding is No. 1 and Ohl is No. 2 at 120.
1. Jacob Ohl, Ontario: He’ll carry the momentum of titles at Galion and Kenston into the Gorman, where he is a two-time champ. But this spot was reserved for Ohl out of respect for his state runner-up finish in 2022. It was back to the state podium last year, but a knee injury suffered in the MOAC meet kept him from finishing higher than eighth. It will be fun to see if he and his brother can end up on the top rung in March.
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