×

Warren matmen to compete in Mountain State Saturday

Fort Frye High was the lone Ohio school in last year’s St. Marys Blue Devil Alumni wrestling tournament in Pleasants County, W.Va.

This Saturday at 10 a.m. at the third annual event, the Cadets will be joined by a couple of other Washington County schools, Warren and Marietta.

Also in the West Virginia-oriented field will be host St. Marys, Buffalo, Frankfort, Doddridge County, Huntington JV, Clay Battelle, Wahama, Parkersburg South JV, Lincoln County, Magnolia JV, Ravenswood, Wirt County, Poca, and Cameron.

With only one weight class vacancy, Warren could be one of the contenders to claim the team crown at St. Marys. The Warriors are coming off a fifth-place showing at the Jan. 7 Larry Remmert Invitation at Sheridan High. Before that, they were third at the Zanesville Devils Dungeon; first, at their own Hickory Grove invite; and third, at the Rick Link Invitational at Union Local.

Tuning up for St. Marys, Warren wrestled at Jackson in its last SEOAL (Southeastern Ohio Athletic League) Championship Wednesday. This season, the Warriors are 40-9 overall and 3-1 in duals.

“We’re doing much better than last season,” said WHS head coach Jim Rhodes. “We’re sophomore dominated and looking to keep on improving.”

Warren will be led by Casey Parsons (152 or 160 pounds, 20-3 record), Liam Kellar (145 or 152, 21-3), Brady Obedier (145 or 160, 21-3), Ronnie Hill (170, 17-2), Eli Ross (113, 19-6), and Ben Goedel (132, 15-6). The rest of the Warrior mat line-up will probably include Emil Snyder (106), Landon Hanes (120, Stevie Osborne (126), Tristan Duffey (138), Michael Lynch (170), Dylan Anderson (182), Nate Gessel (195), and Zach Hinton (220).

Warren had no heavyweight.

Marietta has only one grappler in its team, junior Ethan Duvall. He will be wrestling at either 138 or 145 pounds.

Duvall was runner-up at 138 in the Spartan Invitational at Alexander High last Saturday.

Fort Frye is expected to start Kason Delancey (113), Leo Baker (145), Clay Baker (160), Cameron Camp (220), and Austin Baumgartner (285).

St. Marys’ line-up will feature Andrew Bennett (106), Dillion Thompson (132), Jon Gary Nichols (138), Dalton Houser (145), Zac Long (152), Willie Wise (160), Jacob Pethel (170), Jeremy Smith (182), Brayden Taylor (195), Antone Herring (220), and Tucker Dalrymple (285).

Some of the top wrestlers in the Mountain State on hand will be Tim Williams (Buffalo, 106), Cole Cheuvront (Wirt, 113), Wyatt Powell (Wirt, 120), Blake Sheppard (Buffalo, 120), Ethan Herdman (Wahama, 145), Aaron Life (Wirt, 160), and Mike Burns (Wirt, 220).

“Amongst some great competition throughout the day, we will be honoring the late Anthony Cox,” said St. Marys coach Jay Smith. “Anthony was the 155-pound state champion in 1987. He tragically lost his life in a car accident just a short time after he graduated. His family and friends will be on hand to be recognized before the finals and to give the awards for the tournament.”

Not competing on the mat this weekend are Caldwell, Waterford, and Belpre.

The Tom Brown-coached Redskins (5-0 in duals) hosted and wrested in a tri-meet Wednesday (Jan. 11) against Bellaire and Beallsville. Last Saturday, CHS finished fourth at the Shadyside Invitational.

Caldwell was also fourth at the Coaches Corner Tournament at Gallia Academy in late December.

The CHS line-up includes Marshal Niswonger (106, 17-4), Levi Pemberton (120, 17-3), Collin Wiley (126), 17-4), Blake Pickenpaugh (138, 15-6), Zebb Liston (139, 7-10), Andrew Bjork (145, 12-9), Jonlouis Locklear (152, 8-4), Cody Davis (160, 17-4), Eli Gregg (170, 8-11), Mason Wiley (182, 17-4), and Trevor Hayes (220, 14-7.

After this week, Caldwell is scheduled to compete in the OVAC (Ohio Valley Athletic Conference) at Wesbanco Arena Jan. 19-21.

Waterford’s next competition is slated for Jan. 21 at the Heath Invitational. The Wildcat grapplers are Logan Pugh (152), Zack Casada (195), Colin Jackson (220), and Haydon Reynolds (285).

Belpre is scheduled to wrestle in a tri at PHS Memorial Fieldhouse Jan. 18 against the Big Reds and George Washington. Some Golden Eagles to keep an eye on are Jonathan Chapman (126), Hunter Gilbert (138), David Wheeler (195 or 220), Anthony Murphy (220), and Dakota Ross (285).

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *

Starting at $4.15/week.

Subscribe Today