Sectional wrestling tournament this weekend
Tuning up for this weekend’s sectional meet, Belpre heavyweight Dakota Ross was Washington County’s lone Tri-Valley Conference wrestling champion at Trimble High last Saturday.
The 285-pound sophomore decisioned River Valley’s Robert Drummond, 5-4, in the title bout.
Ross was 3-0 in the league meet, while the Golden Eagles as a team placed seventh with 51 points in a field of 13 schools.
BHS freshman Jonathan Chapman placed third, decisioning Meigs’ Tucker Smith, 3-1, in the 132-pound weight class. Sophomore Hunter Gilbert was fourth, losing 7-0 to Athens’ Chris Jackson in the 126-pound bout, and freshman David Wheeler bowed out in the third consolation, dropping a 7-5 decision to Wellston’s Donnie Cardwell.
Waterford High also competed at the TVC meet and finished 12th with 17 points. Nelsonville-York was the TVC team champion with 165.
Waterford freshman heavyweight Haydon Reynolds placed fourth after being decisioned by Vinton County’s Tyler Congrove.
In the consolation semifinal, the Wildcats’ 195-pound sophomore Zack Casada was edged 8-7 by Trimble’s Brandon Brammer, while in the third consolation, 220-pound sophomore Colin Jackson fell 7-1 to South Gallia’s David Kuhn.
Both Waterford and Belpre will now be focused on the Ohio Division III sectional mat tournament at Alexander High Friday at 5:30 p.m. and Saturday at 9:30 a.m. At stake will be a berth in a district meet the following week.
In Division II competition at Alexander Friday at 6 p.m. and Saturday at 9:30 a.m., Warren and Marietta each will be on the mat.
Warren (120-24 and 6-4 in duals) will be led by senior 160-pounder Casey Parsons (41-7), who needs just two wins to become the Warriors’ all-time winningest wrestler. He currently has 167 victories.
The royal blue and white line-up will also be featuring junior Eli Ross (113 pounds, 33-14 record), freshman Brady Oderdier (145, 42-8), sophomore Liam Kellar (152, 37-14), junior Nate Gessel (195, 20-24), junior Ronnie Hill (170, 35-8), sophomore Tristan Duffey (138, 33-22), sophomore Ben Goedel (132, 27-15), and sophomore Dylan Anderson (182, 22-19).
Marietta’s Ethan Duvall (138 or 145) will be the lone Tiger wrestling in the sectional.
Over at Sandy Valley this weekend, Caldwell High will be competing in a D3 sectional event.
The Redskin line-up will include junior Levi Pemberton (120, 20-4), sophomore Marshal Niswonger (106, 30-9), freshman Collin Wiley (126, 29-10), senior Blake Pickenpaugh (138, 26-12), junior Zebb Liston (138B, 12-17), freshman Andrew Bjork (145, 16-18), senior Cody Davis (160, 28-9), freshman Jonlouis Locklear (160, 9-5), senior Eli Gregg (170, 15-18), sophomore Mason Wiley (182, 27-9), junior Trevor Hayes (195, 21-13).
Fort Frye is also scheduled to compete in a D3 sectional at Barnesville Feb. 24-25. The Cadets’ tentative line-up may include Kason Delancey (113), Leo Baker (145), Clay Baker (152), and Austin Baumgartner (285).