Warren’s Dylan Legleitner, right, attempts to bring Parkersburg South’s Aaydin King to the mat at 138 pounds during Wednesday’s dual meet at Rod Oldham Athletic Center in Parkersburg. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

PARKERSBURG – Other than Warren senior Eric Carr holding down his end of the bargain, the Parkersburg South wrestling team put down the hammer and defeated the Warriors 72-3 in a dual meet Wednesday night at Rod Oldham Athletic Center.

“The effort the guys gave tonight was great, and that’s what I am looking for,” South coach Shaun Smith said.

Of the 12 weight classes contested, South wrestlers recorded eight pins – including a 21-second variety from Coleton Hill at 132 pounds and another in 22 seconds from 175-pounder Drake Laughery.

Jesse Adams, who registered an eight-second pin during the Heart of Ohio Invitational this past weekend, also took care of his opponent at 190 pounds in under a minute (34 seconds).

Their aggressiveness paid off which is the approach the South coaching staff stresses out of their kids.

Warren’s Eric Carr, left, and Parkersburg South’s Justice Drain exchange a handshake prior to the start of their 215-pounds match during Wednesday’s dual meet at Rod Oldham Athletic Center in Parkersburg. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

“That’s the way we want to wrestle,” Smith said. “I just want more guys to wrestle like that. Obviously there’s going to be people that can’t wrestle with that pace the whole time.

“But we are looking for moments of it because if you have a high pace like that for the entire match, it’s going to be hard for their opponents to keep up with it.”

Also contributing six points to the team score via the pin were Rylan Layton (120), Jansen Dearth (144), Brady Hoffman (150), Nathan Murphy (165) and Charles Williams (285).

Dearth established a 10-1 lead over Paul Hershberger after one period, but let himself get caught in several dangerous positions where Hershberger was on the verge of a pin.

“Jansen got himself to where he was out of position and paid for it, but he corrected it and ended up getting the pin,” Smith said. “For Nathan, this was his first match of the year and he looked good coming out. Laughery looked aggressive – I like what I’ve seen out of him so far. He has really come a long way from last year.”

Parkersburg South’s Aaydin King climbs over Warren’s Dylan Legleitner during the 138-pound match in Wednesday’s dual meet at Rod Oldham Athletic Center in Parkersburg. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

South wrestlers also walking off the mat with their arm raised high in victory were Austin Conley at 106 winning by a technical fall at 19-4, 113-pounder Braedyn Carstens posting a 10-1 major victory and Aaydin King rallying past Dylan Legleitner for a 4-3 win at 138 pounds..

Legleitner, a district qualifier in Ohio last year, led 3-1 when an injury stoppage occurred with 1:29 remaining in the third period. Shortly after action resumed, King recorded a takedown for the winning margin.

“That was a good match, and just what Dylan needs to get better,” Warren coach Jeff Parsons said. “He was a state alternate last year and that’s the type of competition we are looking for. Same way with Eric.”

In an epic battle at 215 pounds, Carr outlasted South’s Justice Drain for a 10-4 win. The match was tied at 3 entering the final period.

“I still need to get in better shape – I’m working on that,” said Carr, the other returning district qualifier for Warren from a season ago. “The South wrestler was attacking and rushing in on me – I was just shooting and able to finish my shots. I don’t think I missed a shot all match.

“When you see the opponent is tired, that’s when you got to push a little more.”

Carr is looking forward to this weekend when Warren hosts the Hickory Grove Invitational, which features 30 schools. Several issues, including an injury, have prevented him from competing in the event in front of his hometown fans the past two years.

“I’m ranked pretty high in my weight class but I am looking forward to see what other people do at 190 and if I need to cut weight,” Carr said.

South received forfeits at 126 and 157 pounds. Asa Yost, who had a phenomenal showing at the Heart of Ohio Invite, was involved in the forfeit at 157 pounds.

“Asa was a beast, honestly, this past weekend,” Smith said. “He even wrestled up a weight class that day for us. Every kid he wrestled, he was right on. He was scoring points then ended up pinning them all.”

Contact Kerry Patrick at kpatrick@newsandsentinel.com