High School Wrestling: Graham, St. Ed duel to become ‘king of the state’

Before going after its fifth consecutive Ohio High School Athletic Association team title, the Graham wrestling team is looking to defend its claim as the top program in Ohio regardless of division.

The Falcons welcome St. Edward at 7 p.m. Saturday in a dual between the top team in Division II (Graham) and Division I.

St. Edward is ranked third and Graham fifth nationally by Intermat.

“The dual with St. Ed’s is very important to my team,” Graham coach Jeff Jordan said. “Whoever wins that dual is the king of the state. Besides the state tournament, the dual with St. Ed’s is the most important match for us.”

The Falcons won last year on the road to kickstart a run that ended with their fourth consecutive state team title and 16th straight individual state title.

Graham is one of two teams to enter the state duals with a perfect 12-0 mark in the tournament, which dates back to 2013. Delta (Division III) is also 12-0.

The Falcons are once again the top seed in Region 16, Sub-Region B and open at home against the winner of No. 8 Urbana and No. 9 St. Marys Memorial on Jan. 25. Urbana opens at 5 p.m. with Graham taking the mat 20 minutes following the first match along with the other second-round pairing of Bellefontaine (fourth seed) and Ben Logan (fifth seed). The winners advance face each other to determine who moves onto the regional semifinals the following week. The state finals are slated for Feb. 12 at St. John Arena in Columbus.

“We have won the State Duals since its inception and my guys want to continue the tradition of winning,” Jordan said. “This series is special because the dual meet atmosphere really pulls our guys together as a team.”

Shawnee and Kenton Ridge will face off in the first round of Region 14-B as the eighth and ninth seeds with the winner facing No. 1 Miami Trace at Miami Trace.

Division III: Mechanicsburg is hoping to put an end to Delta's dominance.

The Indians, the runner-up in 2016, are the top-ranked team in the state and enter Region 24 as the top seed in sub-region B.

Mechanicsburg opens at home against eighth seeded Northwestern.

Southeastern heads to Miami East as the No. 6 seed to face No. 3 West Jefferson while Greeneview is the 10th seed in 23-B and will travel to Preble Shawnee to face Carlisle.

Division I: Tecumseh and Springfield travel to Delaware Hayes to begin the tournament.

The Arrows, the No. 6 seed, will face the host in the opening round while Springfield (seventh seed) squares off with No. 2 Olentangy.

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