Beavercreek wrestling coach Gary Wise was not sure what to expect heading into the first round of the Ohio High School Athletic Association state team tournament Wednesday night at Beavercreek.
But he didn’t expect to find a group of nervous wrestlers.
“The funny thing was how nervous the kids were heading into this,” Wise said after his squad defeated Tecumseh 49-22 to advance to next week’s regional semifinals. “That told me what they thought of the tournament. It was very interesting.”
In the other match at Beavercreek, Troy defeated Piqua 72-5.
“It was a pretty special evening all the way around,” Wise said.
While it may have been special in Beavercreek, it was nothing compared to what happened at some other sites.
Thurgood Marshall 41, Chaminade Julienne 35: The Cougars made history early for the City League in the tournament as they upset the third-seeded Eagles.
CJ led 35-18 late in the match, but the sixth-seeded Cougars got pins from Brandon Flucas and Mario Bell at 195 and 220 and a forfeit at 285 to claim the six point win.
Marshall will meet Carroll next week in the regional semifinals. Carroll defeated Trotwood 75-12.
Springboro 40, Lakota West 27: The fifth seeded Panthers offset giving up 18 points in forfeits by winning eight of the 11 matches wrestled in knocking off the fourth seed.
The Panthers got bonus points in six of the wins, getting falls from Ryan Boulton (106), Kris Green (120), Tommy Daley (138), Andrew Honious (160) and Zach Adkins (170).
West got wins from Andrew Acuna (126), Kevin Leonhardt (152) and Jackson Smith (182), but did not get bonus points in any of their wins.
Centerville 74, West Carrollton 6: The top seeded Elks did not lose a match in opening the tournament with West Carrollton's lone points coming on a forfeit at 106.
Centerville recorded five pins in the win.
They will face Butler next week at Centerville.
The fourth seeded Aviators battled to a 60-13 win over fifth-seeded Wayne.
Monroe 42, Bethel-Tate 27: The fifth-seeded Hornets won nine of the 14 matches in claiming the win over the fourth seed.
Bethel-Tate had an early 21-9 lead, but Colin Wilson recorded a decision at 152 and Chris Wilson followed with a pin to get the Hornets back in the match. Hunter Linebaugh (182), Ben Braun (195) and Matt McKinney (285) closed the night out with pins to clinch the win and a meeting in the regional semifinals with top seeded Ross next week.
Franklin 51, Wilmington 18: The Wildcats lost just two matches in setting up a match with top seeded Miami Trace in the regional semis next week.
Franklin got pins from Nathan Whitman (106), Jacob Harbison (113) and Jacob Wright (160).
Wilmington got a pin from Dakota Jarrell at 152.
Mechanicsburg 66, Northeastern 6: Mechanicsburg won all six matches contested as eight weight classes were decided by forfeit.
Drew Layne (106), Joe Ziegler (138), Max Erwin (160) and Eyn Stapleton (195) all recorded pins as Mechanicsburg set up a match next week with second seeded Covington.
Top seeds cruise: Ross will host the regional semis next week after holding serve as the top seed with a 83-0 win over Hughes. Graham also rolled with a 74-6 win over Ben Logan while Greenville claimed a 66-18 win over Dunnbar. Dixie geared up for their showdown with Dayton Christian with a 66-0 win over Preble Shawnee. Coldwater defeated Ada 69-9 and Versailles handled Southeastern 70-6.
Dayton Christian defeated Brookville 60-22.