Two Clark County schools add wrestling programs

Southeastern has 10 wrestlers, and Emmanuel Christian has 3.

Southeastern High School wrestling coach Tom Marshall pauses to compliment Dean Mohler during practice on Tuesday. Staff Photo by Barbara J. Perenic

Barbara Perenic Southeastern High School wrestling coach Tom Marshall pauses to compliment Dean Mohler during practice on Tuesday. Staff Photo by Barbara J. Perenic

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By Kermit Rowe, Staff Writer 10:42 PM Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Who says the level of interest in high school wrestling has been waning in the past few years?

Not so in Clark County. Just this year alone, the number of schools with wrestling programs has risen from eight to 10. Just three years back, there were only seven.

Joining the ranks with wrestling teams this year are Southeastern and Emmanuel Christian.

The Trojans have 10 wrestlers out this year, and are led by veteran youth coach Tom Marshall. He’s spent nearly two decades coaching in the Northeastern peewee and South Vienna Middle School ranks. Now he has his first high school head coaching gig.

“I got this text message from Dave Reese about Southeastern looking for a wrestling coach,” said Marshall, whose team debuts at this weekend’s Northeastern Duals. “I jumped on it in a heartbeat. I’ve always wanted to have a high school program.

“It’s such a great opportunity.”

The Trojans are a club but are fully established representatives of Southeastern High School. Marshall has joined forces with Jay Mitchell, the administrator of the club, to put things in motion.

“He’d been working hard for probably three years to get a program started,” said Marshall about Mitchell, in whose pole barn the team practices.

Things moved slowly, until this year.

“I had probably 17-18 kids sign up for wrestling at the beginning of the year,” he said. “We lost some kids, but the 10 I have now are dedicated and have the heart and drive to be wrestlers.

“It gets a little frustrating,” he admitted. “(The students) heard about wrestling, but they’d never seen it. Always with a new program, you are going to get some low numbers until you can prove to the school that you can get a good program going.”

Loren Baum, a veteran area head coach who left the coaching ranks in 2004 after a long stay with Urbana, is heading the Emmanuel program. But the Lions currently have just three varsity wrestlers. And their best wrestler, Loren’s son Caleb, a state qualifier last season at Urbana as a sophomore, has to sit out this season because of the Ohio High School Athletic Association’s transfer rule.

“There’s eight on the junior high team, and they have had a peewee program for a long time, probably eight, nine years (under Mitch Miesner),” said Baum.

“The nice thing is that the three we have are dependable and not afraid to work hard,” he continued. “There’s some good students, and it’s a great opportunity. Wrestling ties into the Christian life, how you go through the struggles of life.”

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