Graham also shared Saturday night’s spotlight with two other area wrestlers, Mechanicsburg’s Austin Reese and Greeneview’s Armani Robinson, both sophomores. Both came up short of their state championship goals and joined the two Falcons as state runners-up.
What made the night special was going into this season, there were 52 three-time state champions in the history of the sport, and Saturday night Graham added three more to that list as seniors Ryan Taylor (120 pounds) and Isaac Jordan (160) and junior Bo Jordan (152) all won their third career state titles. And winning his second state title was sophomore Micah Jordan (120).
Two senior projected state champs, Blake Kastl (145) and Huston Evans, came up short in their state title hunt.
“You have some good and you have some bad down here,” said Graham coach Jeff Jordan, whose team finished with 183.5 points, easily besting runner-up Lexington (97.5). “I’m happy with our four titles, though.”
Out of all of the Falcons’ efforts, though, Bo Jordan, named the most outstanding wrestler in D-II, stood out.
Advancing to the finals with two first-period pins and a 26-11 technical fall, he finished his second straight season undefeated with a perfect 48-0 record. He also gave himself a chance to become Ohio’s 23rd four-time state champ next season, joining his father and Graham head coach Jeff Jordan and his uncle, Jim Jordan.
To earn his third title, Bo Jordan beat another returning state champ, Milan Edison senior Kyle Burns, pinning him in 3:51. Burns had 203 career wins coming into the match. But he had never faced Jordan.
So did this state title come easier? After all, he won with three pins and a technical fall.
“I wouldn’t say it was easier, because you’ve always got to be ready to go,” said Bo, who has narrowed his college choice to Ohio State and Wisconsin. “But I wasn’t as nervous as I have been in the past. It feels good when you win, and it feels bad when you lose.”
He doesn’t know much about that. The country’s No. 1-ranked 152-pounder has only lost once in his entire career, as a freshman.
Bo’s cousin, Isaac, who is Jim Jordan’s youngest son, didn’t have to worry about that this year either. He defeated senior Brad Metz of Lexington 5-3 for his third crown, finishing an undefeated year with a spotless 46-0 record.
And Taylor was in control throughout his title match with three-time state placer and senior Cory Stainbrook of Walsh Jesuit, never trailing and winning 7-5. Taylor, who finished 41-1, had beaten Stainbrook for his second state title last year.
And keeping it in the family was Micah Jordan, Bo’s brother, who became a two-time state champ by dominating Bobby Mason of Parma Padua Franciscan for a 24-8 technical fall. He finished his sophomore year with a 43-4 mark.
Perhaps the most anticipated, and exciting, match of the night pitted four-time state placer and former state champ Evans vs. Goshen’s undefeated Chaz Gresham. Gresham had beaten Evans in the finals last year, and Evans was out for revenge.
Instead, there were more penalty points in the match than actual points. Evans was up 2-0 after two periods, thanks to an escape and a penalty point against Gresham for slamming Evans.
However, Gresham escaped early in the third period and was awarded one stalling point against Evans to send the match in overtime, and one more stalling point in overtime to decide the 3-2 match. Evans finished the year 45-2.
“I know how hard Huston worked the whole year for just one match, then to lose it on stalling points, it’s just hard to take,” said coach Jordan. “We knew we had to find a way to take him down, though, and we didn’t.”
Meanwhile, Kastl, who has a scholarship to wrestle at Cal-Poly, was outlasted by Jake Faust of Lexington by a 7-3 count and finishes his year at 42-3.
Mechanicsburg’s Reese, who finished 37-3, had been dominant for the entire tournament, only having two points scored on him in his first three matches. But undefeated senior Cade Mansfield of Defiance Mansfield got the best of Reese for an 8-2 win. Reese was a third-placer as a freshman and now a state runner-up.
“We didn’t finish (our moves),” said Indians coach Brady Hiatt. “We were in on his legs early and then after that, he was a little tentative and things didn’t work out for him. You’ve just got to keep working hard. He’s got all the ability (to win a state title).”
It seemed to most onlookers like Robinson came out of nowhere to make Saturday’s final, not even projected to place in the Brakeman Report.
And finally, his unthought-of ride ended in the finals as he was pinned in 2:42 by senior projected runner-up Zach Mays of Nelsonville-York.
“It was a heckuva run,” said Rams coach Mike Sizemore. “Too bad it had to end on a sour note. But as a coach, you can use that. We still don’t have a state title, so we’re still looking.”
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