McDaniels’ garage saw many state champs pass through

“Wrestling aggressively is the way I got here. If you stay aggressive, you have a better chance of winning.”

— West Liberty-Salem wrestler Clark McDaniel, after capturing a state title in 1987.

WEST LIBERTY — Even after all these years, Clark McDaniel can picture the garage in his mind.

A big piece of plywood covered one window. Matting covered a cast-iron tub in the corner. Mats covered one concrete wall. Carpet covered another. There was just enough room for a wrestling mat. With the furnace firing in the winter, moisture would cover the windows.

From the mid-1980s to the early ’90s, the McDaniels’ garage in West Liberty-Salem was the unofficial capital of Ohio high school wrestling. The best wrestlers from all over the state traveled to hone their talents in the most unlikely place.

Clark’s dad, Dick McDaniel, owned the garage and turned it into a practice area. Clark made the most of the opportunity, becoming the first wrestler from Champaign County not named Jordan or Dernlan to win an individual state championship in 1987.

“It was a tremendous thrill,” Clark said. “But oddly enough, I wasn’t real emotional. I never was on the mat.”

McDaniel beat Cadiz’s Wade Gibson in overtime in the final. The match was tied 1-1 when it ended, but Gibson had been penalized twice for stalling, so McDaniel won by tiebreaker.

It was a life-changing match for McDaniel, but not for the reasons you might think. He got poked in the eye by Gibson and had blood in the corner of his eye for a month. Back at school, a girl in his art class thought he looked cute with the black eye. Her name was Sharon. They started dating, and they’ve been together ever since.

The McDaniels still live in West Liberty. They have a 13-year-old son, Cole, and Clark works for the American Honda Motor Company in Troy in the service parts division.

Dick McDaniel still owns the garage, but it isn’t in use. It hasn’t been used for wrestling since the youngest of the four Dernlan brothers, Tim, won the family’s 10th and final state title in 1993.

The need for the garage first arose around 1983. Clark and the two oldest Dernlans, Jeff and Steve, had practiced in a garage at the Jordans’ house. Jim and Jeff Jordan each won four state titles from 1979-83. When they left for college, the West Liberty wrestlers lost their practice space. They still had the high school, but needed something extra.

“We thought, ‘We’ve got to have some place for these kids to work. We’ve got to figure out something,’ ” Dick said. “I had this other side of the garage that wasn’t in full use.”

With the help of the Dernlans’ father, the Rev. Dave Dernlan, Dick turned the garage into something bigger than anyone imagined. Word spread, and wrestlers from all over started trekking to West Liberty.

“There was a lot of dedication,” Dick said. “The parents had a lot to do with it. You’re talking about people driving from Dayton twice a week, kids doing homework in the backseat with a flashlight.”

College coaches soon found out about the garage.

“If the coach was recruiting a weight class, Rev. Dernlan knew most of the kids, so they’d contact him, and he’d tell them what they were looking for,” Dick said. “He would contact the kids. They would come to the garage. We would have coaches come to watch. I can’t even begin to name them all: Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan.”

After the garage closed down, the Derlans hosted a surprise party for Dick to thank him for years of letting everyone use the garage. They presented him with an engraved watch listing on the back the number of state champions (23) and state placers (55) who practiced at the garage, and the 1991 team title won by West Liberty.

“It was just something we could do and enjoyed doing, and we’d do it again,” Dick said.

State wrestling champs

In addition to Graham’s 35 wrestlers who have won a total of 56 championships, these are the Champaign County wrestlers who have won state titles.

Mechanicsburg

Year Athlete Weight class

1996 Tavis Adams 171

2009 Bryce Baker 112

Triad

Year Athlete Weight class

2002 Levi Wyant 103

West Liberty-Salem

Year Athlete Weight class