Five don’t miss matches
Dec. 27-28: Greater Miami Valley Coaches Association Holiday Tournament. Handful of area teams take part in Miami Valley’s biggest meet held at Wright State’s Nutter Center.
Jan. 3: Clark County Clash. Shawnee hosts the meet for county bragging rights.
Jan. 4: Blair Academy at Graham. Two of the top-ranked teams in the nation battle. Get there early for a good seat.
Feb. 7: Ohio Heritage Conference. League champ will be determined at West Liberty-Salem.
Feb. 21: Central Buckeye Conference. League foes got to the mat to determine the best.
10 Thing To Know
1. Fight for 15: Graham attempts to pin down state championship No. 15. The Falcons broke a tie with Lakewood St. Edward for consecutive titles last season. St. Ed still holds record for most overall titles with 28.
2. New faces in new places: Kenton Ridge’s Cameron Doggett is now coaching at Mechanicsburg, while former Greeneview standout Brandon Pike returns to coach the Rams.
3. Indians in running: Led by state champ Caleb Romero and state qualifiers Alex Rhine and Joe Ziegler, Mechanicsburg could be a player in the D-III state title chase.
4. Dual duel: The state dual championships enter its third season. Graham has claimed the first two titles.
5. Cougars roar: Kenton Ridge advanced a record four wrestlers to the state meet. Tyler Sowards leads the charge and could break Preston Bowshier’s school record for wins.
6. Arrows hit the mark: Tecumseh returns five wrestlers with district experience. The goal this season, among others, is to qualify six and get three to state.
7. Wildcats on the prowl: The team is young with no returning district qualifiers, but Springfield has up-and-coming potential. Freshman Joe Cochran was the GWOC middle school champ at 176 after going 44-2 and Jacob Yost captured the 150 middle school title at 40-6.
8. Mat men: Southeastern enters its fourth season of high school wrestling. The Trojans look to keep their streak of qualifying at least one wrestler to the district tournament intact.
9. Team effort: The state team dual champions will be crowned on Feb. 14.
10. Making a state-ment: The journey ends here. The individual state champions will be crowned in Columbus on March 12-14.
Ten wrestlers to watch
Blake Biteman, jr., Tecumseh: Went 41-9 and finished fifth at district to qualify as a state alternate.
Josh Cordell, jr., West Liberty-Salem: Looks to build on district appearance from last season.
Jake Guiterrez, jr., Catholic Central: Finished fifth at district and was a state alternate after 41-8 season.
Adrian Harding, sr., Greeneview: State qualifier went 44-8 and missed placing at state by one match.
Jack Harris, jr., Urbana: 49-3 season came one win short of state title in 5-4 loss in D-II final at 182 pounds.
Alex Marinelli, jr., Graham: The two-time state champ and Iowa recruit finished 49-2.
Devin Rogers, sr., Northwestern: Reached state semifinals before ending up fourth to cap 39-7 season.
Kaleb Romero, so., Mechanicsburg: Freshman season ended with D-III state title at 138 pounds; finished 46-1.
Jeff Smiddy, jr., Shawnee: Placed sixth at district for Braves
Tyler Sowards, sr., Kenton Ridge: Two-time state qualifier missed placing last season by one match; went 40-11.
(John Cummings contributed to this story)
Northwestern senior Devin Rogers had a strong showing at the Super 32 Challenge, considered the toughest open-field high school wrestling tournament in the country, in North Carolina in November.
Now he’s out to be No. 1 in Ohio.
The Warriors grappler has a state championship in mind as the high school wrestling season begins. He came close last season, falling to eventual state champion Anthony Tutolo of Mentor Lake Catholic 6-3 in 126-pound state semifinals. Rogers ended up fourth.
“I’m looking to be a state champion. I believe I can accomplish anything,” Rogers said. “I have a great wrestling room with some tough partners. My coaches are always pushing me and working me. I’m hoping to accomplish some really good things this year.”
Rogers is wrestling at 132 pounds but could drop to 126 during the season. Competition in his weight class is likely the deciding factor. Graham senior Eli Seipel is also wrestling at 132.
Those two met twice in the Division II state tournament last season. Rogers won the quarterfinal match 4-3. Seipel won the third-place match 3-1. Currently wrestling at 126 for Graham is freshman Rocky Jordan, ranked by some as one of the top wrestlers in the country in his grade.
“We’re looking at the Graham guys to see how we wrestle against each other. I might wrestle them at state duals or at (the Central Buckeye Conference) league meet,” Rogers said. “That will be another determining factor in what weight I go after we see how I do there.”
Rogers is ready for the challenge. He’ll have plenty of support.
His twin brother Connor, a state alternate last season, will land at either 170 or 182. Older brother Brandon, a state placer two seasons ago, is a volunteer coach with the middle school program.
“I think Connor is going to do well this year, too. He’s definitely capable of placing at state,” Rogers said. “I think he can do a lot of great things. He’s a tough wrestler.”
The Rogers brothers serve as Warriors captains along with Jacob Dooley and Andrew Franzen. In addition to seniors Justin Hastings and Justin Weekley, who returned to the program after taking time off, the Warriors return every wrestler from last season.
“This is going to be a special season,” Northwestern coach Harry Husted said. “Our captains have done a great job so far in setting the practice tempo. Their actions as this season progresses will go a long way in determining the amount of success this team sees.”
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