COLUMBUS - Five of Clinton county's six OHSAA state wrestling tournament qualifying wrestlers will take the medal stand today placing anywhere between third and eighth.
Wilmington's Christopher Holcomb and Clinton-Massie's Levi Schwab, Corby Running and Spencer Running all have the opportunity to place as high as third, but can place no lower than sixth having won two consolation matches each on Friday.
Blanchester's Jake Howe will finish seventh or eighth. Teammate Alex Panno was knocked out in consolation action.
It is believed to be the first time five Clinton County wrestlers placed at the state tournament.
Holcomb, who wrestles 285 in Division II, was defeated by Tyler Hawkins of Millersburg West Holmes in the championship quarterfinal by pinfall in 3:02. Hawkins will be wrestling for the championship today.
After dropping into the consolation bracket, Holcomb defeated L.J. Windom of Lexington by pinfall in 3:31. He then pinned Dalton Britt of Bellville Clear Fork in 44 seconds.
The WHS senior will face Matt Betz of Alliance Marlington this morning. A win will guarantee a third- or fourth-place finish.
"I would have like to placed first or second," he said. "Now I just have to focus and not do anything stupid (to finish third)."
While preparing for today's matches, he won't be thinking about his loss to Hawkins, however.
"You never lose the same match twice," said Holcomb.
In Division III action, Panno (119) was defeated by Mike Kovach of Bedfod St. Peter Chanel in the quarterfinal by pinfall in 4:40. He was then defeated by Travis Wooten of West Liberty-Salem in the consolations by a 12-2 major decision.
Teammate Howe (145) also fell in the quarterfinal, losing to previous state champion Zach Nelson of Madison Plains in a 3:39 pin.
Nelson will wrestle for the championship today.
Howe and Panno were unavailable for comment following their matches Friday.
For the Falcons, Schwab (171) fell 5-3 to Chase Tucker of Martins Ferry in quarterfinal action.
In wrestle-backs, he defeated Mat Schaefer of West Salem Northwestern 8-2. He then pinned Jesse Herr of Bluffton in 4:11. Schwab and Herr met last weekend in the Southwest District tournament where Schwab emerged victorious as well.
"He was blocking all the shots," said Schwab. "I had to force one of the moves and get to it."
Now, the Falcon is set up to finish between third and sixth - higher than he did last season after taking eighth.
"It feels great. I'm thrilled," he said.
Teammate Corby Running (189), a sophomore, had to work his way through the consolation bracket after falling in the championship preliminaries and picking up a consolation win on Thursday.
On Friday, he went on to defeat Aaron Shook of Newark catholic 5-3 in overtime. He then picked up a 14-8 win over Greg Hojnacki of Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy.
He now goes on to face Brock Kirian of Sycamore Mohawk - the wrestler who defeated him by an 11-3 major decision in the championship preliminaries.
"It is great (to place) because i set my goal this year to make state," said Corby.
During the consolation quarterfinals, Corby and big brother Spencer wrestled side-by-side.
Spencer, a senior, also will compete for a chance at third-place today.
In the quarterfinal, Spencer fell in a close 11-9 match to Cory Akin of Wooster Triway. Akin will wrestle for the title today.
After entering the consolation bracket, Spencer defeated Fletcher Skelton of Galion Northmor by pinfall in 1:47. He then beat Doug Randall of Greeneview by injury default after leading in the match.
Spencer will now take on Brock Rickert of Ontario in the consolation semifinals.
Consolation semifinals will be wrestled at 10 a.m. today and third- through seventh-place matches will be wrestled at 11:10 a.m. Championship bouts are schedule for 5:50 p.m.
Election 2010
