Confident Davis hopes to make podium at state wrestling tournament

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Wilmington High School senior Gage Davis was never certain how good he was as a wrestler.

Now as a qualifier to the OHSAA Division II Wrestling Championship tournament, Davis is beeming with confidence.

“I never really had a lot of confidence,” he said. “Now I think confidence is the key.”

Davis, 33-10 in all weight classes this season, will square off Friday in the state tournament against Mack Parsley of Washington Senior. Parsley, who is 34-13 this season, lost to Davis at the Western Brown Hammer & Anvil Invitational earlier this season.

At last week’s district tournament at Wilmington High School, Davis had already earned a berth to Columbus and the state meet with a guaranteed top four finish.

But in the consolation final, Davis met Bellbrook’s Vince Hummel, who controlled the match from beginning to end … well, almost the end. Last year, Davis might have lost that one. This year, though, he rallied late with a take down and back points to pull out an 8-5 victory.

“I knew he was good,” Davis said. “He was beating me, definitely beating me. Then I threw him to his back (and won).”

Davis wrestled 157 last year but was hurt late in the season and missed the district tournament, and thus any chance of making state. This year, he started at 175.

“I was tired of wrestling big guys,” he said. “At ‘75, there’s a lot of big dudes, bigger than me.”

That in mind, Davis told teammate Thane McCoy he was hoping to be just an alternate to the state tournament.

“Just because I didn’t wrestle last year at districts, I knew I wasn’t going to state … at least I thought I wasn’t going.”

But Davis found himself at 165 this year and suddenly those big guys weren’t quite as big.

“My confidence did go up,” he said.

And so did his chances of going to Columbus.

“My drive did increase a lot more,” he said. “I never really had a lot of confidence (at 175). Now that I’ve placed and am going (to state) I’m trying to keep that confidence. Before not having to wrestle that many good people, I never really knew how good I was. I’m really looking forward to it.”

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