Wilmington seventh grade Josiah Puller was the 96-pound state runnerup Sunday in the Ohio Athletic Commission Junior High School State Wrestling Championship.

The tournament was held at the Covelli Centre in Youngstown.

Puller was defeated in the weight class championship match 10-1 by Ayden Dodd of Perrysburg.

Puller was the seventh seed in the tournament but marched his way to the championship bout with four wins.

After receiving a bye in the first round, Puller recorded a tech fall of Casen Snyder, 16-1. Cael Lowdermilk of Carrollton, a state champion from the 2021 OAC state tournament, fell next by pin in 2:43.

Puller then met Anthony Sindelar, who defeated Puller 12-0 in a preseason tournament in Virginia Beach, Va. Puller notched a 3-0 win and Sindelar went on to finish seventh.

Liam Montgomery of Canton went down next as Puller won by a 10-4 score in the semifinal round. Montgomery went on to finish fourth.

Puller is now a five-time OAC state placer — youth champion in 2016, youth tournament fourth in 2017, youth champion in 2018, youth tournament fifth in 2019. He is the second Wilmington Middle School wrestler to finish as a placer in the state middle school tournament. Guy Aber was fifth, according to middle school coach Alantino Keefer. Puller was fifth in the national tournament in 2016.