WHEELING, WV - A total of 10 wrestlers from the five area schools emerged as placewinners in the 65th OVAC Ron Mauck Wrestling Tournament which wrapped up a three-day run at WesBanco Arena on Saturday night.
Team-wise, Parkersburg South continued its dominance on the mat since joining the conference for the 2009-10 school year by winning its eighth overall title in nine years, finishing well ahead of runner-up Beaver Local. The only team to interrupt the Patriots' string was Steubenville in 2013, with South still claiming the Class 5A crown that year.
Steubenville repeated as the Class 4A titlist; Crestview claimed the Class 3A championship in only its second year in the conference and Madonna ran away with the top spot in Class 1A/2A.
The best team showing locally came from Barnesville as Coach Jayson "Snake" Stephen's squad was the 3A runnerup behind Crestview thanks in part to three placewinners. The Shamrocks' last division title at the OVAC event came in 2007.
Junior Terry Gatrell of Meadowbrook placed for the third straight year, taking third in the 120-pound weight class. The No. 3 seed, who was second and a sophomore and third as a junior, went 5-1 in the tournament and is now 23-4 for the season.
Junior Brylan Clouse of Barnesville joined Gatrell as a third place finisher, competing at 160 pounds. His 5-1 OVAC mark boosted his season total to 17-3.
Senior Levi Pemberton of Caldwell earned a fourth place finish at 126. His 5-2 tournament mark pushed his season mark to 24-4.
Senior Brayden Reynolds of Barnesville took fifth at 113 pounds. He posted a 4-2 mark for the weekend and improved his record to 16-5.
Junior Dalton Rice of Shenandoah notched fifth place at 220, winning his final bout in three OTs. Rice went 4-2 for the tournament and now stands at 25-7.
Sophomore Collin Wiley of Caldwell placed fifth at 138. With a 5-2 OVAC tournament record, he's now 20-6 on the year.
Junior Marshal Niswonger of Caldwell claimed seventh at 113. With a 4-2 record in the event, he's 20-5 on the year.
Sophomore Bryce Farrabee of Barnesville was seventh at 132. Now 15-4 for the year, he compiled a 5-2 mark for the weekend.
Sophomore Easton Hitchens of Shenandoah was eighth at 285, going 3-3 in the event. He's now 23-10 overall.
Freshman Eric Reed of Cambridge finished eighth at 106 pounds. He went 2-3 in the tournament and is now 11-8 on the season.
Individual champions crowned Saturday night included freshman Howard Williams of East Liverpool (106); sophomore Cole McComas of Beaver Local (113); junior Tucker Winland of Parkersburg South (120); sophomore Brayden Roberts of Parkersburg South (126); senior Caleb Rae of Weir (132); junior Anthony Rice of Steubenville (138); senior Owen Zeiders of University (145); junior Anthony Carman of John Marshall (160); senior Kaleb Simpkins of Wheeling Park (170); senior Drew Dunbar of Parkersburg South (182); senior Dalton Hoover of Martins Ferry (195); sophomore Braxton Amos of Parkersburg South (220); senior Hunter Bodkin of Martins Ferry (285); and senior Josh Humphreys of Parkersburg South (152).
NOTEBOOK
—Meadowbrook’s Jud Ramage, the No. 2 seed at 195, was unable to compete due to a wrist injury. He finished third, second and first in three years at the OVAC. Among the other standouts unable to take part was two-time champion John Nash from Wheeling Park.
— Larry Shaw, the long-time and highly-successful coach at Oak Glen High, was this year’s recipient of the prestigious Mr. Mat award.
—Barnesville’s Ray Jefferis was named the OVAC Larry Deaton Official of the Year. Other award winners included Richie Lowe (Syd Stolz Tournament Worker of the Year); Shaun Smith of Parkersburg South (5A Coach of the Year); Mike Blackburn of Steubenville (4A Coach of the Year); Brian Valentine of Linsly (3A Coach of the Year); Sean Grinch of Shadyside (1A/2A Coach of the Year); Lucas Huffman of Steubenville (Assistant Coach of the Year); and Tammy Koreski of Parkersburg South (Junior High Coach of the Year).
— Among the honorees as champions from 25 years ago (1993) were Jeremy Wilkinson of Cambridge (152 pounds) and Brian Jefferis of Barnesville (160 pounds).
-- In the history of the OVAC event, Steubenville has now had 336 total place-winners while Martins Ferry is second with 333.