Olentangy Liberty’s Tyler Deericks and Olentangy Orange’s Mackenzie Carder and Surraiya Mahmud nabbed runner-up honors to lead area standouts at the weekend’s OHSAA state wrestling tournament.
Carder (110) won each of her first three matches — she pinned Clyde’s Audrey Miracle in 1:28 on Friday and beat Brookville’s Molly Luebke 8-1 and forced Teays Valley’s Ava Miller to the mat in 1:12 on Saturday — before falling 6-2 to Steubenville’s Talea Guntrum in Sunday’s championship match.
Mahmud (155) had an impressive run to the first-place match, too.
She started her tourney by pinning Fostoria’s Ariana Espinosa-Snowden in 1:55. She then pinned Southeast’s Lauren Carver in 4:53 in the quarterfinals before outlasting Mogadore’s Mackenzie Shellenbarger with an 8-6 sudden victory in the semis.
Like Carder, that’s where Mahmud’s run ended, though, as Warren’s Kylee Tait put the finishing touches on a 55-0 senior season by winning the title with a second-period pin.
The Pioneers’ Lydia Heinrich (170) and Kascidy Garren (190) also finished near the top of the podium, winning their final matches of the tournament to close third.
Heinrich pinned Mogadore’s Mia Gaetjens in 4:51 in her third-place match while Garren pinned Carrollton’s Riley Alborn in 2:28.
Other area placers included Delaware Hayes’ Nelease Danzy (fourth at 145), Orange’s Josie Nickoloff (sixth at 120) and Olentangy’s Cori Young (sixth at 125).
In Division I action on the boys’ side, Deericks made the most noise on his run to runner-up honors at 157.
He cruised past Elder’s Lucas Kurzhals 7-2 in his opening match, edged Whitmer’s Jeremy Ginter, the top seed from the Perrysburg district, with a 4-2 sudden victory and knocked off Massillon Perry’s Marshall Heckler 5-3 to earn his spot in the championship final.
The run ended there, though, as Sycamore’s Eugene Harney won 5-0 Sunday night.
Deericks’ three-day run ended with his best finish at the state showcase as a Patriot. He wasn’t alone on the podium, either.
Liberty’s Jaxson Rosselli finished his stellar prep career with a win, taking care of Perrysburg’s Alex Denkins 5-2 in the third-place match at 120. His teammate, Brady Quillin, did the same at 215, outlasting Edgewood’s Wyatt Walker 11-8 to nab third-place points.
Other state placers included Olentangy’s Kurt Mokros (eighth at 113) and Liberty’s Huggy Williams (fifth at 126) and Lincoln Gardner (eighth at 165).
