Liberty, Orange win sectional titles

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If you walk into this weekend’s Division I district tournament at Hilliard Darby and think you may have accidentally stumbled upon some kind of Olentangy-area showcase, don’t worry, you’re in the right place.

The three Olentangy schools made some serious noise at their respective sectionals and, due to that success, will be well-represented Friday and Saturday in Hilliard.

How well-represented? Well, 31 different wrestlers from the three ‘Tangy schools earned the right to be there.

Liberty was absolutely dominant at its Division I sectional in Newark Saturday, winning with a combined 301 points.

Of the Patriots’ 12 district qualifiers, 10 — Blake Saito (106), Brakan Mead (113), Jordan Rosselli (120), Zach Furnas (138), Trey Grenier (145), Connor Brady (152), Kyle Lawson (160), Trevor Lawson (170), Cole Fitzpatrick (182) and Mike Ezenekwe (220) — won sectional titles. Not too shabby considering there are only 14 weight classes.

Davin Lambert (third at 285) and Luke Blaine (fourth at 126) were Liberty’s other two qualifiers.

Big Walnut was also in action in Newark, finishing 12th with 49.5 points.

Golden Eagle district qualifiers included Bailey Munday, who finished second at 120 after falling to Rosselli 7-5 in the final; Levi Piceno, who finished fourth at 113; and Cole Foster, who closed fourth at 138.

Orange, like its sister school, won the team title at its Division I sectional in Upper Arlington. The Pioneers finished with 240 points and finished in the top four in 10 different weight classes.

Orange had a pair of sectional champs. Logan Broskie (160) pinned Reynoldsburg’s Nathanyel Frye in 1:19 and Hunter Knipp (182) beat Teays Valley’s Isaac Kennedy 6-2 to take home the hardware in their respective weight classes.

Other Pioneer standouts included Cole Jackson, who nabbed runner-up honors at 106; Rocco Torio, who finished third at 120; Mike Monago, who was third at 132; Tristan Bluntschly, who closed fourth at 138; Connor Evans, who finished second at 145; Adam Kreutzer, who finished third at 195; Bryce Houston, who closed second at 220; and Zach Stevenson, who finished third at 285.

Olentangy didn’t win a team title at its sectional tourney at Watkins Memorial, but still had plenty of success. The Braves, who closed fourth with 177.5 points, finished with two sectional champs — Jacob Sherman and Xander Gore — and seven other district qualifiers.

Other standouts included Nick Varanelli (third at 126), Brady Pethtel (third at 132), Max Hall (third at 152), Avery Flanagan (fourth at 138), Brice Kade (fourth at 160), Colton Doup (fourth at 195) and Nathan Murphy (fourth at 285).

Marysville Sectional

Hayes had a solid sectional tourney over the weekend, finishing third at Marysville with 154.5 points.

The Pacers were powered by a pair of sectional champs — Carter Davidson (182) and Max Wright (195).

Davidson, who picked up career win No. 100 with a semifinal pin, cruised past Marysville’s Nathan Dewitt 10-1 in the final. Wright, meanwhile, pinned Dublin Coffman’s Dan Trifoni in 1:46 to nab sectional bragging rights.

Delaware’s other district qualifiers included Brystin Coldiron, who finished fourth at 106; Zach Williams, who closed third at 126; James White IV, who was third at 138; and Corbin May, who finished third at 152.

Olentangy-area schools send 31 wrestlers to districts

By Ben Stroup

[email protected]

Follow Ben Stroup on Twitter @delgazette_ben.

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