Olentangy Liberty wins district championship

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Delaware County was well-represented at the weekend’s Division I Central District Tournament in Hilliard and, although some of the local standouts knocked each other off on their battle through the brackets, this week’s state showcase will still have a ton of local flavor.

Liberty, which won the tourney with a dominant 236.5-point performance, had 10 wrestlers punch tickets to the OHSAA State Championship — a three-day meet set to get underway Thursday afternoon inside The Ohio State University’s Jerome Schottenstein’s Center.

The Patriots were powered by their three district champions — Brakan Mead and Kyle and Trevor Lawson.

Mead pinned Olentangy’s Jacob Sherman in 3:35 to win the championship match of the 113-pound division. Kyle Lawson, meanwhile, took top honors at 160 by default while Trevor Lawson handled Licking Heights’ Josiah Harrell 4-1 at 170.

Delaware Hayes’ Max Wright also won a district championship, doubling up Lancaster’s Stephen Deluse 6-3 at 195 to earn a top seed at the state meet.

Like Sherman, Liberty’s Jordan Rosselli (120), Connor Brady (152) and Mike Ezenekwe (220), and Hayes’ Zach Williams (126), made it all the way to the championship matches of their respective divisions before falling and settling for runner-up honors and No. 2 seeds at states.

And that’s just a touch over half the Delaware County wrestlers who earned a chance to compete for state titles with solid district performances.

Others included Liberty’s Blake Saito (third at 106), Big Walnut’s Baily Munday (third at 120), Liberty’s Zach Furnas (third at 138), Liberty’s Trey Grenier (third at 145), Orange’s Logan Broskie (third at 160), Liberty’s Cole Fitzpatrick (third at 182), Orange’s Bryce Houston (third at 220) and Olentangy’s Xander Gore (fourth at 145).

Hayes’ Carter Davidson (182) and Liberty’s Davin Lambert (285) are on the outside looking in, but finished fifth in their respective weight classes to earn spots as state alternates.

Hayes and Olentangy finished tied for seventh in the final team standings, each closing with 64 points, while Orange finished 12th with 53.5 and Big Walnut closed tied for 22nd with 22.

Sends 10 wrestlers to state showcase

By Ben Stroup

[email protected]

Follow Ben Stroup on Twitter @delgazette_ben.

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