Four Wildcat Wrestlers Qualify for Districts

Kenton was well represented at the division two sectional wrestling tournament at Clyde High School this past Saturday.

Four of the seven wrestlers that entered the contest made the podium and qualified for districts at Norwalk to continue chasing there dreams to make it to State. Kenton scored a total of 73.5 points as a team to place eighth out of twelve teams at the tournament.  Ontario High School placed first with 190.5 points followed by runner-up Bellevue (180.5) and the host Clyde (174.5) at third.

Freshman, Isaac Blevins, was the second seed at 165 lbs in a field of eight wrestlers. After a bye in the first round, he defeated Alan O’Blisk from Ontario 7-3 and then defeated Bill Sberna of Bellevue by pin (5:22) in the semis to advance to the finals. Blevins faced the top seed, Ryan Coronel, in the championship match and lost 11-6 to place second for the tournament.

JJ Manns at 190 lbs, was the fourth seed in field of eight wrestlers.  Manns defeated senior, Moses Vasquez of Willard by pin (2:31); but dropped his semi-final match to Landon Sowards of Ontario who went on to win the weight class.  Manns bounced back and pinned Cyrus Flores of Fostoria (2:42) and defeat second seed Carson Sauber of Tiffin Columbia by decision (6-4) to place 3rd at the tournament.

Matthew Handell entered the tournament as a second seed in a field of nine at the 215 lb weight class.  Handell quickly pinned Blake Hernandez of Fostoria (:34) in his first match, but lost a tough match against Owen Rath of Bowling Green (11-7 dec.) in the semi-finals. In the consolation rounds; Handell finished out the day quickly with two more pins under a minute to take third place defeating Yoskar Color of Willard (:31) and Nate Taylor of Lexington (:58).

Anthony Hunt came into the tournament as a three seed in arguably the toughest weight class at sectionals.  The full field of twelve wrestlers at the 157 lb weight class included the number one state ranked Lance Overmyer from Clyde High School.  

Hunt dropped his first match after a bye in the first round to Paul Archer of Bowling Green by a score of 3-2 decision.  Hunt attacked the legs of Archer three times during the match, but Archer was able to scamble each time to get a stalemate and reset.  Both wrestlers earned an escape and Archer was awarded a questionable takedown in the third period with only five seconds left in the match.

Hunt regrouped and fought his way back in the consilation bracket to defeat Archie Stephens of Tiffin Columbian (:53), Silas Raney of Fostoria (Techfall 19-4) and Jeremiah Hash of Bellevue (Inj. Default) to face Archer of Bowling Green again in the consolation finals. 

It was a similar tough match with Archer in the finals, but this time Hunt was able to secure a nice straight on double-leg takedown at the end of the second period that led him to win by a score of 3-2 decision.  

The Wildcats will be competing in the Northwest District Tournament this coming Friday and Saturday at Norwalk High School.  The top four wrestlers at each weight class will advance to the State tournament on March 9-10th in Columbus.

Individual Results:

126 – Brien (0-3); 6th Place

132 – Davis (0-2)

157 – Hunt (4-1); 3rd Place

165 – Blevins (2-1); 2nd Place

190 – JJ Manns (3-1); 3rd Place

215 – Handell (3-1); 3rd Place

285 – Laubis (0-2)

Brackets: https://www.baumspage.com/nwsect/clyde2/2023/2024%20Brackets.htm

Results: https://www.baumspage.com/nwsect/clyde2/2023/2024%20Results.htm