Crestview’s Zayden Martin (right) competes against Celina’s Wes Greber during Saturday’s Lincolnview Invitational.
Richard Parrish | The Lima News
MIDDLE POINT – Longtime Columbus Grove head wrestling coach Eric “Ernie” Siefker realizes that it will take some time before his team will be clicking on all cylinders.
A good portion of Siefker’s wrestlers got a late start to the wrestling season, due to the success of the football team this fall. Columbus Grove made a run all the way to the Division VI state semifinals, where it was defeated by Marion Local, the eventual state champion.
At Saturday’s Lincolnview Invitational at Lincolnview High School, Columbus Grove’s season got off to a solid start, as it finished a distant second to Liberty-Benton in the final team standings, 215-160.5. Wayne Trace (153), Defiance (150) and Spencerville (145) rounded out the top five squads in a field of 11 teams.
“For some of these guys, it’s their first week of practice,” Siefker said. “It’s a good tournament to start out at. They said that they’re all tired. Half of them are football kids. … But it’s a great problem to have.”
Columbus Grove was without the services of last year’s state qualifier (215 pounds) AJ Schafer on Saturday. Schafer, a second team All-Ohio selection at linebacker, should see action on the wrestling mat in the near future.
Columbus Grove’s Boat Thompson (126) and Landen Schroeder (165) won titles in their respective weight classes Saturday.
Schroeder, an honorable mention selection in the Northwest District at linebacker, defeated Crestview’s Ayden Martin in Saturday’s 165-pound title match, 12-5.
Schroeder went 5-0 Saturday, with having just about a week’s worth of practice, leading up to Saturday’s invite.
“It was not a lot of time. It takes a lot of time to get into shape, going from football to wrestling. It’s a lot of work,” Schroeder said with a grin.
Schroeder realizes it will be a work in progress this winter season. However, he feels confident that he will continue to improve.
“I felt pretty good (on Saturday). I just need to work on the mental mistakes and conditioning, obviously,” he said.
Unlike some of his teammates, Boat Thompson did not have a late start to his season.
Thompson rolled through his first four matches Saturday, en route to reaching the finals in the 126-pound weight class.
In the title match, Thompson had his hands full when he faced Liberty-Benton’s Zach Ponx. However, Thompson persevered with a hard-fought 8-3 decision against Ponx.
Thompson had a lot of praise for Ponx.
“I have not seen him before,” Thompson said in reference to his opponent in Saturday’s title match. “He gave me a good run there. He’s one of the best opponents that I have wrestled.”
Thompson said he came into Saturday’s invite with one goal.
“All day, I’ve been going full throttle, pushing the pace on them (his opponents),” Thompson said.
Coach Siefker said he was especially pleased how Wyatt Watt, another football player, came out and performed Saturday. Watt placed second in the 157-pound weight class.
“Wyatt got runner-up. … He wrestled really strong,” Siefker said. “He didn’t finish where he wanted to in that last match, but he worked his way to get there.”
Pursuing state berth
Spencerville’s Carder Miller is on a mission this season.
Last season, Miller found himself in a really competitive bracket at districts, and did not qualify for the Division III state tournament.
This season, Miller, a senior, is looking to make a run all the way to the state tournament.
At Saturday’s Lincolnview Invitational, Miller went 5-0 on the day with five pins, en route to winning the title in the 132-pound weight class.
In his championship match, Miller made fairly quick work of Antwerp’s Skyler Octaviano, pinning him late in the second period.
“I was honestly expecting for it (finish of the match) to be a little bit faster,” Miller said. “But I’m not complaining. I think I wrestled well. The key for me was to score on my feet. That is my best position.”
Miller said he has his mind set for a strong postseason run.
“I would love to at least place down there (state tournament),” Miller said. “It was a long couple of months (after last season). … It motivated me to do a lot more work during the summer.”
Other champions Saturday included: Ada’s Silas Riblet (106), Antwerp’s Eli Reinhart (157), Celina’s Colin Fokine (138), Defiance’s Michael Walz (144), Liberty-Benton’s RJ Coldren (113) and Will Chiow (150), Lincolnview’s Tyler Ulrey (285), Spencerville’s Maddox Jurek (190) and Logan Johnson (215), Wayne Trace’s Corbin Kimmel (120) and Sam Moore (175).
Mark Altstaetter wrote this story for The Lima News. Reach The Lima News sports department at 567-242-0451.
