Shawnee’s Preston Coppler, left, competes against Spencerville’s Maddox Jurek during Saturday’s Allen County Invitational at Bluffton High School.
Richard Parrish | The Lima News
SHAWNEE TOWNSHIP — When Collin Wise took over as the head coach of the Shawnee wrestling program before the start of last season, he wanted to take the program to the next level.
This past Friday, Shawnee won its first Allen County Tournament team title since 2012 as it slipped past a very solid Allen East squad, 256-255. There were 10 teams in the tournament at Bluffton High School.
“It’s huge (winning the Allen County Tournament). … I won’t lie,” Wise said with a grin. “Last year we got runner-up, and I didn’t think we were anywhere close to being runner-up. I’m friends with (Allen East coach) Mike Abbey. Allen East has won it the last four years. So, I just wanted to take it from them. … Just as a friend. It’s nothing personal.”
Shawnee had four champions at Friday’s Allen County Tournament.
Tate Ditto (113-pound weight class), Kael Dodson (126), Kayne Brown (150) and Preston Coppler (190) all notched titles for Shawnee.
Coppler, a senior, improved his record to 14-0 on the season with a hard-fought 6-5 victory over Spencerville senior Maddox Jurek in Friday’s championship match at 190. Last season, Jurek was a Division III state qualifier.
At last year’s Allen County Tournament, Coppler placed second in the 215-pound weight class.
Last season, Coppler qualified for the Division II district tournament in the 175-pound weight class, where he went 2-2 and did not qualify for the state tournament. The top four placers in each weight class at the district tournament advance to the state tournament.
This season, Coppler wants to qualify for the state tournament, which takes place at Ohio State on March 8-10.
“I want to go all the way,” Coppler said. “I want to see what I can do with it. I want to get there (to the state tournament). The first thing is to make it past sectionals, and then go from there.”
Coppler said his wrestling style can vary from match to match.
“It depends on who I am wrestling. If I’m wrestling someone who likes to attack, I’ll go pure defense. … It just depends on what my opponent likes to do. I like to feel them out first, then go from there,” Coppler said.
Wise describes Coppler as a carefree individual.
“He’s a little cocky, but I love the kid. … You need to reel him in sometimes,” Wise said with a grin. “He’s a good leader – sometimes. I have to be honest. He is what he wants to be, but he’s a good kid.”
Coppler also plays center and defensive end on the football team. He did not begin to wrestle until he got into middle school.
“I started wrestling in my seventh-grade year. I wrestled seventh and eighth grade and took my freshman year off. I started back my sophomore year, and I’ve been wrestling since then,” Coppler said.
Shawnee is currently 2-0 in its Western Buckeye League dual meets. Wapakoneta is the only other team in the WBL with a 2-0 mark.
Shawnee has won four WBL team titles in its school history. Last season, Shawnee finished sixth in the final WBL standings.
The WBL team championship is determined on two criteria. First, the regular-season dual record, and then how the team placed in the WBL tournament at the end of the regular season.
Coppler is optimistic about his team’s chances to compete for a WBL team title and to advance wrestlers in the postseason tournament.
“That’s what we’ve been looking forward to, ever since the season started,” Coppler said. “We wanted to win this (Allen County) tournament to start it off, and then see what we can do from there. We’re all wrestling pretty solid. So, that’s what we like.”
Wise said that his roster has grown at a fast rate.
“We have not had the numbers for a long time. We’ve doubled our numbers. We’ve gone from 16 (athletes) last year to 32 this year,” Wise said. “The guys really want to be successful. They’re getting other kids interested in this sport.
“Wrestling is a great sport – mentally, and everything like that. It builds character. Seeing success at Shawnee (in wrestling) and not having that for so long – and now here we are Allen County champions.”
