Allen East’s Jordan Neal (Right) takes control of his opponent, Covington’s Caleb Ryman (Left) on Saturday at the DIII District Tournament held at Hobart Arena in Troy.
Jackelyn Johnson | The Lima News
TROY – Allen East’s Jordan Neal is a freshman.
However, whenever Neal steps onto the wrestling mat, it doesn’t matter.
The transition from middle school to high school has been a smooth one for Neal, to say the least.
At Saturday’s finals of the Division III district wrestling tournament at Hobart Arena, Neal notched the title in the 144-pound weight class and became the first freshman in school history to accomplish this feat.
In Saturday’s 144-pound championship match, Neal made quick work of Covington’s Caleb Ryman with a first-period pin.
Neal (46-2) will compete at next weekend’s Ohio High School Athletic Association Wrestling State Tournament at Ohio State’s Jerome Schottenstein Center. The state tournament runs March 8-10.
The top four placers in each weight class at all the district tournaments advance to the state tournament.
“It’s great. … I’ve been working on it for like the past 11 years. I’ve been coming here (district tournament) and watching these older kids all the time,” Neal said. “It’s a dream come true to come in and pin the guy in the first period (for the district title).”
Neal also won the sectional title last weekend at Lima Central Catholic.
However, Neal said that winning the district title was more important. With Neal winning the district title, he will face a No. 4 seed in his first match of the Division III state tournament.
“This is the main one that I wanted – the No. 1 seed here (at districts),” Neal said. “It sets me up good for next week (state tournament).”
Longtime Allen East coach Mike Abbey praised Neal on how his freshman campaign has gone.
“He’s done a great job this year. He went through some of the freshman highs and lows. … It was a little bit of a longer season and all of that. But he rose to the occasion this weekend and wrestled a solid tournament,” Abbey said.
Along with Neal, two other Mustangs will make the trip to Columbus.
Trenton “T.J.” Gatchell placed second in the 157-pound weight class on Saturday. In the finals, Gatchell (39-8), a senior, lost a hard-fought match to Kettering Alter’s Luke Snyder, 3-2.
“First or second, I still have my ticket to go there,” Gatchell said. “So, I’m not worried about it.”
Last season, Gatchell competed at the state tournament but did not place. Gatchell feels confident as he looks forward to next weekend’s state tournament.
“It (Saturday’s loss in the finals) is preparing me for next week,” Gatchell said. “I feel good. I feel like I’m at my best right now.”
At 215, Allen East senior Brogan Paxson placed fourth and qualified for the state tournament.
However, Paxson had to wrestle back this weekend after an early loss to secure a spot in Saturday’s third-place match.
In the consolation semifinals, Paxson pinned Williamsburg’s Kaleb Barnhart to put himself in the third-place match. In the third-place match at 215, Madeira’s Maxwell James recorded an 8-2 decision over Paxson (47-6).
This is Paxson’s first trip to the state tournament. Last season, Paxson did not come out for wrestling.
“It was pretty cool. … It was pretty much unexpected,” Paxson said about qualifying for the state tournament. “I want to at least place at state.”
Brogan Paxson’s brother, freshman Braylon Paxson (32-13) placed sixth at 175 at Troy.
As a team, Allen East finished sixth with 86 points. Legacy Christian won the title with 136.5 points. There were 55 schools represented at Troy.
Abbey was pleased with how his wrestlers performed this weekend.
“We have three out (for the state tournament),” Abbey said. “We’ll go down next week and see if we can make a little ripple or two down there at state.”
Columbus Grove will send two to the state tournament
Columbus Grove will have two grapplers in Columbus next weekend.
At Troy, Columbus Grove’s Kyle Lathrop (third place, 165) and Loudon Auchmuty (fourth, 190) notched berths for the Division III state tournament.
Both Lathrop (37-5) and Auchmuty (14-10) are making their first trip to the state tournament.
“I’ve had this dream since I saw Jeff (Meyer, Columbus Grove state champion (285) in 2021) make it down there during my seventh and eighth-grade years,” Lathrop said. “It has been a goal of mine for a long time. I’m just super thankful for it.”
For Auchmuty, qualifying for the state tournament was a little bit of a surprise. Like Lathrop, Auchmuty also plays football.
“It feels amazing,” Auchmuty said after winning his consolation semifinal match that put him into the third-place match. “To be honest, at the beginning of this year, I did not even consider myself as being a state qualifier, or even having a chance. … So, this is awesome. I’ve been able to stay consistent all four years at practice, and it has clearly paid off. I want to thank the Lord. I pray twice before every match. I would not be here without Him.”
As a team, Columbus Grove placed 10th.
Delphos St. John’s Kessen places second at Troy
St. John’s sophomore Edward Kessen lost to Norwood’s Wyatt Hinton in a hard-fought 138-pound title match, 3-1.
Kessen (39-6) is making his second trip to the state tournament. Kessen went 0-2 at last season’s state tournament.
“Hopefully it’s my revenge tour this year,” Kessen said with a grin. “My goal is to place (top eight, all-Ohio). But that is everyone’s goal. So, it’s going to be a tough one. The match I lost right there (Saturday’s finals) is going to be like every match at state. So, I just got to keep pushing, keep working things out, and hope for the best.”
Indian Lake’s Pummel notches title
Indian Lake’s Owen Pummel (43-4) won the district title on Saturday at 190.
In the title match, Pummel recorded an 11-0 major decision over Wayne Trace’s Nathan Osborne.
Indian Lake finished eighth as a team.
Parkway’s Younker qualifies for the state tournament
Parkway junior Landon Younker placed fourth at 165. Younker lost to Columbus Grove’s Kyle Lathrop in the third-place match, 3-0.
Younker lost his first match of the district tournament on Friday and had to battle back through the consolation rounds to get into the third-place match.
On Friday, Versailles’ Landyn Knapke edged out Younker 2-1. Then in Saturday’s consolation semifinal, Younker avenged his loss by recording a 12-2 major decision over Knapke.
“He (Knapke) knocked me out (of the championship bracket) in the first round (on Friday),” Younker said. “I wrestled back and then wrestled him (Knapke) in the ‘go-to’ match (consolation semifinals) and beat him.”
Other area state qualifiers from Troy
Other area wrestlers that finished in the top four spots in their respective weight classes at Troy included Coldwater’s Austin Hamilton (fourth, 132), Paulding’s Thor Etter (third, 132), and Indian Lake’s Dylan Valerio (third, 285).
Division III district tournament at Rossford
There were no top-four Lima area placers at Rossford this weekend.
Bluffton had the best area performance, placing 25th. There were 48 schools represented at Rossford.
DIVISION II
NORWALK – Wapakoneta and St. Marys led the way for area teams at this weekend’s Division II district tournament at Norwalk.
Wapakoneta placed seventh in the team standings with 75.5 points, while St. Marys (68) was close behind in ninth. Wauseon won the team title (191.5).
There were three Lima area champions at Norwalk.
St. Marys junior Tate Hisey (41-2) won the title in the 126-pound weight class. Hisey defeated Wyatt Nemitz from Perkins, 3-0, in Saturday’s championship match.
Hisey is a two-time Division II state placer.
Hisey’s teammate Bo Hertenstein won the district title at 150 on Saturday. Hertenstein (37-3) recorded a 17-3 major decision over Columbus DeSales’ Aidan Rush in the finals. Last year, as a sophomore, Hertenstein was a state qualifier.
Defiance junior Mason Ducat notched the title at 132 with a pin over Napoleon’s Romeo Cordoba in the championship match. Ducat (38-4) is making his third trip to the state tournament.
Elida senior Skyler Kirk placed second at 138 on Saturday. Ontario’s Mason Turnbaugh recorded a 12-0 major decision over Kirk in the finals.
Last season, Kirk qualified for the state tournament but was not permitted to compete because of a skin issue.
Kirk (42-7) won a sectional title last week at Defiance.
Celina’s Zach Greber (44-7) placed second at 144. Wauseon’s Benicio Torres recorded a 9-0 major decision over Greber in the title match.
Kenton’s Anthony Hunt placed second at 157. Hunt (41-5) was pinned by Columbus DeSales’ Joel Welch in the title match.
For Wapakoneta, Wyatt Buell (51-5) placed third at 175. Teammate Jace Knous (31-3) placed third at 215. Knous finished seventh (190) at last season’s state tournament.
Girls state-qualifying tournaments
The girls regional tournaments will take place on Sunday (3/3) at four different locations around the state. Those state qualifiers will participate in the state tournament on March 8-10 at Ohio State.
