Local high school wrestlers set to compete at district tournaments

After months of grueling workouts, area wrestlers are one step away from qualifying for the state tournament.

Forty-one locals will compete at districts this weekend with the goal of punching their tickets to Columbus. Seven of them enter districts as sectional champions, while the other 34 are seeded anywhere from second to fourth.

Ashland’s Griffin Adkins and Jon Metzger, Black River’s Travis Owen, Crestview’s Hayden Kuhn, Mapleton’s Brock Durbin and Northwestern’s Trent Sigler are all looking to make a return trip to state after qualifying last year. Metzger is the only two-time state qualifier in the group.

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Ashland’s Brady Welch also qualified for state twice while he was going to school in Indiana. He transferred back to Ashland last year.

The Arrows lead the way with 10 district qualifiers, while Mapleton is next with eight. Black River, Crestview and Northwestern all have five. Every area school has at least one qualifier.

The Mounties have had at least one state qualifier every year since 2011, the area’s longest current streak.

The following is a closer look at the three districts area wrestlers will compete at this weekend.

Note: * denotes sectional champion

Division II Norwalk District

WHEN: Friday, starting at 4 p.m.; Saturday, starting at 9:30 a.m.

WHERE: Norwalk High School, 350 Shady Lane Dr., Norwalk

AREA QUALIFIERS: Ashland’s Korbyn Jones (113), Roman Parobek (*120), Milan Parobek (126), Griffin Adkins (138), Jon Metzger (*157), Angelo Seitz (165), Brady Welch (175), Hayden Flynn (190), Cayden Spotts (215), Hayden Hensel (285)

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Ohio high school wrestling guru Billy Schaefer, who runs borofanohio.net, predicted Ashland to have five state qualifiers.

Metzger is the lone projected champion, while Welch is expected to finish second. The Parobek brothers and Seitz are also projected to make it to Columbus.

If Metzger does advance to state, he’ll join an elite club. The junior would be the fourth three-time state qualifier in program history.

Bowling Green’s Mike Kinzel is Metzger’s top competition, but he won’t have to worry about him until the finals.

Welch is on a collision course with Columbian’s Brody Conley after they faced off in the finals at sectionals last weekend. Conley won that match 3-0 and is expected to beat Welch again at districts.

Since Conley is projected to win the state title, Welch has nothing to lose and everything to gain when they meet this weekend and likely in Columbus. All of the pressure is on Conley, who hasn’t lost since his sophomore year.

Roman Parobek has a tough draw despite winning a sectional title. The junior should reach the semifinals, where he’ll run into projected district champion Trevor Hisey of St. Marys Memorial.

If he loses that match, he should have no problem winning in the consolation semifinals to secure his state berth.

Milan Parobek finished second at sectionals but still received a favorable draw, according to Schaefer. The junior has a tough quarterfinals match looming in Bowling Green’s Cameron Deiter, the projected district champion and state runner-up.

A loss there wouldn’t be that big of a blow to Parobek, who is expected to rally his way back through the consolation bracket to reach the third-place match.

Seitz opens the tournament with sectional champion Decarvion Jones of Sandusky. The sophomore is expected to win that match and again in the quarterfinals before losing in the semis to projected district champ Max Ray of Columbian.

Ray defeated Seitz 2-0 in the semifinals at sectionals, and a close match is expected again this weekend if they run into each other.

Adkins and Spotts should both be in the mix for a state berth, too.

Sectional qualifiers from Beachwood, Clyde, Defiance and Sandusky advanced to this district.

Division III Garfield Heights District

WHEN: Friday, starting at 5 p.m.; Saturday, starting at 10 a.m.

WHERE: Garfield Heights High School, 4900 Turney Road, Garfield Heights

AREA QUALIFIERS: Black River’s Joe Dennis (106), Brandon Rollin (157), Charlie Wells (175), Cooper McKean (215), Travis Owen (*285); Hillsdale’s Danny Ritchie (120); Loudonville’s Drew Spreng (*113), Isaac Wittel (126), Josh Serrato (144), Corbin Davis (165); Mapleton’s Chase Sword (113), Brock Durbin (*120), Andrew Sas (*138), Seth Case (157), Grady Kline (175), Sean Gast (190), Landen Sword (215), Joe Shoup (*285); Northwestern’s Trent Sigler (120), Anthony Huber (150), Collin Good (165), Matt Adams (175), Isaac Ott (285)

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Dennis, Owen, Spreng, Durbin, Sas, Kline and Shoup are all expected to qualify for state, according to Schaefer.

Owen is the lone projected champion, while Dennis and Spreng are both expected to finish second.

Owen has a favorable draw since his top competition, Ashtabula St. John’s Ryan Elrod and Shoup, are both on the other side of the bracket. Shoup is projected to lose to Elrod in the quarterfinals but fight back through the consolation bracket to finish third.

Dennis is expected to run into Columbia’s Cole Schulke, the projected state runner-up, in the finals for the second consecutive week. Schulke defeated Dennis via a 17-0 technical fall at sectionals last weekend.

Spreng’s weight class only has one top-20 ranked wrestler, Mogadore’s Brady Funk. The sophomore and Funk are on opposite sides of the bracket, so Spreng has a clear path to the finals.

Spreng’s biggest roadblock to reaching the championship match is Jackson-Milton's Owen McDevitt, who is expected to face Spreng in the semis.

Durbin is projected to lose in the semis to Hawken’s Patrick Reineke, but the sophomore is expected to bounce back and defeat Sigler in the blood round to punch his ticket to state.

Durbin beat Sigler 8-0 in the title match at sectionals last weekend.

Sas and Kline are both projected to follow a similar path to Durbin, losing in the semis before winning in the consolation semis to reach the third-place match. Kline is expected to finish third and Sas fourth.

Gast, Good, Rollin, Landen Sword and Wells should all also contend for a state berth.

Sectional qualifiers from Berkshire, Independence, Northwestern and Rootstown advanced to this district.

Division III Rossford District

WHEN: Saturday, starting at 10 a.m.; Sunday, starting at 10 a.m.

WHERE: Rossford High School, 701 Superior St., Rossford

AREA QUALIFIERS: Crestview’s Andrew Mitchell (120), Hayden Kuhn (132), Connor Morse (165), Caleb Cunningham (215), Mitch Cline (285); New London’s Markell Mitchell (120), Wyatt Harrison (132); South Central’s Diton Farnsworth (113)

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Schaefer predicted Kuhn and Markell Mitchell to both qualify for state.

Kuhn is expected to run into Monroeville’s Alec Homan in the finals for the third consecutive week.

The junior defeated Homan 4-1 at the Firelands Conference Championships on Feb. 19. Homan got revenge against Kuhn last week at sectionals, winning 1-0. Schaefer predicted Homan to defeat Kuhn again at districts, but it wouldn’t be the least bit surprising if Kuhn comes out on top.

Homan beat Kuhn at sectionals and districts last year, but Kuhn placed higher at state.

Markell Mitchell is expected to run into Genoa Area’s Phoenix Contos, the projected district champ, in the quarterfinals. Schaefer predicted the sophomore to work his way back through the consolation bracket to finish third.

Morse and Cline are both also expected to be in the mix for a state berth.

Sectional qualifiers from Archbold, Oak Harbor, Plymouth and Van Buren advanced to this district.

Reach Chris at csnow@times-gazette.com

On Twitter: CSnow_TG

This article originally appeared on Ashland Times Gazette: Area high school grapplers ready for districts