Knights third at OCC tourney; Dixon named top wrestler

The West Holmes varsity wrestling team put the regular season in the rearview mirror with a third-place team finish and 10 wrestlers including four champions earning top four finishes at the Ohio Cardinal Conference Tournament at Madison High School on Feb. 17.

The Knights (225.5 points) finished behind champion Ashland (271.5) and runner-up Mount Vernon (237).

“Hats off to Ashland winning the OCC,” WH coach Scott Vaughn said. “Their wrestlers put together a really nice tournament. I really thought we had a shot of winning the conference, but they pulled away from the pack.”

Sophomore 144-pounder Louden Dixon scored his second straight conference crown and was tabbed in a vote of the coaches as Wrestler of the Year. Earning their first OCC titles were AAJ Roberts (junior, 132), Hunter McCluggage (junior, 150) and Cole Porter (junior, 175).

Grady Toye (senior, 126) and Dylan Sours (sophomore, 190) each scored runner-up honors. Grant Miller (senior, 215) placed third while Wyatt Crabb (freshman, 106), Peyton Martin (sophomore, 113) and Camden McCluggage (sophomore, 157) all placed fourth.

Dixon rolled through his first four matches, chalking up a forfeit win followed by a 15-4 major decision victory, a 16-1 tech fall triumph and a fall win at 2:49 against his round-robin opponents. Dixon, ranked eighth at 144 in Div. II, faced Div. I No. 14 Mavrik Gregory (sophomore, Mount Vernon) in the title-deciding match. Dixon trailed 6-3 midway through the second period but kept working and notched a 13-8 decision win to finish his day 5-0.

“This was Louden’s first event coming off an injury,” Vaughn said. “I thought he looked really good. In his finals match, he got down 6-3. I liked his grit, chipping away and continuing to score. His pace ended up being the difference to get the win. Louden won his second OCC title and also got OCC Wrestler of the Year. This is a great honor and impressive, considering he is only a sophomore.”

Roberts (5-0, four falls) went 3-0 in his pool matches, followed by a championship semifinal fall win at 1:20 to give him a shot at OCC gold. He took full advantage of the opportunity, sticking Isaak Wickham (freshman, Ashland) in a quick 26 seconds to sew up the title.

Wrestling in a round robin, McCluggage (4-0, three) scored two fall wins and a forfeit win after a first-round bye and then closed out the day with a gold medal-winning fall win at 1:32 over Noah Fent (senior, Ashland).

Porter (5-0, four) posted two fall wins and a decision victory in his pool matches. He then scored another fall win in the championship semifinals to put himself into the championship match, which he won by fall at 1:48 over Kyler Howard (senior, Mount Vernon).

Toye (4-1, four) lost his second round-robin match but came back with three fall wins including his final match of the day, flattening Ashton McGlasson (sophomore, Madison) in 2:31.

Sours was 4-0, with all his wins coming via pin to put him into the championship match. He fought hard but came up short in a 4-2 decision loss to Cooper Smith (junior, Ashland).

The Knights will begin the road to the Div. II state tournament by competing at the Steubenville Sectional on Feb. 24. The top four finishers at each weight class will advance to the Gallia Academy District, which will take place March 1-2.