West Holmes opens wrestling season with third-place finish at Cambridge Invite

The West Holmes varsity wrestling snared a third-place finish at the 12-team Cambridge Invitational to start off the 2025-26 season Saturday, Dec. 6.

The Knights put nine wrestlers on the podium to tally 176.5 points, finishing behind Louisville (318.5) and Beaver Local (193).

WH senior Louden Dixon, the reigning Division II 150-pound state champion, posted a perfect 5-0 record including three by fall and two by tech fall.

“Louden was great today, winning his third Cambridge title in four years,” Knights coach Scott Vaughn said. “He dominated the competition. I know that Louden is working hard in preparation for Ironman. There are some little things that he wants to work on this week. This was a great start to his senior year.”

For his third Cambridge title, Vaughn named Dixon as the Knight of the Week.

The Knights also got third-place finishes from seniors Peyton Martin (126, 4-1, three falls), Gabe Umstead (132, 3-1, two) and Dylan Sours (heavyweight, 3-1, two).

Placing fourth was senior Camden McCluggage (190, 3-2, two), a returning state qualifier.

Fifth-place finishes went to freshman Colton Garver (113, 1-4), sophomore Liam Angle (120, 3-2, three), junior Lincoln Goans (175, 3-2, two) and sophomore Easton Ross (215, 3-1, two).

“Cambridge is always a great way to start the season,” Vaughn said. “There is always good competition, along with getting to see many teams from our sectional and district tournament. Seems like every season I catch myself coming away from this tournament thinking the same thing — saw a lot of good things but also a lot to work on. We really pride ourselves on improving every week, and I think every guy on the team has stuff to work on.”

Junior varsity

Five West Holmes junior varsity wrestlers combined for a 16-1 record at the Blue Streaks Junior Varsity Duals Match-Ups Saturday, Dec. 6, with all 16 wins coming via fall or tech fall.

Posting undefeated records were freshmen Logan Leyda (150, 3-0, two) and Finnegan McClintock (165, 4-0, four), sophomore Kaden Markey (175, 4-0, three), and senior Grady Hawkins (215, 3-0, three). Sophomore Calvin Pendlebury (132) finished 2-1 with two falls.

Attack Team

Different season, different team, different starting lineup, but the results remained the same for the Holmes Area Wrestling Club Elementary Attack Team, which rolled over its opponents in Ohio Youth Wrestling Association Mid-Ohio Division duals action Sunday, Dec. 7.

The Attack Team scored a 95-27 thumping of Galion, a 98-24 dismantling of Mount Vernon and a 124-6 hammering of Rittman to run its dual meet win streak to 46 in a row.

“We absolutely pummeled our opponents,” Attack Team coach Jaret Mathie said. “This team blew me away with how they competed. Since taking over the Attack Team (in 2015), this is the first time after our opening weekend we truly don't feel we had any glaring holes in the armor.”

Mathie said the hardest part of the day for the coaching staff was choosing Attack Team Wrestler of the Week.

“I could give away Wrestler of the Week to numerous wrestlers, but I am going to do something different,” Mathie said. “I was very impressed with our smallest and newest wrestlers. I am going to recognize Parker Martin, Austin Spreng, Kellen Rice and Hayes Bloomfield as our Attack Team Wrestlers of the Week. Being new to wrestling and none having competed before, I applaud their courage stepping on the mat for the first time.

"You could tell each one of them was nervous and seemed to be a little overwhelmed. However, that didn't stop them from strapping on their headgear and going out and giving it 100%. Regardless of the outcome, seeing their growth alone was awesome. I felt like they needed to be recognized.”