West Holmes wrestlers post strong showing at Claymont Super Duals

The West Holmes varsity wrestling team posted a 3-2 record at the Claymont Super Duals Jan. 10 at Claymont High School.

The Knights scored wins over Union Local (57-17), Fairless (68-9) and Williamstown, West Virginia (39-32) and suffered losses to Wadsworth (46-29) and Claymont (52-21).

West Holmes is now 4-4 in dual meets this season.

“Coming off of the Mount Vernon dual, I was interested to see how the guys responded,” Knights coach Scott Vaughn said. “For the most part, we were aggressive all day and were looking to score. That's really what I want to see — growth match by match from everyone.”

Leading the way for the Knights with 4-1 records were Lincoln Goans (junior, 175, one fall), Camden McCluggage (senior, 190, three) and Dylan Sours (senior, heavyweight, four).

Posting 3-2 marks were Ashton Cornwell (sophomore, 106, one), Colton Garver (freshman, 113, three), Liam Angle (sophomore, 120), Gabe Umstead (senior, 132, two), Logan Leyda (freshman, 157, one) and Finnigan McClintock (freshman, 165, two).

Finishing with 2-3 records were Ian Daugherty (junior, 126), Oliver Roberts (sophomore, 138, one), Oliver Hiller (sophomore, 144) and Easton Ross (sophomore, 215, two). Noah Grassbaugh (sophomore, 150) finished 1-4 with one fall.

West Holmes dropped a 36-35 loss to Mount Vernon when the teams squared off Jan. 7 in a dual meet at West Holmes High School.

In a highly competitive and even dual with both teams winning seven bouts each, the Knights and Yellow Jackets both recorded five bonus-point wins. The difference was Mount Vernon’s bonus-point wins were all by fall compared to four by the Knights.

“Man, we were so close to knocking off one of the best teams in Division I (Mount Vernon is ranked 12th),” Vaughn said. “I am especially proud of the team's performance without three starters (Wyatt Crabb, Peyton Martin and Louden Dixon).”

Cornwell (106, forfeit), Garver (113, tech fall), Angle (120, fall), Umstead (132, decision), Grassbaugh (150, fall), Goans (175, fall) and Sours (heavyweight, decision) all picked up wins for the Knights.

Vaughn named Angle and Grassbaugh as the Co-Knights Varsity Wrestler of the Dual.

Junior varsity

In junior varsity matches at the Claymont Super Duals, Lane Burgett (freshman, 190) finished 2-1 with two falls, and Grady Hawkins (senior, 215, fall) and Cohen Wilson (junior, 215) both went 1-0.

Before the varsity dual against Mount Vernon, three junior varsity matches were held. WH’s Dylan Ferrebee (freshman, 132) and Cohen Wilson (junior, 215) both earned fall wins.

Middle school

West Holmes finished third at the 16-team WABC Kaderly Middle School Classic Jan. 10 at Waynedale High School.

Rowand Mathie (eighth grade, 104, 3-1, one fall) led the Knights with a runner-up finish. Third-place finishes went to Mason Dye (seventh, 92, 4-1, two), Carter Kick (eighth, 116, 5-1, three) and Grantham Lovell (eighth, 205, 4-1, three).

Placing fourth were Rorick Taggart (eighth, 110, 3-2) and Ryker Stokovich (seventh, heavyweight, 3-2, two). Fifth-place finishes went to Clint Burgett (eighth, 128, 2-2, one), Gavin Hoover (eighth, 134, 4-2, two) and Kolston Wagers (seventh, 205 extra, 3-2, three). Weston Rogers (eighth, 104 extra, 3-3, three) and Jackson Vaughn (seventh, 98, 2-0) placed sixth.

“I am not going to lie: It was kind of a strange day today,” Knights coach Justin Wilcox said. “Overall, I am torn on the results of the day. We had some highs and some lows — some guys that really stepped up and some guys that disappointed, unfortunately. I was happy that we were able to take third despite being down quite a few guys in the lineup for various reasons (injuries, illness, not making weight). A lot of placing third was because we had a lot of people step up.”

The team's ladies got their chance to shine in the spotlight Sunday, Jan. 11, competing at the Freddie Girls Middle School Invitational Tournament at Fredericktown High School.

Claire Hoover (freshman, 110) came home with a sixth-place finish, posting a 2-2 record with both wins coming by fall. Classmate Josie Hoover (104) finished 1-2.

Attack Team

The Holmes Area Wrestling Club Elementary Attack Team wrapped up its dual meet season Jan. 11, hammering Ashland 87-28 before blowing out Triway 106-6 and Crestview 109-6 in Ohio Youth Wrestling Association Mid-Ohio Division action at Crestview High School.

“After these three dual meets, we finish the season 11-1,” Attack Team coach Jarret Mathie said. “That is pretty darn good if you ask me. I was a little worried to start the day. Much like last week, our warm-ups started off slow. After bringing them in for a quick conversation, they responded positively and were ready to wrestle.”