Area wrestlers advance to district tournaments

Dover’s wrestling team placed fourth at the Avon Lake Sectional with 121 points Feb. 28, trailing Medina Highland, 315, Avon Lake, 249, and Mentor, 213. The Tornadoes will send six athletes and one alternate to the Perrysburg District this weekend.

Advancing individually were sectional champion junior Frank Ramirez at 106 pounds and runners-up senior Brock Reynolds at 113 and junior Jackson Criner at 175. Also qualifying were freshman Mason Shull, fourth at 126; sophomore Patrick Moran, fourth at 157; and freshman Jackson Cedillo Herrera, fourth at 285. Freshman Aiden Anderson will serve as a district alternate after finishing fifth at 165. Freshman Gaspar Guzaro Raymundo at 120, junior Aayden Rader at 150 and senior Matthew Christmas at 190 each placed sixth.

A pair of New Philadelphia wrestlers qualified for the Wadsworth District with strong performances at the Euclid Sectional last Saturday. The Quakers also had one alternate and two additional podium finishes among their nine wrestlers. New Philadelphia finished ninth out of 10 teams with 124 points. Louisville won with 330.

Senior Tyler Ulmer was sectional runner-up at 132 pounds. Junior Zayne Kozelka placed third at 175 after battling back from a semifinal loss. Senior Kyle Beaber at 113 earned a district alternate spot with a fifth-place finish. Senior Camden Richardson at 138 and freshman Luke Zadra at 150 each placed sixth.

Sandy Valley and Newcomerstown turned in solid performances at the Division III sectional hosted by Sandy Valley. The Cardinals placed fourth with 114 points, just behind Buckeye Local’s 119. Sandy Valley crowned one sectional champion, had three runners-up and advanced five wrestlers to districts. Newcomerstown scored 97 points to place among the 15 teams, finishing with two runners-up and five district qualifiers.

Sophomore Owen Simpson won a sectional title for Sandy Valley at 132 pounds. Senior Aidan Douglas, junior Asher Crissey at 120 and senior Jaysen Sonson at 138 each finished as runners-up. Junior Hunter Knepper placed third at 144 to advance.

For Newcomerstown, sophomore Chase Norman at 106 and senior Gage McGinnis at 190 each finished second. Sophomore Chris Adamik at 132, freshman Marshall Ellis at 175 and junior Martin Hernandez at 285 each placed third to qualify. Freshman Alexander Rodriguez added a sixth-place finish at 157.

At the Barnesville Sectional, also in Division III, Tusky Valley sophomore Cael McMurray was the lone area district qualifier. He placed fourth at 175. Tusky Valley had three wrestlers competing. Barnesville won the team title with 295 points and advanced all 14 wrestlers to districts.