Wooster wrestling shows improvement at OCC Meet

The Wooster High School wrestling program is on the rise.

The Generals proved that with a fifth-place performance at the Ohio Cardinal Conference Meet held Feb. 21 at Ashland.

The Generals had just one OCC placer in 2025 but upped that total to six at the 2026 league clash.

Freshman Vincenzo Peretti led the way with a runner-up finish at 126 pounds.

Finishing third were freshman Owen Zidron (120) and sophomore Brant Barnard (157) while finishing fourth were sophomores Jalyn Flinders (144), Sawyer Mann (165) and Owen Bailey (215).

“We battled hard,” Wooster coach Brian Teter said. “Last year we had one kid that placed, so to get six is pretty good. Our team is continuing to improve every year. We only have one senior in our lineup, with the rest freshmen and sophomores. Being able to have those guys continue to grow in the next couple years is gonna be exciting to watch.”

Host Ashland three-peated as OCC champion with 425.5 points, led by eight champions.

West Holmes, coming off a program-best third at the OHSWCA Division II State Duals, was second with 319 points.

Rounding out the field were Madison (202), New Philadelphia (139.5), Wooster (130), Dover (125), Lexington (99.5) and Mansfield Senior (20).

“Every weight class had three or four guys who are ranked in the state,” Teter said. “For Vinny to come here and be in the championship match and our other guys in the third-place match, it's really a big accomplishment.

“It’s one of our tougher tournaments every year, even though there's only eight teams, because you know there's not going to be an easy match. You have to come in and battle. You might be grinding (in the pool format) for four, five or even six matches.”

Peretti wrestled an exciting championship bout that was tied in the third period before falling against West Holmes senior Gabe Umstead, 18-12.

“It’s great, but I can still improve, and I'm going to get better, so hopefully next year I can come out and win,” said Peretti, whose record is 31-9 entering the sectional.

“Vinny wrestled well,” Teter said. “There's some things we could definitely improve on, but he wrestled (Umstead) in the first round and got beat up a little bit. Then he was able to come back, have a little more energy in that finals match and really put on a show. It's exciting to see against a kid who's a senior. He's wrestled a ton, and for Vinny to be a freshman and be able to compete with him and almost beat him in there at the end, that’s impressive.”

For the championship matches, the lights were dimmed, and a spotlight was lowered over the center mat.

“It was really cool. I did have some butterflies before the match,” Peretti said.

Experiences like the OCC Meet will help the young Generals in the postseason tournament and further down the road.

“Zidron (20-14) and Barnard (30-10) have been grinding all year, and it was nice to see them get thirds,” Teter said. “They work hard in practice. They really kind of lead their teammates. Flinders (17-12), Mann (6-12) and Bailey (13-16) all did a good job too.

“We don't have a ton of guys on our team, finishing the season with 18, but they're really a great group of guys. They want to be around each other. They goof off sometimes. They hang out outside of wrestling, and it’s a great core that will keep getting better in the future.”