COLUMBUS — It was a day of triumph, disappointment and redemption.
The 2008 OHSAA State Wrestling Tournament at the Jerome Scottenstein Center continued on Friday, with mixed results for area wrestlers.
In the Division II Championship Quarterfinal, Clear Fork heavyweight Dalton Britt lost a 7-2 decision to Derek Wolfe of Lisbon Beaver. Both wrestlers were battling each other as well as nagging injuries, especially Wolfe, who sustained a minor injury midway through the match after both wrestlers fell out of bounds.
“He (Wolfe) outworked us. He outwrestled us,” Clear Fork coach Brian Faust said. “It was as simple as that.
“At this point in the season most of these guys are banged up. Dalton is banged up, (Wolfe) is probably banged up, too. We don’t have any excuses — Wolfe outworked us.”
Britt came back in consolation round 2 to best Alex Jackson of Bellevue Benjamin Logan, 5-2. In the consolation quarterfinal, held Saturday evening, Christopher Holcomb of Wilmington pinned Britt 44 seconds into the first period. That will leave Britt wrestling for seventh place today.
In Division III, Loudonville’s 103-pounder, Scott Spreng, pinned Chris Yeary of Reading with 23 seconds to go in the third period of their consolation round 2 match.
“I think that coach will agree that I didn’t wrestle my very best match, whether it was nerves or whatever,” said Spreng.
Explaining the late-match reversal and win, Spreng said, “I knew it was either win that one or go home, so I saw my chance and I had a good shot.”
Earlier in the day, Spreng lost a decision to Jordan Hancock of Troy Christian in the championship quarterfinal.
“It was good and bad,” said Spreng. “It was bad that I lost, but in the long run, it got me refocused.”
Spreng came back to score a major decision in the evening’s consolation quarterfinal round, defeating Tyler Thompson of Brookfield, 15-6. The win gives Spreng a chance to wrestle for third place on Saturday.
“I love the experience,” said Scott. “I have never been down here before. My goal was to come down here and get a win. Now, it is to place as high as I can.”
Loudonville coach Steve Furlong was happy with Spreng’s performance, saying, “That’s hard to do as a sophomore. To come down and win your first match is tough. Then to wrestle the No. 2 and No. 3 ranked kids in the state back-to-back is so hard. He had a little letdown in the quarterfinals and we didn’t wrestle our style, and let the other kid control the tempo of the match. Then he found a way to win against this kid.”
Chris Block of Johnstown won a close decision in the 135-pound class, to Quintin Cooperrider of Marion Pleasant, 4-3. Block was trailing for most of the match and had a narrow escape before taking control. Down 3-2, Block got a reversal on Cooperider in the last few seconds of the bout to stave off elimination in the tournament and gain a spot on the podium.
With Johnstown coach Brad Todd shouting encouragement Block showed why he got to the state.
“In those last 30 seconds, I really turned it on,” said Block. “I wasn’t going home without a medal.”
“I was a little worried,” said Todd. “Obviously, when you are coming from behind and you dont have the lead, you get a little anxious. Knowing Chris, I knew that he would keep after it and give it his best shot. Fortunately, he got the takedown.”
In the evening match, Zac Clum of Spencerville decisoned Block, in the consolation quarterfinals, 7-1. The loss puts Block in the seventh-place match on Saturday.
Despite the loss, Block knows he has a spot on the podium.
“I can do it now. It’s going to happen,” said Block.
Highland’s Mike Sheppard (119 pounds) lost a close decision in consolation round 2 against Kyle Begg of Bluffton, 4-3, and was eliminated.
Notes: Former Mount Vernon state-placer Jedd Moore of Marion Pleasant won a decision against Mason True of Arcadia, 4-3, in the championship quarterfinal of the 152-pound class in Division III. Moore went on to defeat Jared Kusar of Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy, 4-1, in the championship quarterfinal. That gives Moore a shot at repeating as state champ.
In the DII championship quarterfinals, 103-pounder Dustin Carter of Hillsboro lost, 5-1, to Andrew Romanchik of Parma Padua Franciscan.
Carter, who lost his arms and legs to a serious blood disease, was down 1-0 in the third period and tied it up with just under a minute to go at 1-1. It appeared that he was going to battle to another overtime but, in the last few seconds of the bout, Romanchik got behind the quick Carter and rolled him over, gaining a reversal and a fall for an instant four points.
In consolation round two, Cody McGee of Minerva decisioned Carter, 5-3.
“I’ll never forget it,” said Carter, “I’ll probably brag about it my whole life. I will always wake up and remember these last few days. The whole year, the adventure it was on the way here, the hard work I put in, the blood, the sweat, the tears and everything we did to get to this tournament.”