COLUMBUS — For the three remaining area wrestlers in the 2008 OHSAA State Wrestling tournament at the Jerome Schottenstein Center on Saturday, it was just a matter of where they would stand on the podium. Each had clinched All-Ohio honors the day before.
Sophomore Scott Spreng of Loudonville placed the highest of all area wrestlers, taking sixth place on the podium at 103 pounds in Division III, despite losing a pair of matches on Saturday. The first loss was by a major decision in the consolation semifinals to Tyler Reed of Waterford. That placed Spreng in the fifth-place final against Jordan Hancock of Troy Christian, where he lost a 9-5 decision.
“It was a good experience for a young kid like Scott, as a sophomore, to not only be able to place but to go 3-3 for the tournament,” Loudonville coach Steve Furlong said. “Being sixth in the state is a pretty awesome thing.”
Spreng said, “It was a tough day, but I realize, it is over and it has been a great season for me and great experience for next year.”
Spreng’s finish was no surprise to Furlong, who watched him improve all season long.
“About halfway through the season, the coaching staff and I realized that we had something special in Scott,” said Furlong. “He had always worked hard, but his hard work had started to come together. You could see it in the practice room and even in some of the matches that he lost earlier during the year. He is just a real smart kid who picks things up pretty quick. He wrestled a brutal schedule. Every week, it seemed, he wrestled someone in the top 10. He kept learning from those matches. It paid off.”
Spreng has two more seasons to look forward to and, for him, the sky is the limit.
“I plan on moving up a weight class next year and it will be tougher that way,” said Spreng, “But having another year under my belt and making the state this year will make me a lot more confident and ready to go next year.”
In Saturday’s seventh-place Division III finals, 135-pound junior Chris Block of Johnstown won by a decision over Ryan Smith of Massillon Tuslaw, 5-3, to capture the spot on the podium.
“I just didn’t want to end my season with a loss, so I just went out there and wrestled my hardest so I could have something good to end my season with,” a tired and relieved Block said.
Johnstown coach Brad Todd said, “He came out aggressive and went after the kid (Smith). It looked like (Smith), who was a senior, lost the match before and looked down on himself. I knew that if Chris came in aggressive and kept on the attack, he would wear the guy down and break him.”
Block’s success in the State Tournament can nearly be packed into the space of a few seconds.
Friday’s exciting come-from-behind 4-3 decision against district champion Quintin Cooperider of Marion Pleasant in the final seconds of their match was a big key to Block’s success in the tournament.
“It was important, because he (Cooperider) won my district,” said Block. “I knew it was going to be a good match. In those last 30 seconds, I really went at him.”
“Once (Block) did that,” said Todd. “It was a huge relief. Doing it in the final seconds, was really a turn for him in the tournament. That was a match where if you win you place and, if you don’t, you go home.”
Block finished the tournament with a medal, memories and valuable experience.
“Now, I know what the State Tournament is like and I know what to expect next year,” said Block. “Now, I know what I have to work on and practice. I always wanted to go on to college and wrestle, and make a name for myself. This will really help me out.”
Clear Fork senior heavyweight Dalton Britt finished the season win a quick pin in the Division II seventh-place final. Britt planted James Reynolds of Toledo Libbey with 50 seconds to go in the first period.
“I wanted to go out with a bang,” said Britt. “Being it was my last high school wrestling match, I wanted to get him right away. I threw him to his back.”
Clear Fork coach Brian Faust said, “That was the same guy that he had wrestled at the district finals and (Britt) did the same thing — a first period pin — so I think he had a mental edge going into the match.”
It was Britt’s last chance to excel in front of the crowd.
“I think, at that point, he had lost a couple of matches and he was just not going to be denied,” said Faust. “He was really fired up. It’s his first year on the podium. He’s really excited. We’ve had a good run and we’ve come a long way.”
“It was pretty cool,” said Britt. “I was proud of myself. Like any wrestler, I wish I had placed higher in the state, but I settled for what I could get and the best was seventh.”
Also, in the Division III first-place final, 152-pound Jedd Moore of Marion Pleasant won by a decision over Christian Ortolani of Sandusky St. Mary, 9-2, to stand atop the podium for the second year in a row. Moore was a state placer for Mount Vernon in 2006.