FINDLAY — When a quartet of
University of Findlay wrestlers head west to Nebraska for the Division II NCAA
National Championships this weekend, former Mount Vernon High School wrestler
Michael Lybarger will be leading the way.
Lybarger took down Ashland University’s Brandon Kelly with seven seconds
left in overtime and defeated him, 3-1, to take the 165-pound crown at the NCAA
Division II Super Region 2 Tournament at the Koehler Center in Findlay on Saturday
With a pair of wrestlers as evenly matched as Lybarger and Kelly, there was little
room for error.
“Yeah, I wrestled him before,” said Lybarger. “He’s a
slow wrestler. I just had to look for an opportunity to score. It went pretty
well.”
Lybarger learned a long time ago that wrestling at this level is a different
experience.
“From high school to college, it’s a whole different ball game,” said
Lybarger. “Middle school to high school is a big step but, high school
to college is, by far, the bigger step. Everyone’s good.”
It’s been a long road for Lybarger, who is doing for Findlay what he did
for four years at Mount Vernon High School.
“Without a doubt, he raised the bar for us at Mount Vernon,” said
Lybarger’s former wrestling coach John Brown. “We’ve had people,
over the years, that have taken the bar and inched it up, but he is probably
the person who has taken it up to this new level to give people something to
shoot for.”
When you go by the numbers Lybarger’s legacy at Mount Vernon cannot be
denied.
“He was an outstanding wrestler for us,” said Brown. “He holds
the most wins in a career with 161. He was 46-3 as a senior. He holds practically
all the near-fall records. He had an outstanding career and I still expect the
same out of him in the Nationals. He is almost certain to place, unless the wheels
fall off the bus.”
For the full story, click here for the March 4, 2011 e-edition
