LEXINGTON — In wrestling, fortunes can all turn on a dime.
On Wednesday evening, not enough turned in Highland’s favor as the Scots lost their semifinal showdown with the River Valley Vikings, 42-33, in the OHSAA Division II Regional Team Wrestling Tournament.
The Scots came in evenly matched with their Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference rival.
“(River Valley) had a lot of experience in the lower weights,” said Highland coach Adam Gilmore. “We had a lot in the upper weights. It came down to a lot of bonuses. They got a lot of pins early and we couldn’t come back from it.”
All went according to script as the Vikings won all the weight classes under 160 pounds except for 138. That’s where Highland’s Jake Limings scored a technical fall on Alec O’Brien of River Valley.
Down 4-0 after the first period, Highland senior David Fisher pulled out an 11-6 victory over Gage Stuckman in their 160-pound match.
Fellow senior Jeremy Johnson scored the Scots’ first pin of the match, planting Garrett Trafzer with 12.9 seconds to go in the second period to win at 170 pounds.
Jeff Shell, another Highland senior, looked like a sure bet to deliver a win at 182 pounds. Shell, who was tied with River Valley’s Jordan Hale after two periods, 8-8, was outwrestling him in the final period. It looked like Shell was going to finish with a win until Hale turned the tables on him, pinning him with 9.1 seconds to go in the match.
“That was just fundamental wrestling,” said Gilmore. “When your feet stop moving, bad things happen.”
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