Blue Lions advance to dual meet Regional semis

0

The Washington Blue Lions hosted quarterfinal matches in the Division II Regional dual team wrestling tournament Wednesday evening.

Teams taking part included SCOL rivals Chillicothe, Wilmington and McClain.

In the first round, Washington defeated Chillicothe, 62-6 and Wilmington topped McClain, 53-28.

That set up a rematch between the Hurricane and the Blue Lions.

Back on Jan. 7, Washington hosted an SCOL regular season dual match with Wilmington.

That ended tied, 39-39. Going to criteria, Wilmington was awarded one point for having more pins, winning the match, 40-39.

Wednesday’s match was heading for another close finish, but, pins by Mason McCane at 182 and Trevor Hicks at heavyweight gave the Blue Lions a 42-33 victory.

Washington now advances to the Regional semifinals on Wednesday, Feb. 3 where they will be matched up against Miami Trace.

In the other half of that bracket, New Richmond will take on Western Brown. Those matches will go simultaneously at 5 p.m. with the winners to meet 20 minutes after the last match is concluded to see who will win a Regional championship and a trip to the State dual quarterfinals at St. John Arena in Columbus.

“It was a great match between two very tough teams,” Washington head coach Louis Reid said of his Blue Lions versus Wilmington. “The Wilmington kids came out and, we knew how tough they were. They beat us last time on criteria. Our kids were pretty hungry to get a win.

“We talked about the importance of wrestling at home and wrestling in these State duals,” Reid said. “If you lose one, you’re out. These guys are our second team to make it to the Regional semifinals. This senior group wanted to leave their mark. This year’s theme is, it’s all about the family. Tonight, it was a family effort to get these two wins.

“I was happy with everyone, from 106 to heavyweight,” Reid said. “No one gave up. Everyone gave their best effort. I’m really ecstatic about it. Hats off to the Wilmington coaching staff. They do a great job with their kids and every year they’re tough. They’ve been to the state final eight.

“The SCOL is a tough wrestling league,” Reid said. “Clinton-Massie beat us last week, 41-40. Every match in our league is very tough. Year-in and year-out, we have State placers. Every program in the league does a great job.

“Collin George (106) picked up a big pin against Wilmington,” Reid said. “That kid pinned Collin last time around.

“Tre Thomas bumped up to 126 and picked up a big win there,” Reid said. “We decided to move some kids around in our line-up to get some better match-ups. In wrestling, it’s all about match-ups.

“We put Jay Fettig in (at 132) and he gave us a great effort against a kid who is ranked really high in the state,” Reid said. “We moved Zane Nelson to 138 and he picked up a pin.

“Chris Conger moved up to 145 and he lost a close match to a kid who pinned him last time,” Reid said. “We moved Austin Hixon up to 152 and he picked up a big pin.

“We lost two in a row and then Mason McCane picked up a huge pin for us at 182,” Reid said. “The Tolliver kid is really tough and we caught him and pinned him.

“Steven Willis lost a tough one and Colton McNichols wrestled tough into the third period,” Reid said. “He’s split with that kid now.

“Trevor Hicks, at the end, he was patient,” Reid said. “That patience paid off when he ran a butcher, pinning combination, and picked up the pin that locked up the win for us.”

Last week, Washington wrestled at Hillsboro and won that match before the above-mentioned one-point loss to Clinton-Massie. The Blue Lions finished 4-3 in SCOL regular season duals, putting them in fourth place heading into the tournament on Feb. 6 at East Clinton.

Miami Trace went through the league undefeated at 7-0. Wilmington went 6-1; Clinton-Massie sits third at 5-2.

Washington is off Saturday. Their next match is against Miami Trace on Feb. 3.

Washington 62, Chillicothe 6

106- Collin George (W) won by forfeit

113- Chris Martin (W) dec DJ Upton-Barrows 10-5

120- Tre Thomas (W) won by forfeit

126- Chance Hall (W) won by forfeit

132- Zane Nelson (W) won by forfeit

138- Chris Conger (W) pinned Daries Harris 1:20

145- Conor Chrisman (W) was dec by Nick Lawhorn 8-5

152- Austin Hixon (W) dec De’Andre Haubeil 12-2

160- Elijah Shawn (W) dec Casey Crawford 7-5

170- Ethan Stewart (W) dec Joseph Hilliard 4-3

182- Mason McCane (W) pinned Jakob Staggs 1:50

195- Steven Willis (W) won by forfeit

220- Colton McNichols (W) dec Collin Lindsey 12-3

285- Trevor Hicks (W) pinned Nick Colley 4:12

Washington 42, Wilmington 33

106- Cameron Smart was pinned by Collin George 55:07

113- Sawyer Garrison pinned Chris Martin 1:20

120- Wilmington forfeits to Courtney Walker

126- Collin Greene was pinned by Tre Thomas 2:50

132- Jacob Boldman pinned Jay Fettig 0:41

138- Trent Holliday was pinned by Zane Nelson 1:01

145- Isaac Allen dec Chris Conger 4-3

152- Scott Gehlbach was pinned by Austin Hixon 0:40

160- Bryant Bergefurd pinned Elijah Shaw 0:42

170- Doug Eastes dec Ethan Stewart 8-4

182- RJ Tolliver was pinned by Mason McCane 4:45

195- Briten Kessler dec Steven Willis 3-0

220- Gage Smith pinned Colton McNichols 4:35

285- Wesley Lunsford was pinned by Trevor Hicks 1:49

Wilmington 53 McClain 28

106- Cameron Smart (W) tech fall Shane Huff 18-2

113- Sawyer Garrison (W) won by forfeit

120- Tanner Tite (M) won by forfeit

126- Collin Greene (W) was pinned by Keegan Rowlins 1:19

132- Jacob Boldman (W) pinned Aaron Kovach 1:01

138- Trent Holliday (W) was pinned by Sid Wardlow 0:29

145- Isaac Allen (W) pinned Tommy Johnson 3:40

152- Scott Gehlbach (W) was dec by Kyler Trefz 15-4

160- Bryant Bergefurd (W) was pinned by Jake Badgley 2:56

170- Doug Eastes (W) pinned Ethan Taylor 3:27

182- RJ Tolliver (W) won by forfeit

195- Briten Kessler (W) won by forfeit

220- Gage Smith (W) won by forfeit

285- Wesley Lunsford (W) won by forfeit

Washington senior Austin Hixon wrestles Chillicothe’s De’Andre Haubeil at 152 pounds in the Regional dual team tournament quarterfinals Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2016 at Washington High School. Hixon won this match, 12-2.
http://www.recordherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2016/01/web1_wash_hixon.jpgWashington senior Austin Hixon wrestles Chillicothe’s De’Andre Haubeil at 152 pounds in the Regional dual team tournament quarterfinals Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2016 at Washington High School. Hixon won this match, 12-2. Mark Huber | Civitas Media
WHS notches wins over Cavs, ‘Cane

By Chris Hoppes

[email protected]

Reach Chris Hoppes at 740-335-3611, ext. 1104, or on Twitter @choppes1

No posts to display