COLUMBUS — It wasn’t the storybook ending Hunter Hutcheson hoped for, but considering everything the Madison junior endured during the previous 72 hours he couldn’t have been any happier.
Hutcheson placed fourth in the Division II 190-pound weight class Sunday morning on the final day of the 85th state wrestling tournament. He beat Galion’s Landon Campbell in overtime in the consolation semifinals before falling to Louisville’s Blake Schaffer in the third-place match.
Hutcheson upset Schaffer, a projected state finalist, in the championship quarterfinals 3-2 on Saturday. Under normal circumstances that would have been the most memorable moment of state championship weekend, but it will go down as a footnote for Hutcheson and the rest of the Madison contingent.
On Friday, Hutcheson and the Madison travel party were southbound on Interstate 71 north of the Gemini Place interchange when the school van they were traveling in was struck by a bullet at the scene of an officer-involved shooting incident. The bullet glanced off the windshield and none of the four occupants was injured.
Madison coach Bryan Mosier asked that members of the media not question Hutcheson about the incident until after the tournament was over. Mosier wanted Hutcheson to focus on the task at hand.
“We tried not to talk about,” Mosier said Sunday afternoon. “I sent a text out to everybody on the team and said we’re fine but please do not text or call. Our goal is wrestling this weekend.”
Hutcheson finally had time to reflect on what happened after his final match Sunday.
“It changes your perspective a little bit,” Hutcheson said. “Life can change so quickly.”
Mosier, who was driving the school van Friday, knows how fortunate the group was. The suspect shot twice at the Madison van.
“One hit the windshield and by the grace of God it didn’t penetrate,” Mosier said. “It was God’s hand on the van, that’s for sure.”
That Hutcheson could focus on the tournament is a testament to his mental make-up, drill partner Mekhi Bradley of Mansfield Senior said.
“It takes a lot of heart to do that,” said Bradley, who placed seventh in the 215-pound weight class. “To come down here and place, it says a lot about his character.”
Senior High coach Jesse Palser agreed.
“To see them go through that then come down here and place at the state tournament, it’s big,” Palser said. “I’m just glad it ricocheted off the glass and didn’t hit anybody.”
Hutcheson, who qualified for state as a sophomore, had a newfound perspective on wrestling on the state’s biggest stage.
“When you go through something like that, you can’t be nervous when you’re wrestling,” Hutcheson said. “Nothing that happens on a wrestling mat compares to that.”
Meat-Grinder: Crestview’s Hayden Kuhn matched Hutcheson with a fourth-place finish in the Division III 132-pound weight class. Kuhn beat Milbury Lake’s Cristian Lecki 4-3 in the consolation semifinals before falling 5-2 to Mechanicsburg’s Trey Allen in the consolation finals.
The Division III 132-pound class may have been the toughest among all three divisions. Of the 16 state qualifiers at 132, seven were previous state placers.
“The weight class was tough, but that’s no excuse. You’ve got to beat the best to be the best,” said Kuhn, who placed third at 126 last year. “It feels good to get fourth, but I want to go out there and get first.”
Marathon Man: The path to the podium was a long one for Ashland’s Jon Metzger. The junior 157-pounder lost his very first match of the tournament before battling his way through the consolation bracket. Metzger placed fifth, beating Louisville’s Brenden Severs in his sixth and final match of the weekend.
“That first one stung for a little bit, but you’ve just got to flush it,” Metzger said. “It’s always good to end the year on a win.
“It was a tough weekend. You’ve got six matches against good opponents. Your body is going to be feeling it for a while.”
Terrific Trio: Mapleton sent three wrestlers to the state tournament and all three earned podium finishes. Brock Durbin was sixth at 120 pounds, while Joe Shoup was sixth at 285. Andrew Sas placed eighth at 138.
“It’s always been a goal of mine to make it to state and to place is awesome,” said Sas, a senior. “Even if I placed eighth.”
Former Teammates: Bradley and Galion’s Landon Campbell were teammates on the Mansfield SWAT youth wrestling team and both won state titles in 2017, when Bradley was a sixth-grader and Campbell was in fifth grade.
Campbell placed sixth at 190 pounds over the weekend.
