ASHLAND — Ashland’s Jon Metzger and Cayden Spotts both earned state tournament berths on Saturday at the rugged Division I Perrysburg district wrestling meet.
Metzger fell to Perrysburg’s Jake Wood 7-2 in the finals at 157 pounds. He was 3-1 on the weekend, running his record to 40-10. Last year Metzger finished fifth at the state meet in this division.
Spotts took third at 215 pounds, beating Cleveland Heights’ Darion Thompson 3-0. Spotts fell to Brunswick’s Dominic May in the championship quarterfinals, then battled his way through the consolation bracket with four victories. He was 5-1 on the weekend, running his season record to 40-13.
Division III
Crestview’s Hayden Kuhn and Caleb Cunningham both punched their tickets to the state tournament with third-place finishes at the Division III Rossford district. Plymouth’s Colton Sparks and Bucyrus’ Grant Dowell also earned state bids.
A 144-pounder, Kuhn beat Monroeville’s Landen Roeder 4-0 in the consolation finals. The Ashland University recruit fell to eventual champ Brodie Dominique 4-0 in the winner’s bracket semifinals before stopping Mohawk’s Evan England 6-0 in the consolation semifinals to secure his third straight state berth. Kuhn was 4-1 on the weekend to improve to 38-3.
Cunningham avenged a second-round loss to Genoa’s Ethan Crawford with a 7-1 decision in the 215-pound consolation finals. Crawford pinned Cunningham in the championship quarterfinals Friday, forcing the Crestview junior to win four matches Saturday. Cunningham was 5-1 on the weekend, improving to 19-6 on the year.
Plymouth’s Sparks finished third at 190, beating Delta’s Connor Sintobin in the consolation finals. Sparks won his first match Friday before being pinned by eventual champ Abe DeLano of Ayersville in the champ8onship quarterfinals. Sparks won four matches Saturday to improve to 46-2.
Dowell finished fourth at 138 pounds, falling to Liberty Center’s Jackson Bartels 8-1 in the consolation finals. Dowell won a pair of matches Friday before falling to eventual runner-up Owen Miller of Oak Harbor 3-0 in the championship semifinals. Dowell was 3-2 on the weekend, improving to 50-5 on the season.
