ASHLAND — The most critical month of the high school wrestling season is here for local squads, with conference championships looming in just a few weeks and the win-or-go-home sectional tournaments arriving at the end of February.
There is never a dull season on the mats in the Ashland area.
Based on the most recent projections from wrestling analyst Billy Schaefer a pair of local standouts — Mapleton senior Brock Durbin and Crestview senior Caleb Cunningham — are favored to compete for individual state titles.
In total, 10 of the 12 area boys and girls wrestlers noted among the best in their weight class either by Schaefer or at americanwomenswrestling.com are either freshmen or seniors.
Meanwhile, when it comes to conference tournaments, it’s rare for a season to pass without Ashland or Crestview making big noise near the top. Despite new head coaches at both programs — Tommy Bauer at AHS and Nate Godsey at CHS — that should hold true yet again.
Here’s a look at some local names to keep an eye on as February kicks off, based on information turned in by area coaches and online projections.
Ashland
Since 2016, the Arrows have either won the Ohio Cardinal Conference or placed second every season. Their run of five titles in six years — including four straight from 2016 through 2019 — was one of the best in area history.
If Division I Ashland is to make things interesting again, it will be leaning on a youth movement of freshmen to complement some talented seniors making their final push.
One of the top upperclassmen around, senior and two-time state qualifier Cayden Spotts boasts a 28-6 record at 215 pounds and has Top 5 finishes in four events, highlighted by the Sarver Invitational (first), Medina Invitational (third) and J.C. Gorman Invitational (fourth).
Spotts is ranked eighth at 215 and, according to Bauer, has been a crucial leader for a young team.
Other Arrow upperclassmen the coach said are turning in solid campaigns are senior returning district qualifiers Noah Fent (ranked No. 24 at 150) and Tyler Dodson (144), and junior Cooper Smith (21-10 at 190).
The rest of the Ashland movement resides within its ninth-grade class, led by an explosive first high school season from Mason Bauer.
A trio of invitational crowns at the Sarver, Medina and Gorman invitationals is just part of his 31-1 record. The son of Ashland’s head coach, Bauer is ranked No. 6 at 106.
Also a Gorman and Sarver champ, freshman Guardian Miller is ranked ninth at 126. He’s got a 29-5 mark and a fifth-place finish at the Medina Invitational to his credit.
Add in projected district qualifiers Max Ohl (19-9 at 113) and Isaak Wickham (17-8 at 132) and Ashland’s future remains bright.
The Arrows collected road dual wins over defending OCC-champion Mount Vernon and Strongsville in the last week.
They’ll face No. 8-ranked Mentor on Friday at Ashland University; will have their Senior Night on Feb. 7 against Lexington; and follow that with the OCC Championships on Feb. 10 at Madison.
Their sectional tournament opens Feb. 24 at Avon Lake.
Crestview
The Cougars have been running a close league-heavyweight parallel with Ashland since 2017. The Division III program has won four of the last seven Firelands Conference crowns while never finishing below third during the stretch.
Godsey got to know the Crestview squad well last winter as an assistant coach before taking over this season, and the results have been solid.
Despite an uber-challenging tournament schedule, the Cougars still have eight grapplers with double-digit wins (seven with double-digit pins); feature a potential state champ in Cunningham at heavyweight; and have one of Ohio’s most promising freshman girls in Naomi Gearheart.
The story has to start with Cunningham (24-3), who was eighth in Ohio last season at 215 before bulking up enough to bump up a class.
He ran away with a title at the Gorman by trouncing Galion’s Alex Griffith (No. 2 in Division II) by a 10-0 count, and 18 of his 24 wins have come by pin.
Since taking two losses to out-of-state standouts in the heralded Walsh Ironman, Cunningham’s lone defeat came at the Kenston Invitational against Division I’s third-ranked Antonio Bottiggi of Riverside.
Jaden Hedrick (144), another returning FC champ, is Crestview’s other leading senior, posting 12 pins and a 20-7 record. He’s got runner-up finishes at Elgin and the Gorman.
As for underclassmen, Godsey looks to have a wealth of talent.
Top sophomores include Jack Stephens at 165 (23-8, 16 pins, runner-up at Elgin) and Liam Kuhn at 150 (13-13, 10 pins), while freshmen starting off their careers with a bang are Brayden Parrigan at 126 (17-10, 11 pins), Qwintin Howard at 132 (19-10, 13 pins) and Gearheart at 155 (14-2, 14 pins).
Howard is ranked among the Top 25 at his weight while Gearheart is No. 15 among Ohio’s girls at 145. She’s got titles from events at Clyde and Mapleton.
Crestview will have the FC Championships on Feb. 17 at South Central before sectionals arrive the following week.
Hillsdale
The Falcons are in the midst of a major reconstruction following the return of former head coach Dan Mager, who guided the program for two seasons a decade ago.
He has helped Hillsdale build up its roster a year after the team featured just three competitors at the Wayne County Athletic League Championships, where they were unable to score a point on the mats.
A good chunk of the HHS team entered this season having never wrestled before, but the Falcons have a clear-cut leader in Lincoln Jones. The junior is 19-5 at 157 after winning his weight at Northwestern and placing in the rest of the team’s tournaments.
At heavyweight, sophomore Garrett Furr checks in at 9-9 with multiple tournament placements — already one win better than his 8-22 freshman campaign.
Hillsdale heads to Chippewa on Feb. 17 for the WCAL Championships.
Loudonville
No stranger to success on the statewide level during their rich history, the Redbirds could threaten to make a few runs in the Division III postseason.
Senior Isaac Wittel has rolled to a 27-3 record at 150 thus far for head coach Ryan Thatcher, turning in tournament titles at Madison, Northwestern and Utica. He’s ranked 21st in the 144-pound class.
Senior Baylor Weiser is performing at nearly the same pace, boasting a 27-4 mark at 165/175, with titles of his own at both Madison and Utica after taking two years away from the mats.
Leading the LHS junior class is Tyler Reeder at 120/126. He’s 20-8 and appears at the No. 18 spot in the 120 weight-class rankings.
Putting together additional winning records for Loudonville so far have been Josh Serrato (14-7 at 138/144), Brady Smith (12-5 at 144), Dylan Pierce (18-10 at 157/165), Ethin Davis (14-8 at 157/165) and Josh Gregory (18-10 at 190).
Mapleton
The Durbin name has been synonymous with winning at MHS for over a decade now, as senior Brock Durbin has impressively added to the sky-high legacy of his older brother, Zack.
Both sons of Mapleton boys coach Derek Durbin, Zack collected over 180 wins before graduating in 2014, and Brock has done his best to mirror that success. The senior carries a 141-17 career mark, including a 29-1 record this winter, which saw him become just the 22nd wrestler to win three Gorman titles (all at different weight classes).
With his lone loss to St. Edward’s junior Caiden Pirkel, Durbin is aimed at also matching his brother’s four state qualifications; when Zack did it in 2014, he was the first area grappler to accomplish the feat in 12 years. In Division III, he’s ranked second at 144 behind only Brodie Dominique of Archbold.
Derek Durbin said his son should be fun to watch in the postseason again while he attempts to place for the fourth time (runner-up last year with a 41-2 record at 126). Until then, he’ll look to add to his five tournament titles and four tournament Most Valuable Wrestler honors this season alone.
Also for the Mountie boys, Chase Sword has collected a 12-9 record with six wins coming by pin.
Mapleton’s girls, meanwhile, feature a pair of state tournament threats in junior Taren Kramer at 140 (25-8, 24 pins) and sophomore Skylar Hopstetter at 145 (24-9, 23 pins). The duo is coached by Carly Sue Stevens, a former wrestler at Crestview, and both have made waves in tournaments this season.
Hopstetter claimed a title at the Jackson-Brown Brothers Invitational while Kramer has been Top 3 in all but one tournament she has entered this season. She took first in her class at Fostoria and also is ranked 10th in the state at 140.
That said, the Mounties shouldn’t be short on big finishes to the season. The boys travel to South Central for the FC Championships on Feb. 17 and the girls will hit their pre-regionals the first weekend in March.