WEST SALEM – Mapleton’s Brock Durbin keeps checking milestones off his list.
On Saturday at Northwestern High School, the senior captured his fourth Division III sectional title. In doing so, he surpassed 150 career victories and improved to 39-1 this season with an 18-2 technical fall and a pair of pins at 144 pounds.
His effort was the headliner of the area’s output at Northwestern, where juniors Chase Sword (Mapleton) and Lincoln Jones (Hillsdale) also survived.
Sword (18-12) was a runner-up at 120, improving upon third-place sectional finishes in 2022 and 2023. On Saturday, he logged a pair of pins before falling in his title match.
Jones, meanwhile, made big news for the Falcons, becoming their first district qualifier since 2022. His 5-2 decision in a third-place semifinal led to a fourth-place finish, as Jones is now 22-10.
Hillsdale also has a district alternate in Jason McClure, who was fifth at 113.
Loudonville advances four to district tourney
ROOTSTOWN – After a 10th-place finish in its Division III sectional last season at Northwestern, Loudonville competed at Rootstown on Saturday and put together a sixth-place team effort (119 points).
Four Redbirds advanced to next week’s district tournament, including three who survived last year’s sectional – Issac Wittel (runner-up at 144 pounds), Josh Serrato (third at 138) and Tyler Reeder (fourth at 120). Baylor Weiser (runner-up at 165) also moved on for the Redbirds, who had a fifth-place alternate in Josh Gregory at 190.
Wittel picked up his 40th win of the season with an 18-9 major decision in his semifinal before being pinned in the title match. The senior is now 40-10 for the year and is a four-time district qualifier.
Weiser, meanwhile, ripped through his weight class with three pins before being pinned himself in the championship match. The senior now is 41-8 on the season.
Serrato, who had fourth-place finishes at sectionals the last two seasons, bumped up to third place on Saturday after a 4-1 outing that included two pins. He’s now 31-10 in his senior season.
Reeder was 2-2 on Saturday, moving to 33-13 while claiming fourth for the second year in a row.
Mapleton, Crestview girls advance 4 total to regionals
CLYDE – Four area girls wrestlers used Friday night’s first-ever pre-regional tournament at Clyde High School as a showcase for their talent.
Mapleton’s Taren Kramer, Skylar Hopstetter and Zoe Hunt were joined by Crestview’s Naomi Gearheart in advancing to the regional tournament March 3 at Marysville.
Kramer was dominant en route to her 140-pound title, posting three pins. The junior is 34-11 on the season with a school-record 32 pins.
Only a freshman, Gearheart also rolled at 155, winning both of her matches by pin to improve to 23-3 this season with 22 pins. It was her fourth tournament title of the season.
Hopstetter competed at 145, where she finished third after collecting three pins in under 90 seconds each. The sophomore is now 32-14 with 30 pins this winter.
Rounding out the area quartet was Hunt, a junior who placed fourth at 125 behind an 8-1 victory in her third-place semifinal.
