ASHLAND — If Colt Sponseller needed a sales pitch to attract local wrestlers to Ashland University, he wouldn’t need to say a word.
The fifth-year Eagles coach could just show them the list of his team’s qualifiers to this week’s NCAA Division II national championships.
Ashland, ranked 20th in the nation, will have one of the largest groups in its 60-plus-year history competing at nationals when it hits the mats Friday in Indianapolis.
Nearly half of the eight Eagles heading to the Hoosier State for the two-day event went to high schools within 15 minutes of AU’s campus.
Madison’s Nate Barrett, Crestview’s Hayden Kuhn and Mapleton’s Brock Durbin all will be in action Friday with hopes of pushing Ashland toward the top of the team standings while aiming for All-American status in the process.
“I’ve talked a lot about how I want to build a fence around (the Ashland area) and I want to keep local local,” Sponseller said. “I want to display the best from the area at Ashland University and I want them to wear the Eagle logo and go out there and accomplish their goals.”
Also on the current AU roster after competing in local high school conferences are former Ashland Arrows Brady Welch (sophomore at 184) and Hayden Flynn (redshirt sophomore at 174), West Holmes graduate Elisha Baldridge (sophomore heavyweight) and Waynedale product Peyton Lemon (redshirt sophomore at 184).
Wrestling in Ohio is a big deal to Sponseller, who won three state titles at West Holmes (157-13 career record) before moving on to become an All-American at Ohio State University (105-24).
When he took over the program at Ashland after assistant coaching stints at Ohio University and Edinboro University, he already carried a passion for the Eagles with him into the locker room.
Sponseller said essentially every wrestling coach he had up until his high school graduation competed for AU.
Now in his fifth season leading the Eagles, Sponseller already claims four Great Midwest Athletic Conference crowns, a regional title, a seventh-place finish at nationals and eight All-Americans.
This year’s squad was ranked as high as No. 16 in Division II and put together Ashland’s best dual-meet record in over a decade (13-2) — with five of those wins coming against Top 15 teams.
AU was runner-up as a team in the Super Regional Three tournament March 1, finishing just behind seventh-ranked Glenville State (129-126.5).
“Up and down, this is one of the most solid, consistent lineups we’ve had since I’ve been here,” Sponseller said. “That’s hard to do in a wrestling season because it’s so long.”
How this season is remembered down the road will hinge a lot on this week’s results, and that’s where Barrett, Kuhn and Durbin will play a massive role.
It’s a fascinating mix of area talent, with the trio almost resembling rungs on a ladder of collegiate success.
Durbin (27-15 at 141 pounds) is the rare true freshman to qualify to nationals. He took some lumps early in the season, was individually ranked for a time and eventually was a G-MAC runner-up.
Kuhn (30-7, ranked No. 15 at 149) is a sophomore who used the experience of a 21-15 freshman campaign to catapult himself to a GMAC title and Ashland’s first 30-win season since former national champion (and current AU assistant coach) Bret Romanzak in 2019-20.
Meanwhile, Barrett (29-10, No. 9 at 165) is a redshirt junior headed to nationals for the third consecutive season. One of the Eagle veterans, he’s got a 72-25 career record and was the G-MAC Freshman of the Year in 2022-23, when he also finished as an All-American (eighth place).
All three of them placed third in their weight classes at regionals this month, but all three are at very different stages of their college careers.
“That feeling of qualifying, that never goes away,” Barrett said. “I didn’t win (a regional title), but all that matters is getting to the dance, getting to nationals.
“I’m really excited and really proud of all the guys that made it.”
In his high school days at Madison, Barrett dealt with a few wrestling roadblocks, first battling through a shoulder injury as a sophomore, then watching COVID cancel out his trip to the state tournament as a junior.
He finally got to show his full arsenal as a senior, posting a 50-5 record and a third-place finish at state to close out his career as a Ram with a 140-34 mark.
“The guy puts in the time; he’s the veteran of our group, essentially, so he leads by example and he’s been fantastic,” Sponseller said of Barrett, who also was a three-year letterman in football at Madison. “He brings that experience, brings that intensity, brings that hard work everyday. Other guys feed off of that.”
For Kuhn, this year’s breakout should come as no surprise to anyone who followed him during his career at Crestview.
A standout, four-year letterman in wrestling, football and track for the Cougars, he never had fewer than 42 wins in a season (181-22 career record).
Kuhn was Crestview’s first three-time state placer (finishes of third, fourth and third) and its only four-time Firelands Conference champ.
Sponseller said the sophomore built a solid base of experience while getting a feel for things last season.
“It was trial by fire coming into the lineup as a true freshman,” the coach said. “He spent a lot of the summer and the offseason preparing and he came out a lot more consistent and knew what to expect.
“It has paid off. He’s beaten a lot of good kids this year and I’m really excited to see him perform at nationals because I think he’s built the confidence. He’s right there, he’s just got to get over a little bit of a hump and then the sky’s the limit.”
Durbin doesn’t know what it means to not make it to the season’s final tournament.
At Mapleton, he was a four-time state placer (two-time runner-up) while accumulating a 158-18 career mark.
With 10 varsity letters to his name for the Mounties (also golf and track), he was 87-4 in his final two seasons on the mats at MHS.
Sponseller said Durbin’s season has been similar to what Kuhn went through as a freshman.
“The beautiful thing about it is he has the experience of others around him to help him build off of that,” Sponseller said. “He has a room that helps him get better every day.
“He’s had a very good year, so to get that experience and to punch his ticket to nationals is just awesome. That’s an experience many true freshmen don’t have.”
During his final two years at Mapleton, Durbin was part of a smaller roster — plenty different from Kuhn’s experience at FC rival Crestview, which won two league titles during his time in high school.
The former Mountie said competing on the college level has changed things in that regard.
“It’s a lot different for me because we didn’t have a big team my last two years,” Durbin said, “so having the support system and people here to push me has been very helpful.”
The fact that Barrett, Kuhn and Durbin all have more seasons remaining to compete at Ashland is another glaring trend and upside within this year’s national qualifiers for the Eagles.
Among the eight headed to Indianapolis, only Kaine Morris (26-10, 14th at 197) is a senior. The other four include juniors Wyatt Bailey (21-10 at heavyweight), Rittman product Sevi Garza (28-3, fifth at 174), sophomore Luke Acuna (28-9, 14th at 125) and freshman Lance Overmyer (29-12 at 157).
It certainly sets Ashland up with some sky-high potential for the coming seasons as well.
“We’ve got a great group right now and I’m not trying to look too much into the future,” Kuhn said. “We’re all focusing on this weekend, but it’s a good feeling to have in the back of your mind that we’re going to have a really good team next year as well.”
It certainly should help keep Ashland’s standing as one of the best in the region intact. Last year’s regional title was AU’s first in six years, and the Eagles have been the runaway powerhouse in the G-MAC.
“It definitely makes it nice because you know you’re going to have the same guys that you can train with next year,” Durbin said, “and you know you can push each other day-by-day and you all have the same goal of making it to nationals and getting on top of that podium.”
Impressively for Barrett, Durbin and Kuhn, all three are on a pace that would land them with more than 100 career wins apiece at Ashland. Only 17 wrestlers have accomplished that in program history.
But right now, all the Eagles are locked on is this week.
Barrett said last year’s disappointing finish at nationals — none of AU’s five survived opening day — is something he made sure to keep front-and-center this winter.
“You never want to forget that feeling of no one making it (to the second day) and that fuels you. It’s fueled me all season,” the junior said. “It can be anybody’s day at nationals. It’s March Madness for a reason.”
