COLUMBUS — There are 18,809 seats inside the Value City Arena at Ohio State’s Jerome Schottenstein Center, but neither the venue nor the stage was too big for Crestview’s Caleb Cunningham.

Cunningham, a 285-pound senior, completed perhaps the area’s most dominant performance ever at a state tournament by pinning Harrison Central’s third-ranked Landen Thomas in the first period of their Division III state championship match.

It was the fourth pin in as many matches for Cunningham, an eighth-place finisher at 215 a year ago.

“When we first got here for weigh-ins, we had freshman Qwintin Howard and freshman Naomi Gearheart,” first-year Crestview coach Nate Godsey said. “The Schottenstein Center is big, and you could see their wide eyes. 

“Caleb casually says to me before he goes to weigh in, ‘This arena seems small.’ That told me he was in such a good mindset. He was determined, he was ready, and he was on a mission to win a state title.”

Mission accomplished. 

Cunningham opened the tournament with a second-period pin of Cincinnati Madeira’s J.J. Hoeffel to reach the quarterfinals.

He needed only 1:14 to dispatch Conneaut’s Scotty Edwards in the quarterfinals before sticking Dalton’s Cohen Riggenbach in the third period of Saturday evening’s semifinals, providing fans with one of the most memorable moments of the three-day spectacle.

The unmistakable  thump of Riggenbach hitting the mat echoed around the arena and brought fans to their feet.

That set the stage for Sunday’s championship match.

Thomas, who beat 2023 285-pound state runner-up Dallas McCracken in Saturday’s other semifinal match, never stood a chance. Cunningham had already taken Thomas down a couple of times before pinning him in 1:38 of the first period.

“It feels great,” Cunningham said. “I just went out there and did what I do and competed.”

All wrestlers dream of winning a state championship. For Cunningham, it became a realistic possibility at the Kenston Invitational Tournament in late December when he lost to Painsville Riverside’s Antonio Bottiggi in the finals.

Bottiggi wrestled for the Division I state title Sunday night.

“I had a close match with him and he ended up pinning me in the last 10 seconds because I had to score to win,” Cunningham said. “I knew then I was good enough.”

Remarkably, Bottiggi was the last wrestler to score a takedown against Cunningham. Two weeks later, he beat Galion’s Alex Griffith 10-0 in the finals of the J.C. Gorman Invitational. Griffith was a third-place finisher in Division II on Sunday.

“The kid put the work in,” said Crestview assistant and former head coach Steve Haverdill. “We’ve traveled hours and hours to different states. All the getting up early and going through disappointments as well as cheers has all paid off. This is what it’s all for.

“I’ve got a big lump in my throat right now.”

Cunningham wasn’t the only Ashland-area wrestler to cement his legacy Sunday evening.

Brock Durbin, Mapleton’s 144-pounder, finished as state runner-up for a second consecutive year. Durbin fell to Archbold’s Brodie Dominique 3-0 in the finals.

A senior, Durbin was a four-time state placer.

“I haven’t really even thought about that yet,” Durbin said. “I just wish I would have done better, but things happen for a reason.

“You’ve just got to be willing to accept it.”

Durbin will continue his wrestling career at Division II Ashland University next year.

“I’ll take a little time off, but I can’t wait to get going again,” Durbin said. “I want to get back on the grind again and keep getting better.”