LEXINGTON – With the weight of his team’s hopes for a return trip to Columbus riding on his back on Wednesday night, Lexington junior heavyweight Nate Temple got it done by sticking his Sandusky Perkins opponent flat on his back.
The result was a decisive pin and a 30-24 win for Lexington in the Region 10 championship. It earned the Minutemen (19-4 in duals) a second straight trip to the OHSAA State Duals competition Feb. 8 at St. John Arena in Columbus. Eight teams will compete, but Lexington will not know its opponent until Saturday.
“It was probably the most intense dual match I have ever seen. Almost every match was won or lost by just a few points,” veteran Lexington coach Brent Rastetter said. “It wasn’t a huge crowd, but it was a good crowd. And they were jacked up.”
It’s the second year for the OHSAA Duals. A year ago, Lexington fell in the state quarterfinals to Toledo Central Catholic.
Lexington and Perkins both had relatively easy opening wins Wednesday night in the regional semifinals. The Minutemen cruised past Upper Sandusky (51-14) while Perkins eliminated Clyde (40-24).
That set up the much anticipated match between two teams that battled each other in a couple of tournaments earlier this year. Perkins got the better of Lexington at Medina in December and Lexington opened January by winning the J.C. Gorman with Perkins finishing second.
It was after the Medina event that Rastetter challenged his team, which returned 10 district qualifiers this season.
“I just think we had a little bit of a gut-check after Medina and then Friday at the Gorman didn’t go as well as we hoped. But the kids came on Saturday at the Gorman and got after it and we have been a completely different team ever since,” Rastetter said.
When Temple and Perkins senior Josh Rohrbacher squared off in the 285-pound match, the score was essentially tied at 24. The match started at 113 pounds and ended at 106. Lex has no wrestler in that lighter weight class, so Perkins would pick up 6 points via forfeit.
That meant Temple (28-10) had to beat Rohrbacher, a returning state qualifier who had beaten Temple at the Gorman enroute to a second-place finish there.
“We have been preaching to Nate at keeping good positions and getting to spots from where is comfortable he can score from. He has really been listening and has made tremendous improvement since last season,” Rastetter said.
Temple struck in the second period, shocking Rohrbacher and the Perkins faithful with a pin at 3:13.
. “Nate pulled a throw when he felt he was in a good position. He was right on the out of bounds line, but he pulled the kid back in and stuck him,” Rastetter said. The pin put Lex ahead 30-18 and the ensuing forfeit at 106 was meaningless.
The match see-sawed back and forth until Temple sealed the win. “It was crazy … every match was close until Bailey (Faust) pinned his kid at 195. Scores were 3-0, 16-12, 8-4, 3-2, 11-8, 7-6, 4-1, 6-4 and 3-1. Every match was intense,” Rastetter said.
“It was a fun event to be a part of. Even if we had lost, it was a great night of wrestling,” he said.
Double winners on the night for Lexington were Jonah Schropp (113, 27-12), Brandon Leynaud (132, 36-6), Chuck Mikelait (145, 32-8), A.J. Parr (152, 21-10), Drew Kasper (182, 39-4), Faust (41-0) and Temple.
As a reward, Rastetter said his team can expect a hard practice on Thursday. The Ohio Cardinal Conference tournament is coming up on Saturday, an event Lex has won the last six years.
“We gotta bounce back and not have a letdown on Saturday. We have to get right back on our horse tomorrow. We haven’t won anything yet. We have lots of stuff still to do,” Rastetter said.
Other teams advancing to Columbus include top-ranked St. Paris Graham, Toledo Central Catholic, Amanda-Clearcreek, Perry, Wilmington and Urichsville Claymont. The other regional champion will be decided Thursday.
Lexington 30, Sandusky Perkins 24
106 — Tyler Capodice (P) forfeit
113 — Jonah Schropp (L) dec. Keysean Amison, 3-0
120 — Juwan Minnifield (P) dec. Max Baker, 16-12
126 — Matt Salmon (P) dec. Jacob Dalton, 8-4
132 — Brandon Leynaud (L) dec. Nate Boggs, 3-2
138 — Seth Boggs (P) dec. Jon Watkins, 11-8
145 — Chuck Mikelait (L) dec. Josh Ryan, 7-6
152 — AJ Parr (L) dec. Logan Barton, 4-1
160 — Jordan Dalton (L) dec. Tyrique Sharpe, 4-1
170 — Alex Tetzloff (P) dec. Gabe Benjamin, 6-4
182 — Drew Kasper (L) dec. Dylan Hermes, 3-1
195 — Bailey Faust (L) pin John Workman, 5:13
220 — Kordell Chaney (P) pin Kendall Kuhn, 2:40
285 — Nate Temple (L) pin Josh Rohrbacher, 3:13
Lexington 51, Upper Sandusky 14
113 — Jonah Schropp (L) dec. Thurston Dyer, 2-1
120 — Max Baker (L) maj. dec. Derek Hanson, 10-2
126 — Derek Hanson (US) forfeit
132 — Brandon Leynaud (L) pin Carson Mengerink, 3:02
138 — Jon Watkins (L) tech. fall Luis Ayala, 16-0
145 — Chuck Mikelait (L) pin James Jones, 5:35
152 — AJ Parr (L) tech. fall Nate Payne, 16-0
160 — Alex Kenner (US) pin Jordan Dalton, 3:01
170 — Gabe Benjamin (L) maj. dec. Derek Thomas, 11-0
182 — Drew Kasper (L) pin Noah Frey, 3:46
195 — Bailey Faust (L) pin Dylan Robertson, 3:21
220 — Tyler Pritchard (US) dec. Kendall Kuhn, 6-1
285 — Nate Temple (L) pin Collin Brown, 1:10
