MANSFIELD — He wasn’t the most decorated or highly-regarded wrestler in Richland County, but nobody stood higher on the state podium than Mansfield Senior’s Jesse Palser.
A junior, Palser capped a remarkable season with a runner-up finish in the Division I 170-pound weight class at the 77th state tournament earlier this month. He came within an eyelash of capturing Senior High’s first state title since 1997 before falling to projected state champ Joe Heyob of Cincinnati St. Xavier 3-2 in an ultimate tiebreaker.
The Richland Source Wrestler of the Year, Palser finished the season with a 42-2 record. He is the headliner of the star-studded All-Richland County wrestling team.
106 — Mike Baumberger, Madison (30-11): The future is bright for Baumberger, a freshman who battled his way to a fourth-place finish at the Division II Bowling Green district tournament to earn a spot in the state meet. Baumberger jump-started his run to Columbus with a fifth-place finish at the J.C. Gorman Invitational. He was was a runner-up at the Ohio Cardinal Conference meet and at the Division II Medina sectional. After falling to eventual state champ Tyler Warner of Uhrichsville Claymount is his first-round match at state, Baumberger picked up a a 2-0 win over Mt. Orab Western Brown’s Tyler Adkins. His state meet came to an end with a loss to eventual sixth-place finisher Justin Stickley of Division II powerhouse St. Paris Graham.
113 — Jonah Schropp, Lexington (33-16): The senior was fifth at the J.C. Gorman Invitational and won an Ohio Cardinal Conference championship with an 8-3 overtime decision over Ashland’s Matt Taylor. Schropp advanced to the Bowling Green district with a second-place finish at the Medina sectional.
120 — Trae Coopwood, Madison (29-15): A senior, Coopwood finished sixth at the J.C. Gorman Invitational while wrestling at 126. He dropped to 120 and finished third at the Ohio Cardinal Conference tournament, falling to Clear Fork’s Jesse Todd in the semifinals. He turned the tables in the Division II Medina sectional, beating Todd 2-1 and finishing second. Coopwood was 2-2 at the Bowling Green district tournament.
126 — Brandon Leynaud, Lexington (46-10): A tough draw at the state tournament couldn’t put a damper on an outstanding junior season. Leynaud won a J.C. Gorman championship at 126 then bumped up a weight class and won the Ohio Cardinal Conference title at 132. He dropped back down to 126 and won a Medina sectional title. At the Bowling Green district, Leynaud lost his opening-round match but battled his way through the consoluation bracket for a fourth-place finish. He lost to eventual state champ Anthony Tutolo of Mentor Lake Catholic in the opening round in Columbus and dropped a 4-2 decision to Bloom-Carroll’s Chandler Minnard in the consolation bracket.
132 — Zane Speelman, Madison (26-11): A junior, Speelman was runner-up to Leynaud at the Ohio Cardinal Conference meet. He pinned his way to a sectional championship at Medina and won his opening-round match at the Bowling Green district before dropping back-to-back matches.
138 — Jon Watkins, Lexington (47-12): Another of Lexington’s talented juniors, Watkins finished third at the J.C. Gorman Invitational after dropping his first-round match. He was runner-up to Clear Fork’s Drew Kinzel at the Ohio Cardinal Conference meet and third at the Medina sectional. Watkins lost his first-round match at the Bowling Green district, but battled to a fourth-place finish to earn a trip to the state meet. He lost his opener in Columbus to eventual fifth-place finisher Kyle Kaminski of Parma Padua and fell to Granville’s Christian Price in the consolation bracket.
145 — Chuck Mikelait, Lexington (40-11): Mikelait was a runner-up at the J.C. Gorman Invitational and won Ohio Cardinal Conference and Medina sectional championships. The junior was 2-2 at the Bowling Green district.
152 — A.J. Parr, Lexington (27-14): A senior, Parr was third at the Gorman and won the Ohio Cardinal Conference title. He was runner-up at the Medina sectional and was 1-2 at the Bowling Green district.
160 — Chance Butcher, Plymouth (36-11): The season’s end was bittersweet for the junior, who lost his first match at the Division III Bowling Green district then battled his way through the consolation bracket. He dropped a 6-1 decision to Van Buren’s Chance Sonnenberg in the consolation semifinals — had he won, he would have assured himself a spot at the state meet. Butcher came back to win fifth-place match. He finished second at the Plymouth sectional a week earlier.
170 — Jesse Palser, Mansfield Senior (42-2): The junior won’t fly under the radar next year. Palser beat Cincinnati Moeller’s Quinton Rosser, a state runner-up at 182 pounds in 2013, in the first round in Columbus and dumped two-time state placer Isaac Bast of Massillon Perry in the second round. Bast would finish third at state, while Rosser was fourth. Palser was third at the Cleveland State district and won Gorman, Ohio Cardinal Conference and sectional championships.
182 — Logan Campbell, Crestview (49-5): In a weight class that included Division I state placer Traevon Dickerson of Mansfield Senior and Division II state qualifier Drew Kasper of Lexington, Campbell distinguished himself in Columbus. After dropping his first match at the state meet to Northwestern’s Kile Schaefer, Campbell battled his way through the consolation bracket to take third place. The senior won five straight matches and avenged his first-round loss to Schaefer in the consolation semifinals. He was third at both the Plymouth sectional and the Bowling Green district.
195 — Bailey Faust, Lexington (54-3): Most wrestlers would be thrilled with a fifth-place finish at state, but most wrestlers aren’t Faust. The junior took a 50-1 record to Columbus but dropped a 2-0 decision to eventual state champ Tyler Maclellan of Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy in the second round. Faust picked up a pair of consolation bracket wins, but fell in the consolation semifinals. He capped the season with a 15-6 major decision over St. Paris Graham’s Josh Couchman in the fifth-place match. Faust’s only loss before arriving in Columbus came in the Bowling Green district finals.
220 — David Bentley, Shelby (30-13): A solid senior season came to an abrupt end for Bentley. He finished fourth at the J.C. Gorman Invitational and fourth at the Northern Ohio League meet. He lost his first match at the Bowling Green South sectional tournament but battled back to finish fifth, missing a trip to the district tournament by one spot.
285 — Nate Temple, Lexington (38-15): The affable junior was a pleasant surprise for veteran coach Brent Rastetter. Temple finished fourth at the Gorman and third at the OCC meet before coming alive in the postseason. He beat fellow state qualifier Micheal Holzworth of Madison for the sectional championship and was Bowling Green district runner-up. At the state meet, Temple won his first-round match before falling to eventual state champ Billy Miller of Perry in the championship quarterfinals. He worked his way through the consolation bracket and won his final match of the season, pinning Warsaw River View’s Joshua Kempf to finish seventh.
Follow Curt Conrad on Twitter @curtjconrad.
