ASHLAND, Ohio — LeConte Merrell is making up for lost time.
Madison’s 132-pounder, who was ineligible for the first half of the season, pinned his way to an Ohio Cardinal Conference championship Saturday at Arrow Arena. The junior, who returned to the lineup in January after qualifying for the state meet as a sophomore, improved to 8-0.
“It was the worst, not being able to wrestle,” said Merrell, who pinned Ashland’s Landon Plank in the finals. “Even though I missed the first half of the season, I feel like I’m right where I want to be. My goal is to get (back to state) and get to the top of the podium.”
Team Title: Host Ashland won the team title for the first time since 2006 with 279 points. The Arrows, who snapped Lexington’s eight-year championship run, boasted eight individual champs.
West Holmes (205 points) finished second. Cole Woods, the Knights’ 138-pound champion, was voted the OCC’s Most Valuable Wrestler.
Madison (147) was third, while Mansfield Senior (93) was fourth. Clear Fork (76), Orrville (70), Lexington (59) and Wooster (42) rounded out the team scoring.
Area Champs: Madison’s Brad Silliman, who like Merrell was an OCC runner-up last year, beat Ashland’s Austin McNamara 13-4 in the 113-pound finals. Silliman improved to 27-9 on the season
Mansfield Senior’s Brandon Myers was Richland County’s only other champ. The undersized heavyweight beat Ashland’s Tyler Newlan 18-5 in the finals.
“I weighed in at 224 pounds,” said Myers, who is trying to determine if he will wrestle at 220 or heavyweight in the postseason. “I’m still contemplating to see what is best for me.
“The heavyweights are bigger, but I feel like I have a little more speed.”
Runner-Up: Madison had a pair of second-place finishers in 120-pounder Carson Speelman and 126-pounder Kaleb Gibson. Speelman fell to Ashland’s Matt Taylor 4-2 in overtime, while West Holmes’ Josiah Allison knocked off Gibson 6-2 in the finals.
“There is a lot of competition in the wrestling room (among the lightweights),” Merrell said. “We are always banging heads. We go at it.”
Lexington’s Aidan Ammons was second at 160 pounds, falling to Ashland’s Gage Adkins 6-4. Mansfield Senior’s Devin Marsh was runner-up to Ashland’s Josh Bever at 195 pounds.
Clear Fork had a trio of third-place finishers in Dalton Hoeflich (145), Chris Thompson (152) and Rick Thomas (182). Mansfield Senior’s Damoni Williams (106) and Tyson Dancy (170) finished third, as did Madison’s Kyle Matern (138) and Sean Williams (heavyweight) and Lexington’s A.J. Adams (220).
