MANSFIELD — Nobody quite knew what to expect from defending J.C. Gorman Invitational champ Ashland going into the weekend, but the new-look Arrows acquitted themselves admirably.
Led by a trio of individual champs, Ashland won its second straight team title at the 56th annual showcase event Saturday evening inside Pete Henry Gym.
The Arrows scored 200 points to easily outdistance runners-up Bay and Norton, which tied with 145 points. Fremont Ross (137) was fourth and Crestview (135) was a surprising fifth.
Ashland lost a wealth of talent to graduation from last year’s record-setting team. Head coach Sean Seder’s Gorman lineup included four freshmen and all four placed, including 106-pound champ Case George.
“Any time you have freshman coming in and doing that against a pretty big field, you’re pretty happy,” Seder said. “Last year, there were expectations. This year, we’ve got a lot of young talent and you hoped they could pull it together. They definitely did.”
A junior high state qualifier last year, George improved to 19-2 on the season. He beat Sandusky’s Rico Cunningham 13-7 in the finals.
Joining George atop the podium were 152-pounder Landon Plank and 220-pounder Josh Bever, who won a Gorman title at 195 last year.
“I didn’t know what to expect, honestly, but the freshmen really showed up,” said Bever, a junior who earned a 9-6 decision over Sandusky St. Mary’s Chris Kuhn in the finals to run his season record to 21-4. “It feels pretty good to do it twice. We’re not a fluke.
“There’s a lot more pressure coming back after winning it last year.”
As for Plank, the senior beat Bellevue’s Nick Smyth 3-1 in the finals. Plank improved to 23-3.
Crestview had its second best team finish ever at the Gorman behind individual champs Clay Eagle at 120 and Lane Fry at 285.
A transfer from Ashland, Eagle missed most of last season with a knee injury and was making his season debut. The senior didn’t show any signs of rust, earning a 15-0 tech fall over Manchester’s Jake White in the finals. He was 5-0 on the weekend with two pins, two tech fans and a major decision.
“I had some jitters, but I’m pleased with the way I wrestled,” Eagle said. “I was kind of worried about the knee. This was a good test to see where I’m at and what I need to work on.”
The most entertaining championship match of the evening was between Fry and Fredericktown’s Mitch Hurlbut. Fry earned a 4-3 overtime victory to cap a 5-0 weekend and improve to 21-1 on the season.
Fry and Hurlbut met in the regional dual team tournament in 2016 with Fry earning a 14-9 decision.
“Whenever we wrestle, it always goes down to the wire,” Fry said. “He’s good. I expected that from him.”
