PLYMOUTH — Crestview teammates Clay Eagle and Dakota Blanton have made the most of limited mat time this season.
Both Eagle, the Cougars’ 120-pounder, and the 126-pound Blanton won sectional championships Saturday afternoon at Plymouth as Crestview took team runner-up honors to powerhouse Milan Edison. The duo had to sit out the first half of the season after transferring to Crestview — Eagle from Ashland and Blanton from South Central.
While most wrestlers have anywhere between 40 and 50 matches under their belts by this time, neither Eagle nor Blanton has wrestled 30 matches yet this tyear.
It didn’t seem to bother them Saturday.
Eagle needed just two wins to claim the sectional crown and neither match went the distance. He pinned St. Paul’s Myron Stoll in 2:51 in the semifinals and needed just 1:06 to dispatch Edison’s Jakey Neer in the finals to run his season record to 20-3.
What’s more, Eagle had the meniscus in his left knee removed three weeks ago. He first injured the knee last year and already underwent an earlier procedure to repair the cartilage, which essentially serves as a shock absorber between the thighbone and shinbone.
“It was either try to fight with one that was all torn up and was locking my knee or get rid of it,” said Eagle, who won his second J.C. Gorman Invitational championship in January. “I’ve got my whole range of motion. There’s no pain and I’m a lot more confident on it now than before.”
All three of Blanton’s sectional matches resulted in pins, including his championship match against Edison’s Garrett Scott. The junior improved to 23-5.
“Coach said get on and get off,” said Blanton, a two-time state qualifier for South Central.
The Cougars had a third sectional champ as 195-pounder Colton Campbell, the program’s career leader in takedowns, scored an unusually low-scoring 4-1 win over Monroeville’s Tche Leroux.
“I enjoy the close, technical matches more than (winning by technical fall) or pinning the guy in a second,” said the senior, who improved to 42-6. “They’re more fun and it helps me make sure I’ve got my technique right. In close matches, you’ve got to make sure you’re not getting into a bad position.”
The area’s only other sectional champ was Plymouth’s Seth Bailey, who pinned his way to a title at 220 pounds. He took care of Western Reserve’s Zack Schlessman in the championship match to improve 45-1 and capture his first ever sectional crown.
“This was the last time I’ll ever wrestle in this gym and I won a championship. It feels amazing,” said Bailey, an All-Ohio football and baseball player for the Big Red. “I’ve been to district the last four years. It would mean everything (to make it to state).”
The top four finishers in each weight class advanced to next week’s district tournament at Defiance.
Crestview will send eight wrestlers to the district meet. Brent Eicher (113 pounds) was second, while Levi Kibler (145) and Lane Fry (285) were third and Cade Rogers (170) and Chris Hughes (182) were fourth.
Plymouth will have five wrestlers in action next week. Tony Vazquez (182) was second, while Zach Only (152) was third and Keith Tuttle (113) and Jacob Echelbarger (132) were fourth.
Four Lucas wrestlers advanced. Noah Ulery (106) and Trace Thomas (120) were third, while Westyn Adkins (145) and Long Knipp (160) were fourth.
