GALION — Nothing Ethan or Colton Turnbaugh encountered in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference tournament could compare to the battles the Ontario brothers wage in the practice room.
Freshman Ethan won the 145-pound championship and junior Colton followed suit at 152 as the Warriors took runner-up honors Saturday at Galion High School.
River Valley won its sixth straight MOAC team title with 240 points. Ontario was next with 216 followed by Shelby (189.5), Marion Pleasant (183), Marion Harding (143.5), Clear Fork (136.5), Galion (122) and Buckeye Valley (85.5).
The younger Turnbaugh pinned Galion freshman Sam Wegesin in the finals. Turnbaugh pinned all four of his opponents on the day.
“He’s helped me a lot,” Ethan said of his older brother. “Last time we wrestled live he ended up beating me by only one point. We have solid matches.”
The elder Turnbaugh pinned his first four opponents before picking up a 15-2 major decision over Marion Pleasant’s Michael Phelps in the finals.
Ontario’s third and final individual champ came from Cody Mies at 182 pounds. The junior, who won a MOAC title at 160 pounds last year, pinned Shelby’s Trevor Bowman in the finals.
“I wrestled naturally at 160 last year,” Mies said. “The guys (at 182) are stronger but they’re slower and I still have my speed.”
Clear Fork’s Colton Campbell won the 113-pound title, beating Shelby’s Garrett Baker 12-1 in the finals. Campbell won the MOAC crown at 106 pounds last year.
“I think it was harder to win my first one last year,” Campbell said. “This will prepare me for the postseason. Hopefully I’ll get past districts.”
The area’s other individual champ came at 220 pounds, where Shelby’s Nathan Zehner beat Ontario’s Nate Hayes-Poole 5-3 in the finals. Hayes-Poole had beaten Zehner earlier in the day during the pool portion of the tournament.
“I lost to him earlier today,” said Zehner, a sophomore who bumped up to 220 from his usual spot at 195. “In the first match he caught me. I knew what to do in the second match.”
