MARENGO — Madison’s Nate Barrett and Ontario’s Ethan Turnbaugh kept their state championship dreams alive Saturday.
Both Barrett and Turnbaugh won a pair of matches on the opening day of the Division II state meet at Highland High School. They will return to the mat for semifinal matches when wrestling resumes Sunday morning.
They are two of the six area Division II wrestlers who survived opening day at Highland. Ontario’s Carter Kroll, Madison’s Trenton Osborne and Ashland’s Jakob Beverly and Jake Bever all will be in action Sunday.
A projected state champ at 160 pounds, Turnbaugh had his hands full in the quarterfinals Saturday. He opened with a comfortable 17-5 major decision over Norton’s Zach Flohr before holding on for a 4-2 win over London’s Antwaun Burns.
“Burns is a tough kid,” said Turnbaugh, who improved to 34-1. “The last time we wrestled was way back in eighth grade and he beat me by one point all the way back then.
“I think I could have wrestled a little better today. I think I was a little sluggish.”
A junior, Turnbaugh will have to be at his best Sunday. He’ll wrestle Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy senior Austin Pownall in the semifinals. Pownall pinned his first-round opponent and scored a 6-0 victory in the quarterfinals.
“I’ve still got two super-tough matches tomorrow,” Turnbaugh said.
Madison’s Barrett had an easier go of it Saturday. The senior 182-pounder won his opening-round match against Claymont’s Seth Ferguson by technical fall (15-0) before dispatching Mentor Lake Catholic senior Cole Hivnor 10-4 in the quarters.
“I knew if I stayed in a good position, I’d get to what I wanted,” Barrett (48-4) said. “If I wrestle my match (my opponent) can’t dictate the match. If I stick to what I do and not focus on what they’re doing, I’m in better shape.”
Neither Barrett nor Madison coach Bryan Mosier expected a one-sided match in the quarterfinals.
“We thought it was going to be a dogfight,” Mosier said. “We knew our best shot was on our feet. If we were going to beat him we knew it had to be on our feet.”
Next up for Barrett is a semifinal showdown with freshman sensation Carter Neves of state powerhouse St. Paris Graham. Neves pinned Ontario’s Kroll in the quarterfinals to improve to 17-0.
Kroll, who opened with a pin of Cambridge’s Caden Kenworthy, bounced back from his quarterfinal loss to Neves with a first-period pin of Tri-Valley’s Karter Jones in the consolation bracket. Kroll (41-4) will wrestle Hivnor in the consolation quarterfinals.
Madison’s Osborne was 2-1 at 195 pounds Saturday. He won his opener 11-6 over Louisville’s Noah Peterson before falling to River Valley’s Hadyn Danals in the quarterfinals. Osborne rebounded with a 7-3 win over Keystone’s Nick Hickman to improve to 46-4 and guarantee himself a spot on the state podium.
Ashland’s Beverly and Bever both rebounded from opening-round losses with a pair of consolation bracket victories Saturday to lock up podium finishes. Beverly (46-8) will wrestle Bay’s Mason Cover in the consolation quarters at 220 pounds, while Bever (51-3) will wrestle Logan Morris of Sheridan.
Division III
Mapleton’s Brock Durbin and Crestview’s Hayden Kuhn and Brier Godsey all survived opening day at the Division III state meet at Marion Harding.
Durbin was 2-1 at 120 pounds and will wrestle Delta’s Carson Chiesa in the consolation quarterfinals.
Crestview’s Kuhn won his opening-round match at 126 pounds before falling in the quarterfinals. He bounced back with a 7-2 win in his first consolation match and will wrestle Covington’s Kellan Anderson in the consolation quarters.
Crestview’s Godsey lost his first match of the tournament at 182 pounds but guaranteed himself a spot on the podium with a pair of consolation bracket victories. Godsey will wrestle Springfield Shawnee’s Adam Myers in the consolation quarterfinals Sunday.
