COLUMBUS — Ontario’s Jacob Ohl and Ashland’s Brady Welch ran into a couple of buzzsaws Sunday evening.
Both Ohl and Welch reached the championship finals on the last day of the 85th state wrestling tournament, Ohl in the Division II 106-pound weight class and Welch at 175 in the same division.
Two of the most decorated wrestlers in the state regardless of division awaited them in the finals.
St. Paris Graham sophomore Beric Jordan pinned Ohl as the second period expired to defend the 106-pound state championship he won as a freshman. Jordan, who is not related to the legendary Jordan family that put Graham on the wrestling map, improved to 44-0 on the season and is 80-1 in his career.
“I think he is one of the best wrestlers in the whole building out of everyone here. He’s ranked nationally,” said Ohl, who suffered his only loss of the season and finished the year 36-1. “I don’t think I wrestled that bad. I could have definitely wrestled better but it is what it is.
“He’s definitely one of the better wrestlers I’ll probably ever see.”
The same goes for Welch, who wrestled Tiffin Columbian’s Brody Conley for a third straight week after falling to the senior in the finals at the Clyde sectional and Norwalk district. Conley defended his 170-pound state title with a 7-2 win over Welch on Sunday. Conley improved to 54-0 on the season after going 48-0 last year.
“He’s one of the best wrestlers in the entire country,” Ashland coach Sean Seder said of Conley. “There are very few guys in the state of Ohio who can wrestle on Brady’s level and Conley is definitely one of them.”
Welch has been dealing with a hamstring injury. Wrestling at less than 100 percent against Conley wasn’t the best recipe for success.
“It makes it kind of difficult when you can’t touch your toes, but no excuses,” Welch said. “I didn’t get to my attacks at the end of the day.
“I’m going to use that as something to motivate me. I feel like that should have been a lot closer match.”
As for Ohl, the sophomore wrestled a vast majority of the regular season at 113 in an effort to prepare for what he would encounter at the state tournament. Not even all the extra work against bigger, stronger wrestlers could prepare him for Jordan.
“He’s the biggest 106-pounder I’ve ever wrestled,” Ohl said. “He even felt stronger than our 120- and 126-pounder that I wrestle (in Ontario’s practice room). He tied up with me and I couldn’t do anything.”
Ontario coach Wes Turnbaugh, a former state champ for the Warriors, was impressed with Jordan.
“As soon as that kid gets up and moving, he just keeps going,” Turnbaugh said. “That kid is that next level.”
Like Welch, Ohl will use Sunday’s loss at motivation.
“There’s no reason to come this far and not win it,” Ohl said. “I’m not going to get second next year.”
