COLUMBUS — Ontario’s Aiden Ohl and Galion’s Gradey Harding did the dirty work Saturday night inside Ohio State’s Schottenstein Center.
Ohl held on for a gritty, 2-1 win over St. Paris Graham’s Jake Landis in the 106-pound semifinals. Harding then followed suit with an equally resolute 5-1 win over Columbus Watterson’s Neal Krysty in the 120-pound semifinals.
“It doesn’t matter how much you win by as long as you win,” said Ohl, who also survived for a 2-1 victory in the quarterfinals earlier in the day. “I did what I needed to do and got out of there.”
The same goes for Harding. After thundering into the semifinals with a pair of major decisions, Harding needed a four-point move in the closing seconds to hold off Krysty.
“I was looking to score but … he was a different style of wrestler,” Harding said. “He’s got really good defense. If you shoot, he shoots right back.”
Harding and Ohl are two of four area wrestlers who will vie for state titles Sunday evening. Crestview 285-pounder Caleb Cunningham and Mapleton 144-pounder Brock Durbin both advanced to Division III title matches.
Durbin was a runner-up at 126 last year.
“I used last year’s loss as motivation to get better every day,” said Durbin, who survived a 2-1 nailbiter in the quarterfinals earlier Saturday. “Where champions are made is when they don’t want to work out and they still do it.”
Ontario’s Jacob Ohl, Aiden’s older brother, Clear Fork’s Luke Schlosser, Galion’s Alex Griffith and Ashland’s Mason Bauer fell in the semifinals. They will each wrestle in consolation semifinal matches Sunday morning and can finish no lower than sixth place.
Galion’s Carter Trukovich, Ontario’s Mason Turnbaugh and Landon Campbell, along with Crestview’s Naomi Gearheart also battled through their consolation brackets to reach Sunday morning’s consolation semifinals.
Championship matches begin at 5:15 p.m. Sunday.
“I want a state championship,” Harding said. “That’s what we’re here to do.”