COLLINS — The Cougars are clawing their way back toward the top.
Following a third-place finish in last year’s Firelands Conference wrestling championships, Crestview took the runner-up spot Friday night, with seven of its eight placers in the Top 3 of their respective weight classes.
Host Western Reserve got points from all 12 of its matmen and took its first FC crown since 2013, beating out the Cougars, 143.5-123.5.
The championships were moved up a day due to concerns about Saturday’s weather, as the FC coaches didn’t want to push the event back and shorten their rest time before next weekend’s sectional tournaments.
“We went in with the mindset to go win a conference title,” second-year Crestview coach Nate Godsey said. “We fell short, but not without having a great effort from our guys.
“We have some guys who are really starting to wrestle where I knew they could wrestle all year. It’s about trusting that process.”
The Cougars had just one returning wrestler who made an FC title bout last year — reigning 126-pound champ Qwintin Howard.
On Friday, the sophomore captured the 132-pound title, and was joined atop the podium by teammates Brayden Parrigan (sophomore at 138) and Jack Stephens (junior at 165).
Howard didn’t surrender a point, opening with a 15-0 technical fall before claiming his crown by an 8-0 count.
The fourth-seeded Parrigan had a huge day for Crestview. He opened with a pin in just over a minute before a semifinal pin of the top seed. Then in the title match, Parrigan pinned Plymouth’s two-time district qualifier Ben Trimmer in 3:18.
Stephens posted a 2-0 mark at 165, with a 9-2 triumph and a pin in 1:23 for his title.
The Cougars had another pair make championship bouts. Junior Dylan Burge had a pin and an 8-0 major decision before falling by pin in the 126 title match, while sophomore Bronson Rose also lost by pin for the 215-pound title match after victories of 17-2 and 9-5.
Coming in third place for Crestview were senior Andrew Mitchell at 144 and freshman Louscius Whitesel at 175.
Godsey said he was happy with where things finished for his squad, which should return all but one of its wrestlers next season and will welcome a solid eighth-grade class.
“I would say we’ve wrestled a tougher schedule than anybody in our conference and I don’t think it’s even close,” Godsey said. “This is why we wrestle the tournaments we do — it’s all about preparing for this and the three weeks (of postseason) that follow.”
Monroeville was looking for a team four-peat, but finished in third with 121.5 points, while South Central rounded out the top four at 102.5. Plymouth (93.5), St. Paul (91.5), New London (68) and Mapleton (41) finished the team scoring.
The Mounties got their top performance from heavyweight Lukus Jenkins. The freshman had a pin in 1:43 in his semifinal, then kept it close in the championship before falling 7-4 to sixth-ranked Brycen Dunlap of Monroeville.
Mapleton’s next-best finisher was Landon Jenkins at 157. The freshman won by pin over Plymouth’s 24th-ranked Zach Miller, then lost by pin in the championship semifinals.
From there, he posted another pin, then got by Miller again, 6-3 for third place.
Falcons back on track at WCAL championships
APPLE CREEK — The certainty in Friday’s Wayne County Athletic League Championships was Waynedale taking home its 14th consecutive conference championship.
The Golden Bears had nine individual champs — including four-time WCAL winner Caden Schmeltzer at 138 — and nearly doubled up second-place Dalton, 258.5-138.
But among the rest of the intriguing story lines was Hillsdale’s resurgence as a competitive squad.
The Falcons came into this year with four straight last-place finishes in the WCAL Championships and are just two years removed from not posting a single point on the mats in the league event.
But in its second year of a rebuild under head coach Dan Mager, Hillsdale boasted four top-three finishers. That effort helped land the Falcons in fifth place with 69.5 points.
Hillsdale sophomore Jason McClure won his opening match 11-2 at 120 and was the only Falcon to make a championship bout. He fell there by pin.
From there, Hillsdale had freshman Reed Mager (150), sophomore Colt McCoy (190) and junior Landon Thomas (215) all post pins in their third-place matches.
The last time the Falcons scored even 30 points as a team at the WCAL Championships was 2020.
Rounding out the top half of the league Friday were Northwestern (third with 111 points) and Chippewa (fourth with 78.5). Finishing behind Hillsdale were Norwayne (36), Smithville (29) and Rittman (14).
