LEXINGTON – Call it a potential rubber match – with very high stakes.
The powerful Lexington and Sandusky Perkins wrestling teams on Wednesday night are favored to face each other one-on-one in the Division II, Region 10 finals – with the winner advancing to the state duals tournament in Columbus on Feb. 8.
Perkins finished a few notches above Lexington at the Medina Invitational on Dec. 27-28. Lexington returned the favor the following weekend by winning the J.C. Gorman meet at Mansfield Senior High School, pushing Perkins down to second.
No massive tournament is this week. If Perkins knocks off Clyde and Lexington handles Upper Sandusky, the two square off in what should be an intense regional finals match.at LHS. Matches start at 5 p.m. Tickets are $7.
Lexington, 17-4 in dual matches this season, is in for a stiff test, according to veteran coach Brent Rastetter, who is not looking past his team’s first match Wednesday.
“Upper Sandusky has five returning state qualifiers from last year. Upper was D-3 last year and moved up to D-2 this season. They are really strong and we will have to wrestle really well. Looking at like scores against common opponents, I feel confident, especially if we wrestle like we have been,” Rastetter said.
Perkins is favored against Clyde, which finished second to Lexington at its own invitational a few weeks ago. “Both teams are really solid,” Rastetter said, “but I anticipate Perkins will win. Clyde is wrestling really well. They have a couple of studs in their lineup and lots of solid, corresponding parts.”
Rastetter, in his 23rd year of coaching wrestling, has posted a dual-meet record of 167-24 in his 11 seasons at LHS and 188-30 overall, including stints at Clear Fork and Crestview. He sees a tight match should his Minutemen take on Perkins, despite the fact Lexington gives away 6 points each match when it forfeits at 106 pounds. His team has no wrestler in the lightest weight category.
Lexington does return nine wrestlers who advanced to the state quarterfinals last season, falling there 37-30 to Toledo Central Catholic. The Minutemen are led by junior state qualifier Bailey Faust (195 pounds), who is 37-0 this season with 31 pins and 76 takedowns.
Faust is 119-13 in his career, but is one of just Minutemen to reach the 100-win mark this season. Others are Brandon Leynaud (32-6 this season, 106-27 overall) and Drew Kasper (35-4, 103-22), both juniors. Two other Lex wrestlers, both seniors, still have a shot at the 100-win club – Jonah Schropp (23-12, 88-82) and Gabe Benjamin (25-10, 86-35).
In fact, with 19 Lexington wrestlers now in the 100-win club that began in 2006, Rastetter is thinking about adding a new wing to his hall of fame. “I am thinking we will create a higher-club for 150 wins (which would open with five members),” the coach said.
The wins are great, but the forfeit at 106 every match makes it tough.
“It makes it tougher when you spot everybody six points,” Rastetter said. “If you look at our two teams, it’s about a 7-7 split in matches. It will come down to bonus points and who gets that upset win along the way. When the matches get tough and you are battling for pins, you need someone to step up and get that pin. We feel confident when Bailey is on the mat we are going to get that pin.”
Rastetter has prepped his team with several dual matches this season, including the grueling Archbold Blue Streaks Duals at Defiance College in early December. The Minutemen wrestled 10 dual matches over a two-day period, winning seven, against tremendous competition from northwest Ohio and Michigan.
“I think we are prepared. We wrestled (Division I) powerhouse Wadsworth last week and lost only 30-27. I think we have the capabilities of making it back to Columbus.”
If the duals on Wednesday were not a big enough team challenge, Lexington travels to Orrville on Saturday, seeking to earn its seventh straight Ohio Cardinal Conference team title.
“This is a big week for us to concentrate on the team aspect of our sport,” Rastetter said. “It’s going to be a total team atmosphere this week.”
This all comes before the sectional/district/state meets that start Feb. 14 and end March 1 in Columbus. Lexington has finished in the top 10 in the state for five consecutive years, a feat only matched in D-II by perennial national power St. Paris Graham.
Lexington 77, Shelby 6
Lexington 46, Galion 12
Upper Sandusky 40, Clear Fork 21
Upper Sandusky 53, River Valley 15
Perkins 72, Clearview 3
Perkins 66, Norwalk 6
Clyde 59, Keystone 9
Clyde 74, Brookside 0
(2006-2014)
*=still active
Jake Faust – 170-25
Nick Hile – 164-27
Calvin Campbell – 157-27
Josh Lehner – 154-16
Brandon Gambucci – 151-34
Jacob Kasper – 143-42
Michael Gallik – 137-56
John Gould – 134-42
Brad Metz – 129-24
Bailey Faust – 119-13*
Drew McQuillen – 125-41
Dan Lochtefeld – 113-35
Dan Kardasz – 108-26
Mark Hudak – 108-39
Ravyn Workman – 107-41
Simon Devito – 107-47
Brandon Leynaud – 106-27*
Zach Delong – 106-41
Drew Kasper – 103-22*
Seniors
Jordan Dalton — 26-12
Kendall Kuhn — 25-7
Gabe Benjamin — 25-10
Jonah Schropp — 23-12
A.J. Parr — 18-9
Juniors
Bailey Faust — 37-0
Drew Kasper — 35-4
Jon Watkins — 35-4
Brandon Leynaud — 32-6
Chuck Mikelait — 28-8
Nate Temple — 25-9
Max Baker — 21-8
Jacob Dalton — 14-12
