MANSFIELD – Fans who waited until the finals to attend the 52nd J.C. Gorman on Saturday missed the crucial matches that earned Lexington its third straight team title at the premiere annual local wrestling tournament.
That’s because Lexington posted four wins in seven semifinal matches and won four of six key consolation round battles to overtake Sandusky Perkins, who entered the second-day of the two-day tournament with an 11-point lead at host Mansfield Senior High School.
The Minutemen, with three champions and seven other placers, won its seventh Gorman title in the last seven years, outscoring Perkins, 227.5 to 198. Loudonville was a distant third with 120.
Lexington coach Brent Rastetter was unhappy with his team’s second-day performance at the Medina Invitational Tournament last weekend, leading to his prediction that Perkins was the team to beat at the Gorman.
He wasn’t displeased that his early Saturday afternoon calculations showing Perkins would win the Gorman were incorrect.
“The kids showed up today. I am extremely proud of all of them,” the veteran coach said. “We talked on the bus before we came over today about just having fun today and leaving everything on the mat. It took some of the pressure off and we had good things happen.”
One of the good things was another dominating performance by junior Bailey Faust, who earned the Bill Flanagan Award as the tournament’s most outstanding wrestler. Faust ran his record to 30-0, including a punishing 8-0 major decision against Loudonville state placer Ryan Weber in the finals.
“Weber was hurting at the end of that match,” Rastetter said after Faust won his second straight Gorman title. “Bailey has ungodly power, fantastic hips, a great mat sense and a nasty attitude when he is on the mat. He is the total package. The only person who can beat Bailey at this point is Bailey.”
Lexington junior Drew Kasper (27-4) also repeated as Gorman champion, winning the 182-pound title with a thrilling overtime win against Mansfield Senior’s Traevon Dickerson (21-2).
Brandon Leynaud (24-6), a third Lexington junior, won the title at 126 pounds with a great tournament run that included a finals pin of Newark Catholic’s Caleb Ohl in 2:19.
A fourth Lexington junior, Chuck Mikelait (22-7), failed in his finals match, dropping an overtime decision to Norwalk’s Jacob Kluding.
In addition to the champions, it was key performances in consolation round matches that carried Lexington to the title. While Lexington won four of its seven semifinals matches, Perkins dropped six of nine and also failed in key consolation round matches, including a pair of head-to-head matches against Lexington.
“The semifinals are huge in a tournament like this. That is where you can get the biggest point swings and the consolation matches, too. What’s when you can seize the tournament. We wrestled well today and (Perkins) didn’t,” Rastetter said.
Before the last consolation round matches began, Rastetter gathered his wrestlers together. “I told them they needed to win these matches for themselves and that would take care of the team. They did just that.”
Perhaps the best example came from junior Jon Watkins (27-4), who roared back after losing his first match on Friday to win six consolation matches, including a 6-1 decision over Clear Fork’s Drew Kinzel in the battle that decided third- and fourth-place finishes.
“Jon had a bad Saturday at the MIT and a bad Friday night at the Gorman. But he came back today and beat some really tough kids. He is a very good wrestler and that is the kid who showed up today. He is one of the real team MVPs today,” Rastetter said.
Other Lexington placers were Jonah Schropp (5th at 113), A.J. Parr (3rd at 152), Jordan Dalton (4th at 160), Kendall Kuhn (6th at 220) and Nate Temple (4th at 285).
The only other champion from Richland County was Mansfield Senior’s unbeaten Jesse Palser (21-0), who won four matches, including a 7-4 finals victory over Bryan’s Brock Nagel.
Other placers from Richland County schools were Madison’s Mike Baumberger (5th at 106), Madison’s LeConte Merrell (5th at 120), Madison’s Trae Coowood (6th at 126) and Shelby’s David Bentley (4th at 220).
106 – Sebastian Vidika (Black River) maj. Dec. Charlie Nash (Norwalk), 8-0
113 – Alex Smith (Sandusky St. Mary’s) dec. Jake Donahue (Massillon), 7-5
120 – Carson Mills (Fredericktown) dec. Juwan Minnifield (Perkins), 9-6
126 – Brandon Leynaud (Lexington) pin Caleb Ohl (Newark Catholic), 2:19
132 – Major Moore (Willard) pin Wes Fritz (Norwalk St. Paul), 3:27
138 – Josh Weber (Loudonville) pin Evan Hansel (Newark Catholic), 2:40
145 – Jacob Kluding (Norwalk) dec. Chuck Mikelait (Lexington), 8-5
152 – Jamie Baldridge (Northmor) dec. Josh Ryan Perkins, 3-1
160 – Collin Keil (Anthony Wayne) dec. Cody Ross (Northmor), 4-0
170 – Jesse Palser (Mansfield Senior) dec. Brock Nagel (Black River), 7-4
182 – Drew Kasper (Lexington) OT dec. Traevon Dickerson (Mansfield Senior), 7-4
195 – Bailey Faust (Lexington) maj. Dec. Ryan Weber (Loudonville), 8-0
220 – Deaken McCoy (Galion) dec. Nate Johns (Bucyrus), 11-4
285 – Jacon Hanzel (Manchester) dec. Josh Rohrbacher (Perkins), 1-0
THIRD-PLACE MATCHES
106 – Joey Bowen (Manchester) pin Dominic Rosin (Sandusky St. Mary’s), 2:12
113 — Hunter Waldron (Perkins) dec. Derek Wilson (Norwalk), 5-3
120 – Jeff Heldenbrand (Hillsdale) OT dec. Noah McCumbers (Massillon), 10-8
126 – Colton Ullman (Loudonville) pin Collin Adkins (Bellevue), 2:14
132 – Bobby Bowen (Manchester) Sam Neer (Northmor), 5-2
138 – Jon Watkins (Lexington) dec. Drew Kinzel (Clear Fork), 6-1
145 – Nick Flowers (Galion) dec. Jordan Dennie (Anthony Wayne), 1-0
152 – A.J. Parr (Lexington) OT dec. Tucker Bender (Loudonville), 7-5
160 – Drew Brasial (Manchester) dec. Jordan Dalton (Lexington), 5-3
170 –Hayden Miller (Norwalk St. Paul) dec.. Dom Ruma (Bay), 6-2
182 – Wyatt Dye (Sandusky St. Mary’s) pin Dylan Hermes (Perkins), 1:58
195 –Lance Leto (Norwalk) dec. Dylan Eberly (Hillsdale), 5-2
220 – Casey Nelson (Marion Harding) pin David Bentley (Shelby), 4:37
285 – Grant Moyer (Bellevue) dec. Nate Temple (Lexington), 4-1
FIFTH-PLACE MATCHES
106 – Mike Baumberger (Madison) default over Tyler Capodice (Perkins)
113 – Jonah Schropp (Lexington) dec. Kaden Moore (Willard), 2-0
120 – LeConte Merrell (Madison) dec. Jesse Todd (Clear Fork), 5-2
126 – Vince Zitiello (Bay) dec. Trae Coowood (Madison), 3-0
132 –Nate Boggs (Perkins) pin Tristin Stillner (Hillsdale), 2:50
138 – Seth Boggs (Perkins) pin Derek Gross (Norwalk St. Paul), 4:24
145 – Jarrod Mazzon (Massillon) dec. Logan Barton (Perkins), 4-0
152 – Jimmy Jagodzinski (Anthony Wayne) pin Crew Young (Newark Catholic), 3:31
160 – Sean Meaney (Bay) dec. Tyrique Sharpe (Perkins), 6-4
170 – Colton Jenkins (Cardington-Lincoln) dec. Alex Tetzloff (Perkins), 5-3
182 – Gavin Saul (Bucyrus) dec. Cody Wright (Bay), 3-1
195 – John Workman (Perkins) pin Carson Dye (Sandusky St. Mary’s), 0:39
220 – Moiss Lopez (Willard) dec. Kendall Kuhn (Lexington), 9-3
285 – Colton Anderson (Norwalk) pin Matt Beniard (Bay), 3:14
1. Lexington 227.5
2. Sandusky Perkins 198
3. Loudonville 120
4. Norwalk 116
5. Manchester 109
6. Galion 100
7. Norwalk St. Paul 93
8. Sandusky St. Mary’s Central Catholic 91
9. Anthony Wayne 86
10. Bay 85.5
11. Massilon 84
12. Madison 81
13. Hillsdale 77
14. Northmor 75
15. Willard 69
16. Mansfield Senior 68
17. Bellevue 62
18. Black River 61
19. Newark Catholic 59
20. Clear Fork 57.5
21. Bucyrus 50
22. Bryan 48
23. Marion Harding 40.5
24. Fredericktown 36
25. (tie) Cardington Lincoln 32
26. (tie) Shelby 32
27. Ontario 30
28. East Knox 8
