MANSFIELD — Blake Bartos made J.C. Gorman Invitational history Saturday inside Pete Henry Gym.

Medina Buckeye’s senior 138-pounder, Bartos became just one of a handful of four-time Gorman champs and the first-ever three-time MVP as the 63rd edition of one of Ohio’s oldest regular season tournaments came to a close.

The Wyoming-bound Bartos beat Ashland’s Mason Bauer 4-2 in overtime in the finals to collect his third Bill Flanegan Outstanding Wrestler trophy. 

“It’s awesome,” Bartos said. “I came down here to win. That’s my job.” 

The 138-pound final was the 33-team event’s marquee match. Bartos is the projected Division II state champ while Bauer is ranked fifth in Division I.

“We have never wrestled in a match before, but we have trained together,” Bartos said. “I knew it was going to be a tough one.”

Neither wrestler could get anything going during regulation.

“I knew it was going to be a slower match,” Bartos said. “He is very good on defense.”

Team Trophy

Bartos may have won the individual battle, but Ashland snapped Buckeye’s three-year stranglehold on the team trophy.

The Arrows won with 226 points. Clear Fork (210) was second and Olentangy Berlin (190) was third.

What’s more, Ashland was without regulars Tuff Hutcheson and Isaac Wickham.

“We’re not quite at full strength yet,” Ashland coach Tommy Bauer said. “We’ve got a little bit of inexperience in these pressure situations.

“At the end of the day it was a total team victory.”

Ashland boasted three individual champs in 106-pounder Tyler Mateo, Guardian Miller (150) and heavyweight Budda Martin. A junior, Miller won his third Gorman title.

“I still have a lot of things to work on, but I think I’m in a pretty good spot for this time of year,” said Miller, who pinned Clyde’s Michael Gessner in the finals. “Our goal was to come in and compete well and challenge for a team championship.”

Atop The Podium

In addition to the trio of Ashland champs, north central Ohio produced five other titlists. 

Clear Fork’s Caleb Snyder won the 113-pound title while sophomore Anthony Oscar dominated at 144 for his second Gorman title.

Ontario’s Aiden Ohl won at 120, while Gavin Miller won at 157. Ohl beat Clear Fork’s Colton Wenger 4-1 in the finals.

“We’ve wrestled so many times,” Ohl said. “We know what we’re going to do. We know how we’re going to defend. We know what moves we’re going to try. There’s no secrets.”

A senior, Ohl won a Gorman crown at 113 last year.

“It’s always special to win at Gorman,” Ohl said. “It’s basically the area championship.”

Galion’s Gradey Harding won the 132-poound championship, beating Ontario’s Tyler Turnbaugh 7-3 in the finals.

“I’m not where I want to be yet,” said Harding, a state runner-up last year. “It’s nice to win here, but ultimately I’m chasing that state title.”