NORWALK — Ontario’s Ethan Turnbaugh had his revenge Saturday in Norwalk.
A junior, Turnbaugh won a district championship and avenged his only loss of the season with a 6-3 decision over Bellevue sophomore Max Ray in the 160-pound title match at the Division II Norwalk district meet.
Ray beat Turnbaugh 9-2 in the finals at the Clyde sectional last week.
Turnbaugh was was of 12 area wrestlers to earn bids to the Division II state meet, which will be held next weekend at Highland High School. The top four finishers in each weight class at the district meet qualified for state.
Ashland’s Jayden Jones was the area’s only other district champ. The senior 145-pounder earned a 3-2 decision over Tiffin Columbian’s Maddox Simcoe in the finals to improve to 46-5 on the season.
Jones was one of five Ashland wrestlers to earns state berths as the Arrows finished an area-best sixth in the final team standings with 118.5 points. He’ll be joined by teammates Griffin Adkins, John Metzger, Jakob Beverly and Jake Bever.
A junior 132-pounder, Adkins was 4-2 on the weekend to run his record to 40-12 on the season. He fell to Wauseon’s Lawson Grime in the consolation finals.
Metzger reached the winner’s bracket finals at 152 pounds before falling to Sandusky’s Elijah Hunter in the championship match. Metzger, who was fourth at last week’s Clyde district, was 3-1 on the weekend to improve to 38-12 on the season.
Beverly was fourth at 220 pounds, falling to Shelby’s Carson Ingram in the consolation finals. Beverly was 3-2 on the weekend, running his season record to 44-7. Ingram was 4-1 over the weekend and improved to 42-3 on the year.
Bever was third at 285 pounds, pinning Galion freshman Alex Griffith in the consolation finals. Bever was 4-1 on the weekend, improving to 49-2 on the season. Griffith was 3-2 for the weekend and heads into the state meet with a 39-10 record.
Madison will send three wrestlers to next week’s state meet. Hunter Hutcheson reached the championship match at 170 pounds before falling to Tiffin Columbian’s undefeated Brody Conley. Hutcheson was 3-1 at the district meet and is 39-7 on the season.
Madison’s Nate Barrett was third at 182 pounds, pinning Vermilion’s Chris Bennett in the consolation finals. Barrett was 4-1 on the weekend and stands at 46-4 on the season.
Also at 182 pounds, Ontario’s Carter Kroll reached the championship match before falling to Bellevue’s undefeated Justin Mayes 7-3. Kroll was 3-1 on the weekend and is 39-3 on the season.
Madison’s Trenton Osborne reached the championship match at 195 pounds, falling to Aurora’s Dylan Fishback in the finals. Osborne is 44-3 on the year after going 3-1 at Norwalk.
