Holmes County honors three West Holmes state wrestlers
On Monday, April 7, the Holmes County commissioners honored a trio of West Holmes wrestlers who earned state honors this winter. The wrestlers honored included Peyton Martin, left, who became an All-Ohioan by placing eighth, Louden Dixon, who became just the third Knights wrestler in the school’s history to win an OHSAA state championship and Easton Ross, who became the program’s first champion in the Ohio OAC Freshman State Wrestling tournament.
While operating the county’s budget is the main focal point of the Holmes County commissioners, the board also enjoys opportunities to honor and congratulate those who achieve greatness for their respective efforts.
On Monday, April 7, at the Old Jail, the commissioners had the honor of doing that very thing, passing proclamations honoring a trio of West Holmes wrestlers who earned state honors this winter.
The wrestlers honored included Louden Dixon, who became just the third Knights wrestler in the school’s history to win an OHSAA state championship, wrestling at 150 pounds; Peyton Martin, who became an All-Ohioan by placing eighth at 120; and Easton Ross, who became the program’s first champion in the Ohio OAC Freshman State Tournament.
As a junior, Dixon made his third consecutive state tournament appearance, having earned All-Ohio honors once before this season. Martin, also a junior, was a state alternate as a freshman, while Ross spent much of this season as a part-time varsity wrestler.
“I’m really proud of these guys,” said West Holmes wrestling coach Scott Vaughn. “They put in an incredible amount of work, and they’ve dedicated a lot of time to the sport.”
For Dixon, the journey to a state title came with big expectations from the very beginning. He said it is always a joy and an honor to be able to wrestle on the state’s biggest stage against the best competition the state has to offer.
“It’s fun to be able to compete,” Dixon said.
When asked if he envisioned himself standing in front of 1,000s wrestling for a state title in the spotlight finals at state, he said most definitely.
“It’s something I started thinking about right after the state tournament last year,” Dixon said of the opportunity. “It was where I wanted to be my sophomore year, but I came up short. Right after that, I started to envision what I wanted, and I kind of kept manifesting it as the season went on.”
Martin said the sport has taught him to become more disciplined.
“Pretty much everything you put into it you’ll see,” he said, noting that everything he learned about hard work and discipline on the mat has paid off everywhere else in his life.
As an alternate before this year, and getting beaten at districts last season, getting that close drove him even harder.
“I expected to get to state last year and lost a match I shouldn’t have lost, and that made me even madder,” Martin said. “This year, I just decided I was going to place. That really spurred me on for sure.”
Like Dixon, he envisioned himself on the podium, and then his hard work made that vision a reality.
Ross said as a freshman, this accomplishment has set the table for some exciting wrestling in the future, with this experience giving him a taste of something he wants to experience a lot more of down the road.
“Hopefully I can make it down to Columbus and make a push for the podium,” Ross said about the OHSAA state tournament.
Ross said he spent the year battling fellow teammate Grady Hawkins for the right to wrestle at the varsity level.
That experience paid big dividends, the competition pushing him to work as hard as possible at practice.
“I felt like I could win it if I just went out and did what I did,” Ross said of the freshman tournament victory.