West Holmes wrestling finishes 2nd at OCC Championships
Wyatt Crabb, top, finished runner-up at 106 pounds at the Ohio Cardinal Conference Championships, helping the Knights finish second in the team standings.
With four champions, six runner-up finishers and two third-place finishers, the West Holmes varsity wrestling team posted a runner-up finish at the Ohio Cardinal Conference Championships at Madison High School on Feb. 15.
The Knights (283.5 points) finished behind only Ashland (357.5).
Peyton Martin (120 pounds), AAJ Roberts (132), Louden Dixon (150) and Cole Porter (175) all claimed championships. Runner-up honors went to Wyatt Crabb (106), Liam Angle (113), Gabe Umstead (126), Hunter McCluggage (157), Lincoln Goans (165) and Easton Ross (215). Cam McCluggage (190) and Dylan Sours (heavyweight) claimed third-place finishes.
Martin claimed his first OCC title by rolling to a 5-0 day with four falls and a 17-1 tech fall win in his pool. Martin was a runner-up last season and a fourth-place finisher in 2023.
Roberts (4-0, four falls), the only Knights wrestler to compete in a pool-to-bracket format, stuck Isaak Wickham (Ashland) at the 1:45 mark to earn his second straight OCC title.
“Neither Peyton nor AAJ wrestled past the first period today,” Knights coach Scott Vaughn said. “They really dominated their competition. After how Peyton’s OCC tournament ended last year (injury), I am really happy that he won OCC. He’s busted his butt this year, and he deserved it. AAJ showed up to wrestle today and looked really good.”
Dixon’s title was his third straight OCC crown. The returning state placer (fifth in 2024) and two-time state qualifier rolled through his pool, posting three falls and two 15-0 tech falls to end his day at 5-0.
Porter (4-0, three) became a four-time OCC placer with his title. Porter scored his first OCC crown last season after a runner-up finish in 2022 and a fourth-place finish in 2023.
“Louden and Cole had to wrestle past the first (period) but also dominated in their matches,” Vaughn said.
Hunter McCluggage (4-1, three) also became a three-time OCC placer after his runner-up finish. McCluggage took the OCC crown last season after a runner-up finish in 2023. Crabb (2-1, one) earned his second OCC placement (fourth in 2024). Runner-ups Angle (1-1, one), Umstead (4-1, three), Goans (4-1, four) and Ross (4-1, two) all snared their first OCC placements.
Third-place finishers Cam McCluggage (2-2, two) and Sours (2-3, two) earned their second OCC placements. McCluggage finished fourth last season while Sours was a runner-up.
Middle school
West Holmes’ Rowand Mathie (seventh grade) and Logan Leyda (eighth) earned berths to the Ohio Athletic Committee Junior High State Tournament after a championship title for Mathie and a third-place finish for Leyda at the OAC district qualifier at New Lexington High School on Feb. 16.
Mathie (90 pounds) earned the championship title with a 4-0 day, including an 18-0 tech fall victory in the championship match. He received a first-round bye, then reeled off a 15-0 tech fall, a pin at 1:20 and a 6-3 decision victory to reach the title match.
Leyda (154) had to come back through the consolation rounds for his third-place finish, reeling off four consecutive wins, including a high-scoring 13-10 decision win in the third-place bout.
Attack Team
The Holmes Area Wrestling Club Elementary Attack Team’s performance at the Ohio Youth Wrestling Association State Tournament at GlenOak High School on Feb. 16 was described as “epic” by Attack Team coach Jarret Mathie.
Kolston Wagers (sixth grade, 175) dominated his opponents on the way to a state championship, Jackson Vaughn (sixth, 86) snared runner-up honors, Chansen Hart (fifth, 95) captured third-place accolades and Ryker Stokovich (sixth, 205) earned a fifth-place finish.
The four state podium finishers tied the 2001 team for the most state placers in a tournament in program history.
State qualifiers Dawson Miller (fifth, 73) and Briggs Patterson (sixth, 100) each got a win before being knocked from the tournament, and with the state championship from Wagers plus the state placements from Vaughn, Hart and Stokovich, the six state qualifiers (second most in program history) helped power the Attack Team to a sixth-place finish in the 95-team field, its second-highest finish at the state tournament, trailing only the 2001 team, which placed in the top five with four finalists.
Wagers (4-0, four) pinned his way to the championship match with falls at 14 and 8 seconds and 2:17 before sticking Jackson Stevens (Coventry) in a quick 44 seconds in the title match. Wagers’ state championship broke a 12-year drought for the Attack Team, dating back to Cael Woods’ championship in 2013.
“Simply put, Kolston looked like a man among boys,” Mathie said of his first state champion in his 10 years as Attack Team coach. “Kolston is our program’s third ever OYWA state champion (Colt Sponseller in 2001 and Woods). Kolston is a very deserving champion. He has committed himself to the sport and been putting in a ton of extra time outside of our regular practices.”
Vaughn scored a pair of fall wins (:27 and 2:30) and a strong 16-1 tech fall win to reach the championship match, where he was upended by Parker Biel (North Canton) by tech fall and settled for a runner-up finish.