Centerville junior Adam Tonkin could tell his Mason opponent, Austin Morris, was tired.

However, so was the Elks’ 220-pounder.

Then, with Tonkin leading 4-2, The Herd — Centerville’s student section — raised the noise level in the packed Centerville gymnasium.

“It definitely helped,” Tonkin said after claiming an 8-3 win that clinched the Region 7 title for the Elks in the first state team tournament. “I could hear the crowd; it came down to who worked harder in the offseason and who worked hardest in the regular season and I knew how hard I had worked. I had to secure that win.”

Centerville’s 33-25 win over the Comets propels them to the state tournament Saturday at St. John’s Arena at Ohio State.

“To be state qualifiers, that’s a pretty big deal,” Tonkin said. “I don’t know what to say. I secured the win, but it was not just me, the whole team did what they had to do.”

Centerville fell into an early 9-0 hole but got a technical fall from Brenden Watson (120), a major decision from Josh Scanlon (132) and an unexpected 7-6 win from Hunter Smith (138) to cut the deficit to 13-12.

Centerville went on a run through the middle and upper weights to take control of the match.

“They had some wins that were unexpected,” Centerville coach Alan Bair said. “We knew if we could stalemate them in the lower weights we would be OK. Our guys stepped up where they didn’t expect us to. Brandon Abney and Hunter Smith were huge for us.”

While Smith won, Abney recorded a late takedown to drop a 12-7 decision but did not give up bonus points.

Alexander Bair got the Elks to within 15-16 with a 2-1 overtime win at 152 before Chris Cochran gave the Elks the lead with a 5-4 win at 160. Bair’s win sparked a run that included a pin from Alec Gilchrist and a forfeit to Garrett Conner to give the Elks a 30-16 lead.

“Adam was a warrior,” Coach Bair said. “When their kid was slow coming back to the middle, Adam sprinted because that is what we do in practice. Along with our Fairmont dual last season, this (crowd) is something they will never forget. To wrestle in front of an atmosphere like this is the coolest thing on the planet.”