And with some heavy hitters. Senior Parker Smith (27-3 in 182-pound weight class), juniors Hayden Hollis (26-8 at 113) and Colton Smith (19-15 at 152) and sophomores Conner Kleinberg (31-3 at 138) and Myles Johnson (29-5 at 220) all lead the conference in wins at their weight class.
Centerville counters with sophomore Nate Stevens (26-5 at 106), junior Luke Acuna (21-2 at 126), junior Spencer Meng (20-9 at 132), junior Nolan Winfield (17-9 at 145), freshman Ayden George (22-6 at 160), senior Parker Hinkebein (21-5 at 170) and senior Josef Schlade (13-7 at 195).
Elks’ junior Damion Ryan is 21-0 at 120, one win behind Northmont sophomore Drake Givens (22-7). Northmont senior Brian Jones (21-7) leads the 285-pound class.
Centerville’s depth is a concern for Boulton, who had to reload his lineup after graduating 14 seniors from last season’s team. There are 10 new starters.
“When you compare us to a team that deep like Centerville, I know there are certain weight classes we’re not going to perform as well as they are. But we’re still going to compete,” Boulton said.
Depending on draws, Springboro’s best chances at GWOC titles come at 106 with freshman Mike Gosselin (24-11), 113 with Hollis, 138 with Kleinberg, 152 with Colton Smith, 182 with Parker Smith and 220 with Johnson.
“If I have four kids in the finals we’re doing pretty good. If we end up with more than that then we wrestled really well,” Boulton said.
“Parker is having an excellent year. Between him, Hayden Hollis and Myles Johnson and Conner Kleinberg, they all beat really good wrestlers over the weekend in Columbus. They’re going to do well at the league tournament.”
Springboro and Centerville did not wrestle head-to-head during the regular season. A dual was postponed early in the season due to injuries. The teams were scheduled to wrestle on Thursday, but both Boulton and Centerville coach Alan Bair felt that was too close to the GWOC tournament.
The conference tournament is also three weeks before the Division I sectional tournament. Schools wanted to give wrestlers a chance to quarantine in case of any COVID-19 concerns at the GWOC meet.
Legacy dueling for state title: Legacy Christian and Versailles qualified for the eight-team dual team state championships Saturday at Versailles High School.
Legacy Christian is ranked No. 2 behind top-seeded Milan Edison. Versailles is No. 5.
Legacy Christian opens with No. 7 Barnesville. Versailles gets No. 4 Apple Creek Waynedale.
The Knights have nine wrestlers on the team and all are ranked no lower than No. 6 in the state, led by top-ranked freshman Dillon Campbell (113) and junior Gavin Brown (145).
With no football team at the school, the program has struggled to find wrestlers at heavier weights. LCA forfeits five weight classes – it starts each dual match trailing 30-0 – and has no one wrestling after the 170-pound class.
“We have a real good chance to win it,” LCA coach Tim Begley said. “We need to pin people for the six-pointers and if we lose a match it needs to be close for a three-point match. The first round will be tough. All (Barnesville’s) kids are rated in the state just below us and they have a full team. We’re excited for the challenge.”
Versailles is led by junior Taran Tyo (ranked No. 13 at 285) and sophomore Kane Epperly (No. 15 at 145).
The OHSAA has hosted the dual team state championships since 2013, but suspended the event for this season. This year’s event is hosted by the Ohio High School Wrestling Coaches Association.
The D-I tournament is being held at Lakewood St. Edward High School. The D-II meet, which includes Graham, is at Steubenville High School.
League tournaments go to the mat: The Miami Valley League hosted its meet Friday at Butler High School. The Aviators won last year’s title over runner-up Stebbins.
The Southwestern Buckeye League meet wraps up Saturday at Bellbrook High School. Brookville won last season’s title over runner-up Monroe.
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