All-area wrestling: Thomas leads one of Middies’ best seasons

Middletown sent 3 wrestlers to the D-I state tourney.

MIDDLETOWN — The Middletown High School wrestling team got off to a good start, fell apart with injuries, then rebounded when it counted the most to have one of the school’s most successful seasons in years.

The lone constant in what became an injury-decimated team at mid-season was 2012 Middletown Journal Wrestling Coach of the Year, Shawn Thomas. While he was honored to be selected, he was quick to credit his team of veterans.

“It comes down to a lot of the work that the guys did during the offseason,” Thomas said. “Andrew Globke worked his butt off this year, Desmond Hall and LaTrell Davis and Jacob Globke all those guys. Nick Reeves, a junior this year, and also the addition of our freshman Anthony Jagel, those guys all together, they worked really hard in practice all year long.”

Middletown sent three wrestlers — Davis, Jacob Globke and Desmond Hall — to the Division I state tournament in Columbus. Hall and Andrew Globke won Greater Miami Conference championships with Davis and Jacob Globke placing second, and Jagel and Reeves placing third.

Despite a loss at the district tournament that kept him from enjoying a trip to Columbus, Andrew Globke set the career wins record at Middletown High this season.

“We had one of our best points days, ever, in the GMC tournament, and then we finished sixth at the district tournament,” Thomas said. “That was really nice to see. For us to finish ahead of some of the regular district powerhouses in the area, that said a lot about our program this season.”

Thomas, who was also named Co-GMC Coach of the Year, recalled how the team dealt with the mid-season downswing, when some key wrestlers like Davis and Jacob Globke went down with injuries.

“A lot of the guys peaked at the right time. It was a really nice last month,” Thomas said. “Everything up to that, it was up and down and it got rocky at times. But once we got into February, and the last part of January even, everything started coming together.

“We just did a nice job late in the season, and we definitely peaked at the right time, but it’s all because of the hard work that these guys were willing to put in this year.”

Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2851 or jbombatch@coxohio.com.

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