Miller came charging back from a 3-0 deficit in his Division I title match to take a 8-5 win over Wadsworth’s Caleb Busson to become the first Centerville state champ since Jim Pearson in 1985.
“When he got the takedown, it shocked me,” Miller said. “I knew what he did then and just took it to him.
“This is amazing. I’m so excited ... I’m a state champ.”
Miller was one of nine Miami Valley wrestlers to capture state titles.
Dixie’s Ethan Hayes became the first Greyhound to win one, claiming the Division III 215-pound title with a 7-4 win.
Hayes opened the final with authority, taking Doylestown Chippewa’s Justin Schafrath down to his back in the first 10 seconds of the match.
“The first point is always the hardest to get,” said Hayes, who finished second last season. “It was a relief to get that. I settled down from there.
“My loss last season helped me learn. It definitely gave me the edge I needed this year.”
In the only showdown to feature two Miami Valley wrestlers, Troy Christian’s Kyle Burns and Covington’s Andrew DeHart met for the third straight week at 145. Burns won the sectional title, but DeHart claimed the district title.
“I knew it would be me and him again,” Burns said after holding on for a 5-3 win and the state title. “This is the last match in my life. I was going to leave it all out on the mat and have no regrets.
“I’ve grown up wrestling with him (DeHart) and we’ve never been in the same weight class before. It was unfortunate I had to wrestle him.”
Graham got titles from Ryan Taylor (103), Bo Jordan (130), Isaac Jordan (135), Felipe Martinez (140), Ryan Evans (171) and Max Thomusseit (189) to claim its 10th straight title with 223 points. Oak Harbor was second with 78.5.
“This was a great team and was real easy to coach,” Graham coach Jeff Jordan said. “Their goal was to get the X this year (10 straight). That was the big goal.”
Carlisle’s Nick LeForce’s one run at a state title ended in heartbreak.
LeForce recorded an early takedown against Dennis Raber of Orrville in their 160-pound title match. Raber recorded a reversal late in the third period to take a 3-2 lead, but was hit for stalling to tie the match at 3-3.
After neither could score in the first two overtimes, LeForce opted to put Raber on his feet in the third overtime to attempt the winning takedown. However, the final 30 seconds ended with LeForce on the short end of a 4-3 score.
“I didn’t do it,” said an emotional LeForce. “I fell short of my goal. I did everything I could. Today just wasn’t my day.
“You are not supposed to live with regrets. I am not going to make excuses, I lost.”
Centerville 215-pound junior Kyle Rose finished second in D-I, 6-4, with the winning points coming on a takedown with 12 ticks left in the match.
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