Skin issues and illnesses slowed him and he found himself losing some matches he normally wouldn’t, and it was getting old.
“I heard people asking what was wrong with me,” Snodgrass said after winning the 145-pound title at the Greater Western Ohio Conference tournament Saturday night at Butler High School. “It really bothered me and made me hungry to come back.”
Snodgrass showed he is more than back, dominating Piqua’s Andrew Bolin 13-4 in the title match.
“It (the start) was terrible,” Snodgrass said. “But I switched to working with our 152 (Alex Burger) and just started shooting non-stop and I think that has really helped me out.”
Another thriller: Add the 120 title match to classics between Butler's Ronnie Pietro and Northmont's Chad Craft.
Pietro recorded a second-period escape in the 1-0 win over Craft to claim the GWOC title three days after claiming a 3-1 sudden victory win over Craft.
Craft won the first battle 4-2, but Pietro won 2-0 in the finals at the Holiday Tournament.
“It is never going to be a blowout when we wrestle,” Pietro said. “It is always going to be a takedown-to-win situation. It is fun to look forward to having someone right there like him to compete with because it gives you something to push yourself for.”
Freshman heavy: The podium at 113 was top heavy with newcomers.
Northmont freshman Andrew Knick claimed a 5-2 win over Springboro freshman Mason Kleinberg. Butler freshman Logan Hoskins, who fell 2-1 in overtime to Knick, was third.
“We are tough and we work hard,” Knick said. “Hoskins and I have had some great matches and it was a great semi.”
Knick took a 5-0 lead in the finals and gave up just a late takedown to Kleinberg.
“After I got the five, I knew I could control the rest of the match,” Knick said. “I knew I didn’t have to hit anything or take any chances.”
Rubber match win: Wayne freshman Jacob Padilla claimed the rubber match in the trilogy with Northmont's Chuck Saul in the 285 finals. Padilla recorded the pin in 3:30 to claim the title.
Padilla had pinned Saul in the Holiday Tournament before Saul won the second meeting 3-0 in a dual.
The two could meet three more times this year.
Rivalry reborn: The Kimbrell-Newburg rivalry added another sibling in the finals at 182 when Fairmont's Mark Kimbrell claimed a 2-1 win over Gabe Newburg of Northmont.
The rivalry began with Tommy Kimbrell and Jonah Newburg five years ago.
Team race: Butler claimed the overall title with 209 points in winning the North Division title as well.
Northmont finished second overall and won the West Division with 178 points while Beavercreek won the East and was fourth overall with 142.5 points. Stebbins won the South with 66.5 points.
Lebanon (172) and Miamisburg (134) were third and fifth overall, respectively.
Added hardware: Pietro, Snodgrass, Chase Craft (Northmont) and Ryan Whitten (Stebbins) left with more than their awards for placing. They were each named wrestler of the year in their divisions.
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