“I really didn’t win this match for me,” said Attisano, who wrestles at 132 pounds. “I dedicated this whole season to (former LCA coach Tom Hoskins, who passed away four months ago). He was a near and dear friend.”
Attisano even sported a T-shirt with a photo of Hoskins with the caption: ‘Champions Never Fade — This One’s For You’.
Undoubtedly, Attisano will be remembered as one of the all-time great champs at tradition-rich LCA after capping his career with a three-peat following his efficient, dominant, workmanlike 19-3 major decision over Monroeville’s Owen Patchen.
The outcome was hardly in doubt after Attisano (45-2) piled up 13 points in the first period alone.
“There’s a lot of pressure going after any state title,” said Attisano, who has committed to join the wrestling program at The Naval Academy. “But since I was four years old, I’ve been putting in the hard work — just grinding. It’s kind of easy to put the nerves on the back burner when you know this is what you live it."
Kettering Alter’s Rod Owens Jr. also knows all about the potential burdens of defending a state championship after winning one for the Knights last winter.
Competing out of the 190-pound weight class in D-II, Owens was also sterling from start to finish, rolling to a 12-3 major decision over Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy’s Paul Tepley. The triumph was a milestone in more than one way for Owens as it was his 150th career victory — and he also became Alter’s first modern-day two-time state title holder in the process.
“There is always an expectation for me to go out there and win,” said Owens, who finished the season 46-1. “But that never gets to me — I am built for the moment. This is a time when I had to just go out there and rise."
Unlike some Sunday’s other competitors who are either going to wrestle in college or return to high school, this was Owens’ mat swan song as he will be heading to Youngstown State University to play football.
“It was great to be able to go out there one last time for my family, my friends, people I grew up with and all of the people on our team (at Alter),” Owens said. “It’s bittersweet, but it’s good to know that all of the hard work I put in brought this to fruition.”
While Owens is leaving the mat for good, look for Miamisburg’s Preston Webb to continue to be a major force in the Montgomery County wrestling scene for the next two years.
Webb, sophomore, surprised even himself this winter by reaching the Division I 106-Pound finals before seeing his magical ride end with a 12-0 major decision loss to Perrysburg’s Collin Bagdonas.
In 2025, as a ninth-grader, Webb finished in sixth place at the districts and was unable to compete late in the campaign due to an illness.
One year later, Webb was on the next-to-highest step on the post-match podium.
“I did not,” Webb said when asked if he had anticipated making it this far at the state meet. “I just kept training and showing up. I practiced. You have to be dedicated in the room. If there is an open mat, go to it. If there’s a tournament you want to go to, go to it. Get as much training and experience that you can.
“I learned this year that wrestling is a hard sport, but if you put the hard work into it, you can get good enough to place at states or even make the last match.”
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