Boys Best of the Week: Elgin, Northmor wrestlers win team championships at tournaments
RICHWOOD — Elgin's wrestlers won the 14-team Don Wasserbeck Classic at North Union on Saturday, scoring 254.5 points to top Benjamin Logan, Dublin Coffman and Marysville.
Marion Harding was fifth with 110 points, the hosts sixth with 93.5 and Pleasant eighth with 80.5.
Pleasant's Daxton Chase won the 150-pound weight class and was named the tournament's most outstanding wrestler. Chase won it via a pin and three straight technical falls.
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For Elgin, Colton Long at 144, Nels VanGundy at 175 and Tyler Pasma at 215 all won championships, while taking runner-up spots were Aiden Cervantes at 106, Kaiden Luikart at 150, Quinten Harrison at 157 and Russel Sherman at 285.
Taking third for the Comets were Brysen LaBournty at 285 and Jack VanGundy at 190. Also placing for Elgin were John Willis (fourth, 113), Jayden Spears (sixth, 113), Landon Shrader (fourth, 126), Hunter Johnston (fourth, 132), Archer Johnston (fifth, 132), Gavin Rhodes (fifth, 138), Caden Wilcox (sixth, 138), Kaleb Martin (fifth, 165) and Dylan Phillips (sixth, 190).
Ridge Barkley led Harding with a championship at 138, also gaining his 100th career win in the tourney. Other placers for the Presidents were Mark King (sixth, 106), Chase Marquis (sixth, 120), Sean Kelly (fifth, 144), Kile Sentieri (fourth, 150), Jamarie Starks (fifth, 190) and Je'Merrion Jacobs (fourth, 285).
Like Chase, Ayden O'Dell at 113 and Sam Mentzer at 165 also won titles for Pleasant.
For North Union, Zack Ellis was third at 120, Kannon Alvarado sixth at 126, Zayne Leiter fourth at 144, Josh Ahern fifth at 175 and Tyler Cline second at 215.
Here are some other highlights from around the area last week in boys winter sports:
More Wrestling
● Northmor won the 21-team Robin Drumm Classic in Heath with 257 points. Cowin Becker was named most outstanding wrestler in winning the 132-pound class. Four other Golden Knights won championships: Carter Thomas at 106, Brady Carr at 113, Carson Campbell at 157 and Ashton Clark at 190. Ethan Amens was runner-up at 120, Arius Swaim fourth at 144 and Collin Beck sixth at 126.
● River Valley finished third at the Chuck Forward Duals in Archbold, beating Paulding, Archbold and Milbury Lake. Going 5-0 for the Vikings were Karson Jenkins at 106 and Porter Rick at 190. Going 4-1 were Owen Rogers at 138, Carter Creeden at 175 and Drew Goldberg at 285.
● Highland ended in fifth out of 24 teams at the Josh Hephner Memorial at Austintown-Fitch. Finishing second were Konner Blaney at 106 and Cael Gilmore at 144, while taking third were Kasey Clark at 126 and Rem Baker at 157. Liam DeLaney was fifth at 150, Hunter Taylor seventh at 190 and Brady Byler eighth at 113.
Bowling
● Pleasant's Carter Colby shook off a 175 game to record the first-ever perfect game in program history and finish with a 475 series at Cooper's Bowl. The Spartans beat Highland 2,662-1,646 as Nolan Ludwig topped the team with a 258-238 496 followed by a 226-236 462 from Dawson Hall, a 379 from Tucker Ludwig and a 369 from Johnathan Maran. They also teamed for a 277 Baker game. Highland's Joseph Farrell led his squad with a 275 series.
● Marion Harding knocked off Galion 2,104-1,781 at Victory Lanes. Allan Eaches shot a 230-198 438 and Noah Daigneau a 401 for the Prexies. Gaven Stoll had a 221 game and 381 series in Harding's 2,521-2,394 loss to Kenton.
● River Valley rolled to a 2,173-1,872 victory over Cardington with Andrew Karrick leading at 246-216 462. Cardington's Dylan Keifer shot 223-183 406 to help the Pirates.
● Shawnee beat North Union 2,782-2,133. For the Wildcats, Zach Howald shot 192-189 381, Braden Rhodes 362 and Logan Otten 347.
Basketball
● River Valley's Carson Smith was perfect on all 10 of his free throw attempts and ended with 25 points to help the Vikings to an 82-58 victory over Ontario. All five starters reached double digits in scoring as Ayden Kenney had 16, Chase Smith 14, Sawyer Weston 12 and Chase Ebert 10.
● River Valley also squeaked out a 47-39 win at Pleasant as Ebert had 14, Carson Smith 13 and Weston 12. RV led 10-5 after the first quarter, 18-16 at halftime and 30-26 entering the fourth period where it made 11 of 16 foul shots to hold on for the victory. For Pleasant, who was playing without All-Ohio guard Trey Booker who broke his ankle on Thursday night against Highland, Wiley Smith had 15 points and Lathan McCants nine.
● In that 67-52 Pleasant win at Highland, Toby Rogers had 20 and Jace Brooks eight for the Scots.
● Marion Harding went to Mid Ohio Athletic Conference-leading Shelby and fell behind 16-7 in the first quarter and couldn't catch up in a 61-44 loss. Boston Pearson scored 14 and Trey Cady nine for the Prexies. Harding rebounded for a 63-48 win over Highland, turning a 32-31 halftime lead into the win with the help of a 17-4 fourth period. Pearson and Marquis Long Jr. each had 19 points, and Logan Thrapp and Braylyn Dyer both put up nine points for Harding, while Owen Winkelfoos led Highland with 14 and Aron West added nine.
● North Union held Benjamin Logan scoreless in the fourth period of a 68-20 romp. Max Parish outscored the opponents by himself with 29 points, while Mason Bright had nine and Tyler Krebehenne eight.
● Ridgedale made the trip to Knightstown, Indiana, to play in the iconic Hoosiers Gym made famous by the 1980s movie "Hoosiers." However, Ridgemont prevailed 77-61 thanks to a 29-point third-quarter outburst. Eric Gottfried had 24 points, Michael Dease 12 and Evan Ricketts 12 for the Rockets. In a 53-51 loss to Hardin Northern, Gottfried recorded 14, Dease 13 and Ricketts eight.
● Elgin's Stephen Castillo-Carey put up 18 points, Donaven Stith 11 and Nate Freshour nine in a 47-42 loss to Temple Christian. Stith and Freshour each scored 11 in a 54-41 loss to Ridgemont.
● Cardington romped to an 81-59 win over Mount Gilead behind the 21 from Warren Garrison, 20 from A.J. Brehm, 19 from A.J. Hall and nine from Journey Williamson. For the Indians, Gage Baker scored 19, Cam Vickers 13, Mitchell Sayers nine and Rowan Fitzpatrick eight.
● In a 58-47 loss to Danville, Mount Gilead was led by Hayden Somerlot's five 3-pointers and 16 points. Fitzpatrick added 11, Baker eight and Vickers eight.
● Northmor scored 23 points in the fourth period and 37 in the second half to pull away to a 63-52 win over Centerburg. Grant Bentley had 21 points, Drew Hammond 15 and Hunter Fulk 10 for the Knights.
Coaches and statisticians are encouraged to send their results to the Marion Star's Rob McCurdy at rmccurdy@gannett.com, 419-610-0998, X @McMotorsport and Instagram @rob_mccurdy_star.
VOTE: Marion Star Boys Best of the Week Performer Poll
● Voting continues at MarionStar.com and its app through early Sunday morning.
● River Valley swimmer Chase Osborne was second in the 500-yard freestyle and fourth in the 100 backstroke at the Mid Ohio Athletic Conference Swimming Championships at the Marion Family YMCA.
● Pleasant bowler Carter Colby became the first bowler in program history to roll a perfect 300 game during a win over Highland.
● North Union basketball's Max Parish scored 29 points in a win over Benjamin Logan.
● Ridgedale basketball's Eric Gottfried scored 24 points in a loss to Ridgemont at the Hoosiers Gym in Indiana.
● Northmor wrestler Cowin Becker won the 132 weight division and was named Most Outstanding Wrestler at the Robin Drumm Classic at Heath.
In the last Marion Star Boys Best of the Week Performer Poll, River Valley basketball's Carson Smith, who scored 34 points with five 3-pointers and 7-for-7 shooting at the foul line, earned 320 of 524 votes (61 percent) to win it. Other male nominees were Marion Harding basketball's Marquis Long Jr., Elgin swimmer Jacob Faust, Mount Gilead swimmer Jaxon Tinch and North Union basketball's Max Parish.
This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Boys Best: Wrestling, bowling basketball highlight last week
