Brecksville Holiday and Medina Invitational Tournaments will have loaded fields again

With Christmas in the rearview mirror attention in high school wrestling turns to the two biggest holiday tournaments in Northeast Ohio.

With 110 years of combined experience that means the 47th annual Medina Invitational Tournament and 63rd annual Brecksville Holiday Tournament are ready to go just before the clock strikes midnight on 2023.

There are 330 state-ranked wrestlers and 18 nationally-ranked stars between the two tournaments, which means action will com at a fevered pitch at both venues.

Here's a look at what's on tap:

Medina Invitational wrestling tournament

• When: 10 a.m./6 p.m. Thursday; 9 a.m./4 p.m. Friday

• Greater Akron/Canton area teams: Brunswick, Buckeye, Copley, Hoover, Lake, Louisville, Medina, Rootstown, Springfield

• Returning team champion: Buckeye

• Returning individual champions: Colyn Limbert (Buckeye, 120 pounds), Eddie Neitenbach (Buckeye, 190)

• Outlook: The field includes 136 ranked wrestlers and projected state champions in Buckeye's Blake Bartos (113) and Neitenbach. Miami East has a projected state champion in Hud Randell (106) and Sandusky Perkins has one in Kaiyon McKinney (165). Neitenbach is currently ranked eighth nationally by MatScouts.com.

• The Bucks are the favorites to repeat here with eight ranked wrestlers. The Bucks are projected to finish fourth in Division II as a team at state. Other ranked teams in the field are Galion (6th, Division II), Miami East (6th, Division III), Perkins (8th, Division II), Toledo Whitmer (10th, Division I), Louisville (11th, Division II) and Delta (11th, Division III).

63rd annual Brecksville Holiday wrestling tournament

• When: 11 a.m. Friday; 10 a.m./5 p.m. Saturday

• Greater Akron/Canton area teams: Aurora, Brecksville, Highland, Hoban, Perry, St. Vincent-St. Mary

• Returning team champion: Perrysburg

• Returning individual champions: Marcus Blaze (Perrysburg, 132), Omar Ayoub (Dublin Coffman, 144), Ethan Birden (Coffman, 165), Max Shulaw (Columbus DeSales, 215), Aidan Fockler (Perry, 285)

• Outlook: Among a field of 194 state-ranked wrestlers set for this tournament, here's the one who are projected state champs — Ayden Dodd (Perrysburg, 106), Grey Burnett (Perrysburg, 113), Wyatt Lees (Detroit Catholic Central, 113), Blaze (Perrysburg, 132), Aiden King (Bishop Hartley, 132), Charles Curtis (Perry, 138), Cam Chinavare (Dundee, Mich., 138), Carson Thomas (Cincinnati LaSalle, 138), Blake Crosby (Dundee, 144), Ayoub (Coffman, 144), Justin Gates (Davison, Mich., 150), Reese Stephen (150, Barnesville), Kole Katschor (Dundee, 157), Kohen Horvath (Edison, 165), Luke James (Edison, 175), Shulaw (DeSales, 215), Darius Marines (Detroit Catholic Central, 215), Keegan Sell (Garrettsville Garfield, 215), Fockler (Perry, 285).

• There are 17 nationally-ranked wrestlers. Blaze is the highest at second in 132.

• There are 17 teams projected to finish in the top 10 of the respective tournaments. There are seven top 50 teams nationally with No. 17 Detroit Catholic Central, No. 21 Perry, No. 24 Perrysburg, No. 28 Coffman, No. 43 Dundee, No. 44 Lowell (Mich.) and No. 50 Brecksville in the field.

Contact Brad Bournival at bbournival@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @bbournival

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: OHSAA Wrestling: MIT, Brecksville brings biggest stars to the area