College Notebook: Pleasant grad Carter Chase cracks Ohio State wrestling lineup

COLUMBUS — Pleasant's Carter Chase earned some reps as a member of the nationally ranked Ohio State wrestling team.

A redshirt freshman, Chase went 12-5 this season with six pins at 165 pounds. He finished second at the Findlay Open with a 5-1 record, losing in the final in sudden victory. He won the Storm Open with a 4-0 mark and three pins.

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He made the lineup for two duals, losing 9-6 in sudden victory in one match and 6-0 to the ninth-ranked 165-pound wrestler in the nation, Caleb Fish, of Michigan State. The Buckeyes were ranked No. 6 nationally in the coaches poll and finished fifth in the Big Ten Tournament this year. Ohio State was 15-2 overall and 7-1 in the conference.

Chase returned after missing most of last season with a knee injury. He's an OSU Scholar Athlete and was named Academic All-Big Ten this season.

Here are how other Marion-area college athletes fared during the winter sports season:

● Chase's Pleasant teammate C.J. Smith got two bouts for the Cleveland State wrestling team at 174 pounds.

● River Valley grad Hadyn Danals missed most of the 2023-24 season at the University of Virginia with a shoulder injury. He was 1-2 before getting hurt and now stands 15-7 in his career where he's an Atlantic Coast Conference Academic Honor Roll student.

● Highland alum and Ashland University's Caleb Wetzel competed at 141 and 149 pounds for the NCAA Division II squad, going 3-4 while competing in the Bob Del Rosa Ohio Open and the 2023 Storm Open.

● Marion Harding's Samson St. Germain was a freshman on the wrestling team at NCAA Division III's Ferrum College in Virginia. He had a 5-11 record at 125 pounds and went 2-3 at the Citrus Invite in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

● Three area wrestlers made contributions at Otterbein. Trace Williams, a freshman from North Union, was 20-11 at 141 pounds, earning seven pins, three technical falls and two major decisions. Northmor's Austin Amens was a senior at 157 pounds and posted an 8-7 record with a 2-1 mark in the Ohio Athletic Conference. He had three pins and a major decision. River Valley's Gabe Thacker was a freshman 125-pounder who went 7-11 with four pins and one tech fall.

● In bowling, Marion Harding's Jayden Combs is a freshman member of the NAIA national runners-up at Indiana Tech. The squad will compete next weekend at the USBC Intercollegiate Team Championship in Jeffersontown, Kentucky. Combs appeared in 32 games, recording a 197.06 average, which ranked 10th on the team. In one tournament this season, he finished ninth out of 142 bowlers and 22 teams. Among his best events, a 223.4 average over five games at the AHBA Event 5, a 222.5 in two games at the Roto Grip Keystone Quaker Classic and a 211 in two games at the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Greater Detroit Classic.

● His former Harding teammate Cameron Rayner competed on the club team at Tiffin and averaged a 174 over 36 games. The freshman was 28th with a 191.8 over five games at the Orange & Black Classic and also averaged a 185.8 at the Ohio Bowling Conference Event 2 over five games.

● A pair of Highland products helped the Mount Vernon Nazarene bowling teams in 2023-24. Junior Paige Hicks was the Champions of Character winner for the women's team, averaging a 162.8 over 43 games with four top 25 finishes in tournaments this season. Sophomore James Blaney rolled in 14 games, averaging a 174.3. He had one top 10 finish in a tourney.

● In swimming, Marion Harding's Grace McCrery was a sophomore on the Ripon College women's team. An Academic All-Midwest Conference pick, she helped the Red Hawks to a third-place finish at the Wisconsin Private College Championships, taking sixth in the 200-yard backstroke in 2:29.43, seventh in the 200 individual medley in 2:31.41 and 11th in the 100 back in 1:11.81. At the Midwest Conference Championships, she was part of the 800 freestyle relay team that finished fourth.

● Bluffton's Maddie Fitzpatrick wrapped her senior year with the women's basketball team. The 5-foot-7 guard from Mount Gilead started all 22 games she played, averaging 6.4 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists, while shooting 77% from the foul line. She had 15 points against Mount Union and 14 at Anderson. She handed out five assists three times, picked up four steals at Earlham and pulled down eight rebounds at Defiance.

● Fitzpatrick's teammate Kyla Columber was a sophomore for the Beavers who finished 9-16 overall and 7-11 in the Heartland Conference. The 5-5 sophomore guard from Pleasant appeared in 25 games and started three. She put up 5.6 points while shooting 28% on 3-pointers and 73% on foul shots. Columber went 5-for-9 from the arc to end with 16 points at Earlham, plus had 14 points at Franklin and four steals at Adrian.

● Cardington grad Beth Hardwick was a sophomore on the NAIA women's basketball team at Kentucky Christian where she played in 27 games, recording 6.7 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game on 31% shooting from the field, 29% shooting from the 3-point line and 85% from the foul line. She had a 16-point, 10-rebound game against Montreat, plus six 3-pointers and 18 points at Welch and six assists against Reinhardt.

Anyone who wants to share news about a college athlete from the Marion area is encouraged to contact the Marion Star's Rob McCurdy at rmccurdy@gannett.com, 419-610-0998, X @McMotorsport and Instagram @rob_mccurdy_star. There will be more on spring athletes later in the season, plus fall athletes in future college notebooks.

This article originally appeared on Marion Star: College Notebook: Marion-area winter sports athletes make impact