Olentangy Orange defeats Marysville in battle of Ohio high school girls wrestling powers
For two coaches who have aided the growth of girls wrestling in Ohio, this was a fitting scene.
Olentangy Orange’s gymnasium was packed Thursday for a mid-afternoon dual match between the Pioneers and rival Marysville, two powerhouse programs in the state. The crowd, which included Orange’s band and cheerleaders and a contingent of enthusiastic students, saw the Pioneers win 51-28.
Orange’s Brian Nicola and Marysville’s Shawn Andrews, the head coaches of the squads, loved the turnout and the atmosphere. Proceeds from the event benefited Lutheran Social Services of Central Ohio.
“It was so exciting,” Nicola said. “I was a little nervous. ... Shawn Andrews was huge with this. He’s one of the best coaches in the state, a future hall of famer. He was gung-ho to bring his girls over here. We’re going to go there next year. I know the Marysville girls are always game. I thought our girls wrestled awesome. I think people were excited about it. It was a fun dual.”
Six pins helped propel Orange (5-1), whose lone loss this season came against defending state champion Harrison (42-39 on Dec. 16 in the Citrus Duals at Orange).
“It was a great atmosphere,” Andrews said. “I can’t think of too many girls that get to wrestle in front of a full gym like that, so it was pretty awesome. ... Credit to (Orange) for a big environment and being ready to wrestle.”
Andrews previously led Marysville’s boys team for 16 seasons, winning eight OCC championships, eight sectional titles and four district championships.
After Marysville took a 6-0 lead on Teagan McKinney’s pin at 100 pounds (2:44), the Pioneers scored the next 18 points and never trailed again.
The Monarchs (6-1) couldn’t get any closer than 33-22 after Cara Leng’s pin at 145 (4:57).
Orange’s winners by pin included Kascidy Garren, who needed only 34 seconds to earn a victory at 190. Garren was fifth at state at 170 last season, helping the Pioneers finish second in the sport’s inaugural OHSAA tournament.
“We’re like a family,” Garren said. “A lot of teams say they’re a family, but our team is actually a full family. Everyone gets along with each other. Sometimes we have bad situations, but we work through it.”
Other winners by pin for the Pioneers were Kenzie Carder at 115 (:45), Lexie Riley at 130 (3:50), Lucy Scheibeck at 135 (2:54), Addi Chevalier at 155 (3:05) and Lydia Heinrich at 170 (4:39).
Cami Leng at 120 (5:20) and Desi Lee at 235 (:27) also won by pin for Marysville, which was fourth at state last year.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Orange beats Marysville in battle of Ohio girls wrestling powers
