Roundup: Wydick, Wygle lead Utica wrestling to championship in home gym
Wesley Wydick and Brock Wygle each won titles on their home mats Saturday, leading the Utica wrestling team to the championship in its Utica Invitational.
Wydick pinned his first four opponents at 126 pounds before beating Barnesville’s Blake Hinkle 17-1 in the final. Wygle also recorded four pins at 138 before beating Dublin Jerome’s Ian Cho 8-5 in the final for Utica, which totaled 240.5 points, finishing ahead of runner-up Newark’s 217.5.
Newark’s Isaiah McCaa finished 4-0 with three pins, including one of Gahanna’s Musa Jallou in the final at 113. Jared Sherrard finished 5-0 with three pins, beating Licking Valley’s Aiden Harrold 8-1 in the final at 165, and Landon Caw finished 4-0 with two pins at 190 for the Wildcats.
Heath’s Riley Gould pinned all five of his opponents, including Marion-Franklin’s Michael Smith at 150 in the final. Teammate Carter Jacks finished 5-0 with four pins at 157, pinning Bexley’s Alex Faulkner in the final.
Newark’s Calvin Untied (144) and Utica’s Brandon Thornsberry (215) each took runner-up.
Jacks wears crown
Keegan Jacks finished 4-0 with three pins to win the title at heavyweight for Lakewood during the Eaton Invitational.
Jacks pinned Wilmington’s Bret Brooks in the final for the Lancers, who took fourth.
Colt Allen (126) finished 4-1 with four pins to take runner-up. Corey Rafferty (120) and Josh Taylor (165) each placed third, and Braxton Torres (106) placed fourth.
Valley takes third
A.J. Kimble at 113 pounds and Alijah Stevens at 132 each took runner-up, leading Licking Valley to a third-place finish during the Jimmy Wood Memorial at New Lexington.
Kimble finished 3-1 with a pin and Stevens 4-1 with four pins for the Panthers, who finished behind champion Lancaster and DeSales.
Conner Roback (138) finished 4-1 to place third. Mason Hornfeck (106), Ben Little (120), Devyn Boyd (144), Bryce Justice (190) and Theo Walsh (215) all placed fourth.
Granville’s Cameron Hickey (175) finished 4-1 to place third.
Luft leads NC
Brian Luft had pinned his first three opponents before suffering an injury in his 126-pound semifinal match for Newark Catholic during Lima Central Catholic's Thunderbird Invitational.
Luft finished in sixth place. Caden Canning (144) and Brendan Sheehan (157) each took seventh.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
NC beats Heath
Newark Catholic's defense only allowed eight points through the first three quarters, smothering visiting Heath to earn a 42-15 victory in Licking County League-Cardinal Division play.
Chloe Chard-Peloquin led the Green Wave (11-4, 8-4) with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Brooklyn Smith added 12 points and Kylie Gibson nine.
Taliyah Holmes and Caroline Robertson scored four points apiece for the Bulldogs (3-13, 2-8).
Watkins nips Valley
Alexia Gartner scored 11 points for Watkins Memorial, helping the Warriors stay unbeaten in LCL-Buckeye play with a 46-44 victory at Licking Valley.
Olivia Perry scored 10 points for the balanced Warriors (15-3, 10-0), who host Granville in a battle for first place on Monday. Cameryn Wheeler and Kalleigh Rennie added seven points apiece.
Kylee White led a balanced attack for the Panthers (10-6, 8-4) with 11 points. Kinsey Osborn added 10 points and Sophia Crabtree a trio of 3-pointers for nine.
Lakewood beats Utica
Camryn Martindale scored nine of her team-high 17 points in the first quarter, fueling Lakewood in a 70-45 victory against visiting Utica in LCL-Cardinal play.
Grace Sturgell scored eight of her 11 points in the first quarter as the Lancers (7-7, 5-5) led 24-12 after one. Charlee Palmer added nine points and Madison Clem eight.
Abby Dickson hit four 3-pointers and totaled 18 points for Utica (3-14, 1-12). Josie Mueller added 11 points and Delaney Kerstetter eight.
Johnstown wins at Northridge
Johnstown held host rival Northridge to six points in the first half, cruising to a 44-17 victory in LCL-Cardinal play.
Abigail Adkins piled up 23 points for the Johnnies (10-6, 8-4), who host Newark Catholic with first place on the line on Wednesday. Kylie Sharp added eight points, and Brooke Barb hit a pair of 3-pointers for six.
Kenzie Hannahs also hit a pair of 3s and totaled 11 points for the Vikings (3-15, 1-11).
Heights falls on road
Licking Heights fell into a 22-8 hole after one quarter and could not recover, losing 54-29 at Zanesville (10-7, 7-5) in LCL-Buckeye play.
Santia Torres led the Hornets (5-12, 3-10) with 10 points. Savanna Cronin added seven.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Heights beats DeSales
Licking Heights used a 12-4 edge in the second quarter to turn the tide, earning a 52-39 victory against visiting DeSales.
Dante Collier led the Hornets (11-5) with 17 points. Yara Conde added 10 points and Javon Waters seven.
Williams hits mark
Keylan Williams reached the 1,000-point mark for Heath in a 52-45 loss at Jonathan Alder.
Williams totaled 21 points. Brandon McLaughlin and Reece Huber added 11 points apiece for the Bulldogs (14-3), who had their 10-game winning streak snapped.
Watkins edged
Watkins Memorial managed just one basket in the fourth quarter, falling 52-43 at Dublin Scioto.
Trace Hartman scored 12 points for the Warriors (4-11), who trailed just 37-35 after three quarters. Sam Johnson added eight points, hitting a pair of 3-pointers.
Liberty falls at home
Liberty Christian was unable to keep up with visiting New Hope, which hit 12 3-pointers in a 70-53 victory.
Evan Adair led the Eagles (2-12) with 17 points and nine rebounds. Josh Onabanjo added 11 points and Kaden Minier and Joseph Bracaloni seven apiece.
Lakewood beaten by Morgan
Lakewood was outscored 37-20 during the middle two quarters by visiting Morgan in a 77-45 loss.
Carson Watts hit three of his five 3-pointers in the first quarter, and he finished with 17 points to lead the Lancers (1-15). Aidan Bowman added eight points and Brendon Thorp six.
INDOOR TRACK
Christian takes second
Dylan Christian ran a time of 1:53.90 to take runner-up, leading Granville during the Ohio Preview at SPIRE Institute.
Gavin Wells added a sixth-place finish for the Blue Aces in the weight throw (46-feet-4).
In the girls meet, Granville had a trio of fourth-place finishers in individual events —Lillian Eckels in the 800 (2:22.26), Zoee Lehman 1,600 (5:04.98) and Regina Rose 3,200 (11:15.34).
This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Wydick, Wygle lead Utica wrestling to championship in home gym
