What's happening in Greater Columbus high school wrestling? Here are 5 storylines
Central Ohio’s top boys and girls wrestling programs are gearing up for the first of several major tournaments.
For the boys, district dual tournaments are set for Feb. 3, with the winner of each advancing to the state duals Feb. 10 at Lakewood St. Edward (Division I), New Lexington (Division II) and Versailles (Division III).
The Division I districts will be held at Dublin Coffman and Olentangy Liberty. Also competing will be Gahanna Lincoln, Lancaster, Mount Vernon, Marysville, Olentangy, Pickerington North, Teays Valley and Watkins Memorial.
In Division II, DeSales and Watterson are among the teams hosting districts. Jonathan Alder and Licking Valley also will be competing.
In Division III, Amanda-Clearcreek and Westfall are in the field.
For the girls, Marysville and Olentangy Orange will host regional dual tournaments Feb. 3, with the winners advancing to the state duals Feb. 10 at Marysville.
Here are five wrestling storylines so far this season:
1. Marysville girls coach proud of team’s progress
Shawn Andrews, who took over the girls program after guiding the Marysville boys for 16 seasons, has been pleased with his team’s development.
“We have been very happy with the progress we have made,” Andrews said. “We have spent a great deal of time on the technical side of wrestling. As we approach the last month and a half of the season, we are really looking to focus on how we compete going into the end of the season. We continue to take each competition as an opportunity to learn and grow.”
If the Monarchs win a regional dual title, they'll get to compete for the state duals championship on their home mats. The past two years, Marysville lost the title match to Orange.
Leading the way for Marysville have been Lori Grimes (28-7, 170 pounds), Desi Lee (24-3, 190), Addison Lyon (24-6, 135), Cami Leng (23-1, 115), Cara Leng (23-5, 140) and Lauren Mobley (23-8, 125).
2. Dublin Coffman boys eye return trip to state duals
The Shamrocks are seeking a sixth consecutive state dual tournament berth and eighth overall. They finished fourth of eight teams last season.
Coffman also is 2-0 in the OCC-Central as its pursues an eighth consecutive league title. The Shamrocks have league wins over Liberty (47-18 on Jan. 11) and Orange (72-0 on Thursday).
The match against Liberty should serve as a warmup for other head-to-head matchups between Shamrocks and Patriots wrestlers.
“We’ll see them possibly at (the) state duals and (the) sectional, district and state (individual tournaments),” Coffman coach Chance Van Gundy said. “It’s always great competition. There were so many good individual matchups that went six minutes (during the league match).”
Last season, Coffman rallied to edge Liberty for the district title, 236.5-233.
Coffman has six wrestlers with at least 20 wins this season, including two returning state champions in Ohio State commit Ethan Birden (25-2, 165) and Nebraska commit Omar Ayoub (23-2, 144).
Blaze Van Gundy (24-2, 120), Storm Beane (23-4, 190), Grayson Woodcock (20-1, 157) and Eli Esguerra (20-5, 150) also have reached 20 wins.
3. Olentangy Liberty boys looking forward to rematches with Coffman
Liberty coach Mark Marinelli said his wrestlers have work to do before their next matches against Coffman.
“Coffman is better than us right now, but we really haven’t trained that hard yet,” Marinelli said. “We have to train a little bit harder, but I think we’ll close the gap. We can win the district title.”
The Patriots finished seventh (246) in the Grizzly Invitational Tournament on Saturday at Wadsworth behind champion Detroit Central Catholic (449.5).
Huggy Williams (126) finished second, while Tyler Deericks (157) and Brady Quillen (215) were third and Prestyn Parks (132) was fifth.
The Patriots also qualified for the state duals a season ago, finishing fifth.
4. Olentangy Orange girls look to continue state duals domination
The Pioneers are seeking a third consecutive state duals title after beating Marysville 42-36 in the championship match last season.
Orange went on to finish second (69) in the OHSAA state tournament behind Harrison (97). Marysville was fourth (61) and Delaware Hayes tied for eighth (42).
The Pioneers’ season has included wins over Marysville (51-28 on Jan. 4), Delaware (72-12 last Tuesday) and Washington County (Pennsylvania) Canon-McMillan (51-27 on Sunday). Canon-McMillan won the Pennsylvania state title a season ago.
Orange also finished first (207) in its home Pioneer Classic, which was held Jan. 12 and 13.
“Our schedule is pretty tough,” coach Brian Nicola said. “If we take some losses, I’m OK with that as long as we’re getting closer and getting ready for the remainder of the season. That’s our main goal.”
The Pioneers have received a balanced effort, led by Lydia Heinrich’s 22-4 record at 170 with 17 pins. Josie Nickoloff (22-7, 120), Alanna Smith (18-6, 115), Lexie Riley (18-8, 130), Kenzie Carder (17-0, 110), Jenny Huaracha-Arellanos (16-7, 235) and Kascidy Garren (14-0, 190) have been other key contributors.
5. Westerville North girls coach enjoying first season
North’s Kenny Farrow has been pleased with his team’s effort during his first season leading the program.
Farrow has had the opportunity to coach his sophomore daughter, Isadora, who is 14-9 at 145.
“Coaching my daughter is our way of creating memories together,” he said. “Spending time coaching Izzy over the past years has been a blessing and an experience I’ll cherish for a lifetime. There's nothing better.”
Also for the Warriors, Arden Heckman is 23-8 at 120, Gianna Harvey is 15-7 at 155 and Simiya Hunter-Douglas is 8-8 at 100.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Here are 5 storylines in central Ohio high school wrestling
