COLUMBUS – Versailles reached the state semifinals of the Ohio High School Athletic Association state wrestling dual team tournament on Sunday at The Ohio State University’s St. John Arena in Columbus.
Versailles began the Division III state tournament with a 36-24 victory against Apple Creek Waynedale in the quarterfinals.
Versailles quickly jumped out to a 24-0 lead against Waynedale.
Freshman Kobe Epperly won the 106 pound match by forfeit to start the tournament then freshman Trevor Huber pinned Waynedale freshman Gabe Mathias in 3:47 in the 113 pound match.
Junior Jacob Poling beat Waynedale freshman Storm Stanley 7-5 in the 120 pound match, and sophomore Cael Bey beat Waynedale freshman Jaden Varner 6-3 in the 126 pound bout.
Sophomore Nick Monnier pinned Waynedale freshman Karl Evans in 3:23 in the 132 pound match to make it 24-0.
Waynedale got its first win when senior Evan Hostetler beat Versailles senior Preston Platfoot 5-3 in overtime of the 138 pound match.
Versailles senior Kyle Wuebker then pinned junior Jarrett Varner in 3:38 in the 145 pound match to put Versailles up 30-3.
Waynedale got back-to-back wins with sophomore Micah Hershberger pinning Versailles sophomore Nathan Wagner in 3:38 in the 152 pound match and junior Max Lemon defeating Versailles junior Derek Cavin 11-4 in the 160 pound match, bringing the score to 30-12.
Versailles junior Tyler Gigandet beat sophomore Nathan Shaw 3-1 in the 170 pound match.
Waynedale won the next three matches with senior Logan Stanley winning the 182 pound match by forfeit, senior Ty Straits beating Versailles sophomore Isaac Grilliot 6-2 in the 195 pound match and junior Ben Wilkinson beating Versailles freshman Austin Nerderman 7-3 in the 220 pound match.
Versailles senior Jeffrey Ware beat senior Ben Farrar 4-2 in the 285 pound match to finish off the 36-24 victory for the Tigers.
After defeating fifth seeded Waynedale, fourth seeded Versailles had to wrestle top seeded Genoa Area in the semifinals. Genoa began the tournament with a 62-6 win against eighth seeded Bethel-Tate in the quarterfinals.
Versailles managed two wins against Genoa Area in a 50-9 loss.
Epperly earned Versailles’ first win, pinning sophomore Corey Welsh in 58 seconds in the 106 pound match.
Genoa then won the next 12 matches.
Freshman Devin D’Emilio beat Huber 8-7 in the 113 pound match, junior Oscar Sanchez beat Poling 10-4 in the 120 pound match, and junior Julian Sanchez beat Bey 10-4 in the 126 pound match.
Junior Dylan D’Emilio pinned Monnier in 1:19 in the 132 pound bout then Dustin Morgillo beat Platfoot 6-0 in the 138 pound match, Andrew Muir beat Wuebker 5-0 in the 145 pound match, and Kevin Contos won via a 16-0 technical fall over Wagner in the 152 pound match.
Junior James Limongi pinned Cavin in 50 seconds in the 160 pound match, and Seth Moore beat Gigandet 6-4 in the 170 pound match.
Senior Xavier Beach pinned Versailles sophomore Isaac Gilmore in 4:16 in the 182 pound match, sophomore Antonio Quezada beat Grilliot 4-3 in the 195 pound match, and junior Christian Aranda beat Nerderman 6-2 in the 220 pound match.
Versailles’ second win came in the 285 pound bout in which Ware beat junior Noah Koch 7-3.
The loss to Genoa Area ended Versailles’ run in the tournament. Genoa went on to win the Division III state championship, defeating Massillon Tuslaw 40-20 in the championship match.
Versailles’ season will continue with one final dual match then the individual OHSAA tournament. The Tigers will play host to Tippecanoe at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday for their senior night match.
For more information about the OHSAA state tournament, visit ohsaa.org.
