Once again, the Northmor wrestling team cruised into the regional semifinals in the Division III state dual team tournament on Wednesday.
Hosting a quarterfinal, Northmor picked up easy wins over Arcadia and Carey to move on. They topped Arcadia by a 78-6 margin and defeated Carey 54-19. Those wins advanced Northmor to the regional semifinals and finals, to be hosted by Oak Harbor next Wednesday. The Knights will take on Pleasant at 3 p.m., with the winner going against either Oak Harbor or Genoa Area for a berth in the eight-team state championships.
Northmor opened their night by winning 13 straight matches against Arcadia before losing at 285 pounds via forfeit. Austin Amens (113) and Aaron Kitts (132) won by forfeit, while every other Northmor wrestler pinned their opponent.
Jakob Neer (126), Conan Becker (138), Conor Becker (145), Matthew Ross (152), Kyle Price (170), Mason Burger (182), Nathan Price (195) and D.J. Christo (220) all claimed their pins in the first period, with Conan Becker’s winning time of 17 seconds being the quickest pin. Gavin Ramos (120) and Tony Martinez (160) pinned their opponents in the second period and Manny Heilman (106) earned a third-period pin.
The team then topped Carey in a match they won nine of 14 matches. The teams split the early matches, with Heilman and Ramos winning by first period pins and Carey claiming wins by decision at 113 and 126. However, they would pull away from their opponents by winning every match between 132 and 160 pounds.
Kitts and Conan Becker claimed pins, then Conor Becker won by forfeit. Ross and Martinez would follow with pins of their own to give Northmor a 42-6 lead in the match. Conan Becker once again had the quick pin for the day, dispatching his opponent in 22 seconds, for a total of 39 seconds of mat time in his two matches.
After Carey won at 182 and 195 pounds, Northmor finished with two forfeit wins by Nathan Price and Christo to move on the state duals.
Highland Scots
In a Division II regional quarterfinal hosted by Upper Sandusky, the Highland wrestling team was upended by their hosts by a 59-9 margin.
The Scots were hurt by having to forfeit five matches in the contest, handing Upper 30 points. In contested matches, two Highland wrestlers claimed victory. At 132 pounds, Sean Dudgeon topped his opponent by technical fall, while Zach Baker won by major decision at 285.