By Rob Hamilton
Through two days of the state wrestling meet, despite only having four wrestlers competing, the Northmor Knights find themselves in seventh place in Division III with 39.5 points.
That is due to all four Knight competitors having earned podium spots. Where they will wind up in the top eight will be determined during Saturday’s competition.
At 145 pounds, senior Conan Becker (53-2) will be competing for a state championship against 56-1 senior Gavin Grime of Archbold. Becker won a pair of hard-fought decisions Friday, topping Chase Sumner of Ada 8-5 in the quarterfinals before besting Logan Kissell of Garrettsville Garfield by a 6-3 margin in the semis.
Both senior Aaron Kitts (132 pounds) and sophomore Conor Becker (152) could wind up anywhere between third and sixth.
Kitts (40-11) was topped by pinfall in his quarterfinal match with Nico Chilson of Rootstown at the 1:39 mark. However, he rebounded in the consolations to defeat Peyton Lane of New Paris National Trail 10-4 and then topped Cael Rowland of W. Salem Northwestern 3-2 to advance to the consolation semifinals, where he’ll match up with Parker Watson of Rocky River Lutheran West.
The younger Becker (51-5) picked up a pair of wins in the consolation bracket to make it three in a row after a narrow loss by decision in the opening round. On Friday, he opened his day by pinning Dillon Walker of Legacy Christian Academy in 2:51. He then claimed a narrlow 3-2 win over Matt Hall of Bethel-Tate. He’ll face Kyle Ryder of Madison Tuslaw in his first Saturday bout.
At 126 pounds, Gavin Ramos (45-12) will battle Dakota Blanton of Ashland Crestview for seventh place. He fell by a 5-2 decision to Devan Hendricks of Jamestown Greeneview in his quarterfinal match. In the consolations, he opened with a 10-3 victory against Ethin Hoffman of Arcanum before suffering a loss by pinfall agianst Logan Hursey of Newcomerstown in 1:59.
The consolation semifinals and placement matches begin at 10 a.m. Saturday, while the first championship matches will begin at 5:45 p.m.
