COLUMBUS – Troy Christian’s junior 175 pounder Connor Havill (26-3) had a huge second day the the state tournament as he punched his ticket to the state finals with a 5-4 win over Keegan Sell (35-3) of Garfield.
Havill will face C.J. Smith (54-2) of Pleasant Sunday evening with a state championship on the line.
In the morning session on Saturday, Troy Kennedy and Connor Havill grappled in the championship quarterfinal, while Kyle Schroer and Jason Shaffer looked to battle their way back through the consolation rounds.
Havill, a junior 175 pounder, continued his impressive weekend with a 10-6 victory over Tabor Lackey (49-3) of Trimble to advance to the semifinal round. This followed an 18-3 technical victory for Havill on Friday.
Senior Troy Kennedy wasn’t as fortunate in the quarterfinal as he dropped a heartbreaking 6-4 decision to Skyler King (46-5) of Barnesville in a match where the Eagle wrestler was very close to recording a reversal in the waning seconds. Kennedy responded with a 6-3 win over Brock Wygle (45-10) of Utica in the second round of consolations.
Kennedy (34-7) then dropped a razor thin 4-3 decision to Arlie Benson (46-6) of Greenon in the consolation quarterfinal and will face Andrw Seas (41-8) of Mapleton for seventh place Sunday morning.
Jason Shaffer, who dropped a very close 3-1 decision in his opening match on Friday, battled back gallantly with back-to-back wins over returning state placers – the first came last night against Will Davidson of Kirtland. In the second round of consolations on Saturday morning, Shaffer defeated two-time state placer Alec Homan (27-4) of Monroeville 8-4, an extremely impressive win to ensure himself his first state medal.
Saturday evening Shaffer (13-4) came up short against Christian Lecki (39-5) of Millbury Lake by the slimmest of margins 1-0 in the consolation quarterfinal. Shaffer looks to rebound Sunday morning in his match for seventh place against Jeremiah McKee (46-5) of Wellington.
At 106 pounds, junior Kyle Schroer came so very close to earning a state medal, but fell short 5-3 in sudden victory to Abe Hermes (48-11) of Milan Edison. Schroer, who won a district title a week ago, finished his season with a 22-8 record.
QUARTERFINAL
138 – Skyler King (Barnesville) dec. Troy Kennedy (Troy Christian) – 6-4
175 – Connor Havill (Troy Christian dec. Tabor Lackey (Trimble) – 10-6
SECOND ROUND CONSOLATIONS
106 – Abe Hermes (Mil. Edison) dec. Kyle Schroer (Troy Christian) – 5-3 SV
132 – Jason Shaffer (Troy Christian) dec. Alec Homan (Monroeville) – 8-4
138 – Troy Kennedy (Troy Christian) dec. Brock Wygle (Utica) – 6-3
SEMIFINAL
175 – Connor Havill (Troy Christian) dec. Keegan Sell (Gar. Garfield) – 5-4
THIRD ROUND CONSOLATIONS
132 – Cristian Lecki (Mil. Lake) dec. Jason Shaffer (Troy Christian) – 1-0
138 – Arlie Benson Jr. (Greenon) dec. Troy Kennedy (Troy Christian) – 4-3
