TROY – Milton-Union qualified two wrestlers to the state meet over the weekend as Payton Mayfield finished third at 126 pounds and Nathan Barker placed fourth at 157 pounds in the district tournament at Hobart Arena in Troy.
Mayfield, a sophomore, opened the tournament with a 1:50 pin of Wyatt Schwartz from Arcanum and followed with a 1:16 pin of Boat Thompson from Columbus Grove to advance to the semifinal round where he fell to eventual district champion Dillon Campbell of Legacy Christian.
Payton rebounded in the consolation semifinal and his go-to-state match with a 1:38 pin of Kyan Hendricks from Greeneview and then closed out a great weekend with a 1:37 pin of Middletown Madison’s Matthew Wheeler to finish in third place.
Nathan Barker entered the district tournament as the champion out of the Versailles sectional at 157 pounds and won his opening round match with a 2:46 pin over Derrick Hoskins of North College Hill. Barker followed with a 7-0 victory over Logan Mershman of Columbus Grove, but dropped his semifinal bout to Brayden Doran of Preble Shawnee, 15-6.
Barker defeated Emerson Layman of Spencerville to secure a birth at state in the consolation semifinal and then lost an 8-0 decision to Kade Wireman of Allen East in the consolation final.
