TROY – After the first night of wrestling in the Division III District Wrestling Tournament at Troy’s Hobart Arena, seven of the nine Buccaneer district qualifiers have hopes of qualifying for state.
Four Buccaneer wrestlers went 2-0 on the day to advance to the semifinal rounds, while three more wrestlers remain in contention in the consolation rounds – which will be wrestled tomorrow (Saturday) beginning at 10:00am.
At 106 pounds sophomore Carson Taylor (38-6) opened the tournament with an impressive 8-0 major decision victory over Nolan Fraley of Mechanicsburg. Taylor then dominated Springfield Catholic Central’s Crus Gutierrez in the quarterfinals via a 16-1 technical fall. Gutierrez was the champions from the Lehman Sectional. Taylor will face Gage Murphy (38-3) of Reading in the semifinals tomorrow.
At 113 pounds Buccaneer sophomore Jericho Quinter (29-4) recorded back-to-back pins to open the tournament. First, Quinter pinned Connor Blankenship of Wayne Trace in 1:01 and followed with a 1:06 pin of Versailles’ Lane Bergman. Next Quinter battles Eli Campbell of Legacy Christian in the semifinals.
Michael Hagan (38-3), a returning state placer a year ago at 106 pounds, had a dominating performance on Friday at 120 pounds. Hagan opened with a 3;04 pin of Cade Bergman of Versailles and then pinned Zach Case of Clermont Northeastern in 1:05 in the quarterfinals. Next for Hagan is a matchup against Dillon Campbell of Legacy Christian in the semifinals.
Buccaneer sophomore Chase Vanderhorst (27-2) was the final Buccaneer wrestler to advance to the semifinal round as he pinned Tanner Stammen of Coldwater in :41 and followed with a very impressive 8-4 victory over highly touted Logan Artisan of Legacy Christian. Vanderhorst faces Jesse Stroud of Mechanicsburg in his opening match tomorrow.
Remaining in contention in the consolation bracket are seniors Connor Sindelir, Jensen Wagoner and Scott Blumenstock.
Sindelir (35-11) dropped his opening match of the tournament to Ethan Cooper of Legacy Christian, but rebounded with a :46 pin of Nolan Wall of Roger Bacon. Sindelir looks to keep his state hopes alive as he opens the second day against Lucas Valley of Green.
At 190 pounds, Jensen Wagoner (32-9) opened the tournament with a 5:59 pin of Brogan Paxson of Allen East, but dropped a heartbreaking 4-0 decision to Zane Hitchcock of Mechanicsburg in the quarterfinals. Wagoner looks to rebound tomorrow beginning with a match against John Edwards of Lehman Catholic.
Scott Blumenstock (22-9) dropped his opening match at 285 pounds to unbeaten Eli Criblez of Allen East, but rebounded with an impressive 2:17 pin of Legacy Christian’s Matthew Smith. Blumenstock, who is the first Buccaneer heavyweight in history to compete at districts for the third time, opens Saturday’s action against Logan Johnson of Spencerville.
Two young Buccaneer wrestlers saw their seasons end on the opening day at districts, sophomore 138 pounder Jackson Shiverdecker (9-14) and freshman 144 pounder Aveyen Meek (15-20).
