OHSAA Division II sectional wrestling tournament preview 2024: Top matchups, predictions

St. Vincent-St. Mary’s Andy Vanscoy

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Wrestling mats across the state will be full this weekend with the sectional round of the OHSAA wrestling postseason. The area’s best have been at the top of their games over that last few weeks and will begin inching their way to the state tournament in Columbus.

All Northeast Ohio sectional tournaments are scheduled for Saturday. Every team in the region, except Vermilion, will participate at Beloit West Branch, Canal Fulton Northwest, Kenston or St. Vincent-St. Mary for sectionals. All four of those will feed into the Kenston district. Vermilion, which is competing in the Sandusky sectional, will head out to Norwalk for its district.

Padua’s Devin Shaw-Mason

Those will take place March 1-2. The state tournament will be the following weekend at Ohio State’s Schottenstein Center.

Here’s everything you need to know about the Division II sectional tournaments with Northeast Ohio participants.

Buckeye’s Colyn Limbert

Beloit West Branch Sectional

Where: West Branch High School in Beloit.

Schedule: Wrestling starts at 9 a.m.

Tickets: Online tickets only. $8 when purchased in advance, $10 after 6 a.m. on Saturday.

Teams: Alliance, Cloverleaf, Field, Firelands, Garrett Morgan, Girard, Holy Name, Madison, Marlington, Orange, Salem, Tallmadge, Warren Howland, West Branch.

The Skinny: One of the most up-for-grabs sectionals in the state, nearly everyone in attendance has at least one wrestler capable of winning a title at West Branch this weekend. Madison, which has three, can eek out the team title if they perform up to standard. Noah Blough (165) leads the Blue Streaks with Sonny Salajcik (150) and Addison Trisket (144) alongside.

Graham Local’s Luke James gets a leg hold on Buckeye’s Kaden King in their D2-157 lb. match during the state high school wrestling tournament semifinals, March 11, 2023, at the Jerome Schottenstein Center.

Girard will have a talented senior duo in Isaac Griffith (215) and Cody Carpenter (106) that could be a spoiler. Warren Howland’s Adam Heckman (132) and Girard’s Isaac Griffith (215) probably have the best chance to win a state title of anyone else at West Branch. Meanwhile, Cloverleaf’s Tristan Craddock (150) and Tallmadge’s Ian Bee (150) are two of the top wrestlers in attendance and could meet in the championship.

Best potential matches:

106: Camryn Mitchell, Marlington vs. Cody Carpenter, Girard.

150: Tristan Craddock, Cloverleaf vs. Ian Bee, Tallmadge.

215: Isaac Griffith, Girard vs. Gavin Hang, West Branch.

Sectional champion pick: Madison.

Canal Fulton Northwest Sectional

Where: Northwest High School in Canal Fulton.

Schedule: Weigh-ins begin at 8 a.m. Wrestling starts at 9 a.m.

Tickets: Online tickets only. $8 when purchased in advance, $10 after 6 a.m. on Saturday.

Teams: Buckeye, Canal Fulton Northwest, Canfield, Canton South, Copley, Coventry, Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy, Archbishop Hoban, Norton, Poland Seminary, Revere, Shaw, Warrensville Heights, Villa Angela-St. Joseph.

The Skinny: Buckeye is one of the most loaded Division II teams in the state and stand head and shoulders above the rest of the tournament field at Northwest. Colyn Limbert (120) and Kaden King (157) both won state championships last season, while Eddie Neitenbach (190), who took third, and Blake Bartos (113), who finished fourth, make up the Bucks’ returning state placers. They also have about eight others that have legitimate chances to make the state tournament, and are likely in for another top-three finish.

The list of state title hopefuls coming from this sectional doesn’t end with Buckeye, however. Hoban freshman heavyweight Brayton Feister is expected to challenge for a state crown this season after dominating in middle school. Canton South’s Dom Prosperi (106) and Canfield’s Tyler Scharrer (138) are also in the mix for a state crown.

Best potential matches:

120: Colyn Limbert, Buckeye vs. Rocco Czarnecki, CVCA.

132: Dylan Hart, CVCA vs. Maven Reid, Buckeye.

138: Tyler Scharrer, Canfield vs. Austin McKee, Buckeye.

Sectional champion pick: Buckeye.

Kenston Sectional

Where: Kenston High School in Bainbridge.

Schedule: Weigh-ins begin at 8 a.m. Wrestling starts at 10 a.m.

Tickets: Online tickets only. $8 when purchased in advance, $10 after 6 a.m. on Saturday.

Teams: Ashtabula Edgewood, Bay, Bedford, Brookside, Hubbard, Kenston, Kent Roosevelt, Louisville, Lutheran West, Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin, Padua, Rocky River, University School, Woodridge.

The Skinny: Padua and Louisville prevented this from being the most evenly matched sectional in the state. Padua is led by Devin Shaw-Mason (165) and brothers Santino (138) and Giovanni Duniec (132). With freshmen Bryden Spellacy (106) and John LoFaso (113) also in the mix the Bruins will be a lot to deal with in the sectional field.

Kolten Barker (126) and Kaiden Barker (113) are the heavy hitters for Louisville. With a trio of sophomores backing them up the Leopards don’t quite have the experience of Padua. All in attendance will be in for a show regardless with Lutheran West’s D.J. Otero (106) and the heavyweight battle between Kenston’s Sean Doyle (285), NDCL’s Bryce Wheatley (285) and Hubbard’s Nick Bowser (285) going on.

Best potential matches:

113: Kaiden Barker, Louisville vs. John LoFaso, Padua.

120: Steven Duffy, Woodridge vs. Zeke Lucas, Ashtabula Edgewood.

285: Sean Doyle, Kenston vs. Nick Bowser, Hubbard.

Sectional champion pick: Padua.

St. Vincent-St. Mary Sectional

Where: St. Vincent-St. Mary high school in Akron.

Schedule: Wrestling starts at 9 a.m.

Tickets: Online tickets only. $8 when purchased in advance, $10 after 6 a.m. on Saturday.

Teams: Akron East, Akron Springfield, Benedictine, Buchtel, Geneva, Harvey, Hawken, Jefferson Area, Lincoln West, Ravenna, Streetsboro, St. Vincent-St. Mary, West Geauga, Youngstown Chaney.

The Skinny: St. Vincent-St. Mary replaces Harvey as a sectional site and comes in as a favorite to keep that sectional title at home. Taggart Wade (138) and Rylan Hurley (157) have chances to land on the state podium this season, while three or four others will likely have a shot to clinch their state tournament berths next week.

Streetsboro and Benedictine won’t make it easy for the Fighting Irish though. Streestboro freshman Jarreau Walker (106) is the Rockets’ top wrestler and shouldn’t have any issues with the sectional field, while junior Cohen Klimak (157) is on a collision course with Hurley. Benedictine, meanwhile, is led by junior Christopher Maloney (175), who is one of the top wrestlers in the state. With guys like Devion Coffin (126) and Antonio Hobbs (144) holding down the fort there won’t be a dull moment in Akron this weekend.

Best potential matches:

144: Braden Dunlap, St. Vincent-St. Mary vs. Antonio Hobbs, Benedictine.

157: Rylan Hurley, St. Vincent-St. Mary vs. Cohen Klimak, Streetsboro.

285: Marvin Guerra, Harvey vs. Will Greenberg, Hawken.

Sectional champion pick: St. Vincent-St. Mary.

Sandusky

Where: Sandusky High School.

Schedule: Weigh-ins begin at 8 a.m. Wrestling starts at 10 a.m.

Tickets: Online tickets only. $8 when purchased in advance, $10 after 6 a.m. on Saturday.

Teams: Clear Fork, Madison Comprehensive, Mansfield Senior, Maumee, Norwalk, Rossford, Sandusky, Sandusky Perkins, Shelby, Toledo Central Catholic, Toledo Scott, Toledo Woodward, Vermilion.

The Skinny: The advantage here once again goes to Sandusky Perkins. The Pirates have the deepest team of the bunch with Sawyer Smith (113), Wyatt Nemitz (126) and Braxden Martin (150) gunning for a podium spot. After two seasons at Elyria, Kaiyon McKinney is now at Perkins. After a runner-up finish in Division I last season at 113, he’s got a chance to claim a Division II crown all the way up at 165. One of McKinney’s biggest competitors in the entire state, Clear Fork’s Luke Schlosser, just so happens to be in attendance as well.

Best potential matches:

113: Michael Thomas, Madison Comprehensive vs. Sawyer Smith, Sandusky Perkins.

138: Aiden Proctor, Madison Comprehensive vs. Collin Calderon, Sandusky Perkins.

165: Kaiyon McKinney, Sandusky Perkins vs. Luke Schlosser, Clear Fork.

Sectional champion pick: Sandusky Perkins.

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