COLUMBUS — It’s hard to imagine that two tiny Belmont County communities situated along the Ohio River were among the pioneers of what is known today as Ohio High School Athletic Association wrestling.

According to the 80th annual OHSAA State Tournament media guide, when Casey Fredericks was named Ohio State University’s wrestling coach back in the early 1930’s, only four schools outside of Cleveland had wrestling programs.

Bridgeport and Shadyside, along with Upper Arlington and Worthington, both suburban Columbus schools, comprised that quartet. That explains why the Bulldogs and Tigers are among the state leaders in most placewinners of all-time, with 64 and 49, respectively.

Martins Ferry (61), Steubenville (52), Cadiz (47), Barnesville (43) and Beaver (40) are other Ohio Valley Athletic Conference schools listed among those with 40-plus grapplers who have reached the podium.

Locals in Charge

Martins Ferry’s Jack Regis Sr. and Barnesville’s John Jefferies were two of the many officials from around the Buckeye State that served as a table workers. They kept match scores, ran time clocks and served as tappers.

Wheeling native Jim Copney was one of 33 officials that worked matches. He has been a registered Ohio official for 27 years. This is his sixth state tournament assignment. He is also an NCAA wrestling official and a graduate of West Liberty.

Former Bridgeport state champion Chad Roskovich is an assistant coach at Division I Powell Olentangy Liberty, which brought 10 wrestlers to the state tournament.

The Patriots also hosted Bridgeport’s three state qualifiers for practice Wednesday afternoon.

Former OV Grapplers Honored

A trio of Steubenville Big Red graduates were listed among the 2016 Academic All-Ohioans as selected by the Ohio High School Wrestling Coaches Association. In order to qualify for the award, wrestlers must have had a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or higher and must have qualified for the state tournament.

Former Big Reds include Tim Albertson, Dakota Goff and Tariq Wilson.

Beaver Local’s Jason Keyes also made the list of honorees.

Some Things Never Change

Perennial state powerhouse Graham has all but captured its 17th straight Division II state title, dating back to 2001. The Falcons had more than doubled their lead (185.5-76) over second-place Canfield heading into Friday night’s semifinals, in which they had eight semifinalists.