BUCKEYE LOCAL’S Trevor Herbert, right, is presented with the Gary Glover Most Outstanding Wrestler Award following his performance Saturday during the 33rd annual Ohio Coatings Panther Classic inside Buckeye Local High School. Competing for the first time this season due to knee surgery, Herbert won the 120-pound weight class with four consecutive pins. Also pictured is Greg Glover, son of Gary Glover.

CONNORVILLE — When Trevor Herbert tore his ACL during a mid-August football scrimmage, the Buckeye Local senior knew his high school athletic career wasn’t over. The three-sport athlete was bound and determined to make a return.

He did so in a triumphant way Saturday by pinning his way to the 120-pound championship during the 33rd annual Ohio Coatings Panther Classic inside Buckeye Local High School. Because of his 4-0 performance, which included a fall over Indian Creek’s Tyler Sipes in the finals, Herbert was also voted winner of the Gary Glover Most Outstanding Wrestler Award by tournament coaches.

“It feels great,” Herbert said of his effort. “It feels great to be back after the injury.”

After trying to play five games after the initial injury, Herbert opted for surgery and rehabilitation in hopes of a return.

“I had total reconstructive surgery on October 21 and now I’m back at it having fun,” he said with a huge smile. “I spent a whole lot of time in the weight room during my rehab, and it paid off. I wanted to be stronger than anyone else my size.”

The two-time Division III district qualifier also gave kudos to (Buckeye Local) assistant coach Dalton Hoover, a former state runnerup at Martins Ferry.

“Rolling around with him every day at practice was also a huge help,” Herbert noted.

Herbert also made history as the first wrestler not on a varsity roster to win an individual title at the long-running event. He was entered as a ‘B’ wrestler.

“From an ACL tear to a champion, that’s pretty amazing,” Buckeye Local head coach Guy Nestor raved. “He’s been getting ready for a few weeks … pushing it and pushing it to get ready. I knew he would be back before the end of the season because the itch was there. He sat there and watched the OVAC Tournament and saw how it turned out and said he was going to wrestle.”

Herbert was one of two Panthers to claim individual titles, the other being senior Ayden Krupinski (165) who posted a 12-2 major decision over Caldwell’s Marshall Sayre in the finals.

“That was a huge win for Ayden. He’s been working hard,” Nestor said.

Buckeye Local placed 10th out of 25 teams with 83 points.

“It’s been a while since we’ve had two champions in our own tournament,” Nestor said. “It’s been almost 20 years, I think. It was probably back in 2004-05.”

Wheeling Park continued its dominance this winter as it established a new tournament record with 361 points. The old mark was 313.

The Patriots did so with six individual champs, five runnersup, a third and a fourth by a ‘B’ wrestler.

Winning titles were Noah White (106), Adam Carman (113), Bradyn Lucas (138), Gabe Carman (157), Hunter Nixon (175) and Erick Brothers Jr. (215).

Adam Carman blanked Martins Ferry’s Dylan Ward 5-0. Gabe Carman only needed 40 seconds to take down Indian Creek’s Reese Spencer, while Brothers Jr. earned a measure of revenge with a 7-2 decision over Harrison Central’s Lucas Thomas whom he had lost to in the OVAC Ron Mauck Championships earlier this month.

“We wrestled really well today. I like these one day tournaments like this because they really prepare us for our regional (tournament),” Wheeling Park’s Brian Leggett said. “Everyone wrestled hard and wrestled well.”

Indian Creek, which finished a distant second to Wheeling Park in the team race (209), had two champs and three runnersup.

Dom Paterra (150) and Austin Starr (195) ruled their weight classes and drew praise from their head coach.

“Can’t complain about having two champions,” Redskins’ boss Brandon Pendleton said. “We had five in the finals and would have liked a few more champs, but overall, we wrestled well today.”

Starr pinned Tri-Valley’s Ethan Paladino in just 45 ticks.

Harrison Central’s Landen Thomas (285) decisioned Wheeling Park’s Hunter Means, 10-5, with a late 5-point flurry, while Plum’s Antonio Walker (126) and Vince Citrano (132); and Jefferson-Morgan’s Chase Frameli (144) completed the list of winners.

Plum was third with 204, followed by Martins Ferry (174.5) and Tri-Valley (114) in the top 5.