While high school wrestlers in Ohio are prepping for sectional tournaments, junior high matmen took the mat last weekend as Buckeye Local hosted the Ohio Athletic Commission Junior High District Tournament.

A total of 10 local athletes punched their tickets to the state tournament inside Youngstown State University’s Covelli Center on March 19-20.

Barnesville led the way with a trio of qualifiers. The Shamrocks also had the lone area titlist in Easton Stephen (74 lbs.). Others state-bound are Colt Carpenter (102, 5th) and Hines Ford (146, 4th).

Representing Martins Ferry are Charles Thompson (74, 5th) and R.J. Welshans (126, 5th).

Union Local also had a pair of qualifiers in Gunnar Gossett (114, 6th) and Brody Perzanowski (132, 2nd).

Buckeye Local’s Mason Wilt (245, 2nd); Harrison Central’s Andrew Cox (132, 6th); and St. Clairsville’s Kohen Holmes (84, 3rd) round out the qualifiers.

Good luck to everyone!

West Liberty

The Hilltoppers (10-3 overall, 6-0 MEC) will take the mat in Saturday’s NCAA Division II Super Region 3 regional inside the ASRC as the No. 4-ranked squad in the nation after the National Wrestling Coaches Association released its final poll.

Two of West Liberty’s former national champions are ranked No. 1 at their respective weights. Defending 125-pound national champion Cole Laya held onto his No. 1 ranking from the previous poll while Connor Craig, who won the 184-pound title in 2019 and was runner-up in St. Louis a year ago, moved up from No. 2 to No. 1 in this month’s poll.

The Hilltoppers also have three other nationally-ranked wrestlers. Ty McGeary (174) is No. 6; Jordan Kemp (197) is 11th and Francesco Borsellino (285) is No. 7.

Four of the 11 teams scheduled to compete in the Super Region 3 event at West Liberty are ranked in the Top 25 and two more received votes in the final regular season poll. The Hilltoppers are the highest-ranked team at No. 4 but Findlay also cracked the Top 10 at No. 8. Ashland (No. 15) and Lake Erie (No. 24) made the Top 25, with Davis & Elkins and Glenville State receiving votes.

Wheeling University

The Cardinals (1-5, 0-4) are preparing for Saturday’s Super Region 3 regional at West Liberty.

Ohio State University

The No. 8 ranked Buckeyes (9-3, 5-3) have concluded their regular season and are preparing for the Big 10 championships on March 5-6 in Lincoln, Neb.

Steubenville product Jashon Hubbard (157) is 11-5 this season.

WVU

The Mountaineers (6-8, 1-6) wrapped up their regular season with a 25-11 loss to the Wyoming Cowboys inside the WVU Coliseum.

No. 9 Peyton Hall (165) racked up a 12-2 major decision. The sophomore from Oak Glen finished with a team-leading 22-2 record. His is 5-1 vs. ranked opponents and 37-8 in his two seasons.

Weir’s Caleb Rea (141) is 9-14 this year and 45-50 for his career.

John Marshall’s Anthony Carman (184) has a 15-12 mark this campaign. He is 11-3 in tournaments and has posted a 22-18 career mark.

After taking the rest of the month off from competition, the Mountaineers head to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to compete at the 2022 Big 12 Championship on March 5-6.

The event will take place at the BOK Center for the sixth consecutive year.

N.C. State

The No. 4 Wolfpack (13-1, 5-0) completed their regular season by defeating rival No. 7 Virginia Tech for the fourth time in the past five years inside Reynolds Coliseum, 21-10.

Steubenville graduate Tariq Wilson (149) is ranked No. 3 in the nation with his perfect 11-0 record.

The defending ACC Champion and two-time All-American (a pair of third-place finishes) will look for another ACC crown when the 2022 ACC Championships are held at Virginia on Sunday, March 6.

Lattimore Applauded

A Virginia high school senior who was born with no right leg and a left leg that ends at the middle of his thigh took home a state wrestling championship, surprising everyone but himself.

Landstown High School senior Adonis Lattimore won Class 6 106-pound state title in the Virginia High School League inside the Virginia Beach Sports Center.

Lattimore was a region qualifier as a freshman but missed the region tournament as a sophomore. The coronavirus pandemic forced cancellation of wrestling last year. He improved to 32-7 this season.