Photo by Kim North Barnesville’s Christien Hannahs works to turn over Wheeling Park’s Preston Heatherington during their 215-pound bout Wednesday night in dual meet action inside the ‘Palace on the Hill.’ Hannahs won by pin and the Shamrocks prevailed, 54-20.

WHEELING — A pair of OVAC wrestling teams with strong traditions met Wednesday night high atop the Friendly City in dual meet action. Barnesville, which won five of the nine matches contested, took advantage of five forfeits in rolling past Wheeling Park, 54-20.

The Shamrocks are the defending OVAC Ron Mauck Tournament overall champions, as well as the Class 3A titleists and Bill Hinegardner Class 3A Dual Meet champs. They also finished second in the Division III state meet last winter in Columbus, but have several new faces in the lineup as a star-studded group — including two-time state champion Reese Stephen and 2024 state champ Skyler King — graduated.

“We’re still young and inexperienced,” Barnesville head coach Jayson Stephen said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do. No excuses. They’ve got to get better in the (wrestling) room. It (the talent) is there, it’s just a matter of getting time on the mat.”

Wheeling Park was the 2022 OVAC Ron Mauck Tournament winner, as well as the W.Va. Class AAA champion. However, an extended football season and some preseason injuries have the Patriots competing short-handed.

The dual started at 132 and Wheeling Park took a 3-0 lead as Jacob Carman posted a first-period takedown for a 3-0 victory. Barnesville went ahead 12-6 after back-to-back forfeit wins by Jack Morgan (138) and Brayden Trigg (144).

Consecutive pins from Jack Lowe (150) and Nate Hodge (157) pushed the Patriots back in front, 15-12. Lowe is a three-time W.Va. state placer and is currently ranked No, 2 by the OVAeC. Hodge is ranked seventh by the OVAeC and placed seventh in the OVAC Ron Mauck last year.

An 8-3 decision by two-time all-Ohioan and three-time OVAC placer Ayden King (165) drew Barnesville even at 15. King took fifth in the prestigious Ironman Tournament earlier this season.

Barnesville’s Hines Ford (175) put his team back on top to stay, 21-15, with a second-period pin. Ford is ranked No. 5 by both the OVAeC and Borofan.

Wheeling Park’s Jameson Maynard (190) made his season debut after a rugged football season. The senior posted a 15-0 technical in the first period to pull the Patriots to within a point, 21-20. He is a 2023 OVAC Ron Mauck champion and was runner up last year. He is also a three-time OVAC placer and was second in W.Va. Class AAA a year ago.

“It’s great to have Jameson back in the lineup,” Wheeling Park first-year head coach Danny Doyle said. “For him to get back on the mat, it allows the other guys to see their leader is back. It’s just good to have him out there and competing. It picks everybody else up.

Barnesville sealed the deal with pins by Christien Hannahs (215) and Blake Kirk (285). Hayden Bowman (126) closed out the match with a 7-5 decision in which he scored a reversal with 36 seconds left in the match.

“I tell the guys that we’re not looking at the final team scores right now, all we’re concerned with are individual efforts,” Doyle said. “It’s still early in the season and everyone of my kids have improved every time they have stepped out on the mat.”

Also receiving forfeits were Barnesville lightweights Easton Stephen (106), Connor Wilson (113) and Ayden Andrews (120).

The Patriots are still without standouts Noah White (175) and Malaki Washington (190) who are recovering from injuries. Doyle said he expects White, a three-time OVAC placer, to be back by the Wheeling Park Duals (Dec. 27-28) and Washington, a reigning OVAC champion, by the OVAC Ron Mauck Tournament (mid-January).

“We are trending in the right direction as far as injuries go,” Doyle noted.

Barnesville competed without Cole Carpenter (126) who won an OVAC Ron Mauck Tournament title last year as a freshman. He also qualified for the state tournament.

The Shamrocks return to western Belmont County to host the fourth annual Shamrocks KFC Duals on Saturday. Meanwhile, Wheeling Park will compete in the North Canton Tournament this weekend.