Photo by Kim North Union Local’s Kolten Snyder, left, battles with Warren Local’s Eric Carr during their 215-pound quarterfinal match Friday night at the 72nd annual OVAC Ron Mauck Boys Wrestling Championships inside WesBanco Arena. Snyder won by decision.

WHEELING — There won’t be much drama Saturday night as far as the team races go at the 72nd annual OVAC Ron Mauck as three of the four titles have already been clinched, with the exception being the smallest — 1A/2A.

Defending overall and Class 5A champion University flexed its muscles once again Friday as the Hawks advanced eight wrestlers to the championship semifinals in piling up 184 points. Steubenville is a distant second at 119.

University did, however, suffer the two highest seeded wrestlers fall as a pair of No. 2 seeds fell into the consolation bracket at 113 and 126.

“One was a weird match and the other lost 14-13 or 13-12. You’ve got to win those types of matches. Now those guys have got to show what type of character they have. What we tell them is the best available now. The championship isn’t available anymore, so they’ve got to work on getting third. That’s the best available for them.”

Barnesville has run away from the Class 3A field once again. The Shamrocks have six semifinalists and 138 points to second-place Martins Ferry’s 101.5. Wheeling Central is a distant third at 46.5. The Purple Riders have two in the semis and the Maroon Knights just one.

“I felt like we could have had a seventh (wrestler) in the semis, but you can’t win them all,” veteran Barnesville head coach Jayson Stephen said. “As far as the team title goes, I really don’t pay much attention to that. I’m always looking to see what mat my next wrestler is up on.”

Barnesville’s Hines Ford, the lone Shamrock senior, picked up his 150th career win in the quarterfinals.

In Class 4A, Beaver Local continues its stranglehold with 117.5 points and five individuals in the semis.

“Overall, we’ve had a good tournament so far,” Beaver Local head coach Johnny McComas said. “They’ve seen some good competition and wrestled well, so hopefully, they can continue that.”

The Beavers’ Robert Buchheit (150) is seeking to become just the eighth wrestler to claim four titles. Seventh-seeded Jaryck Boyd (126) pulled one of the No. 2 upsets.

Union Local sits in second with 90.5, and also has five still alive for titles.

“They came to wrestle. The kids are looking good,” Union Local head coach Nate Starkey said. “I, as head coach, have never had five placers let alone five guys in the semis.”

Of the five, Starkey singled out freshman Ethan Meyer (165). The fifth seed knocked off fourth-seeded Nate Shreve of Martins Ferry with a pin.

“We weren’t supposed to win that match. The Shreve kid kicked our tail last time,” Starkey recalled. “But Ethan re-adjusted and has been working in the weight room. He took it to him the entire match. I’m proud of him.”

One of those semifinalists is returning champion Gamble Gossett (126).

Cameron, the defending Class 1A/2A kingpin, holds a slim half-point lead over Caldwell. The Dragons have three semifinalists, while the Redskins have two.

Individually, 21 different schools are represented in the semifinals.

In addition to the pair of No. 2 seeds from University, there wasn’t much else that surprised onlookers as nine of the 14 weight classes have the top 4 seeds matched up in the semis.

Four No. 4 seeds were upset.

All of the defending — and returning — champions are still alive. In addition to Buchheit and Gamble, others looking to repeat are the Linsly tandem of Brock Humphrey (120) and George Mamakos (138), along with Barnesville’s Colt Carpenter (144) and Linsly’s Malaki Washington (190). Both won two years ago, with Washington prevailing while at Wheeling Park.

Semifinal action gets started at 11 a.m. Saturday, with the championship finals set for 3:30 p.m.

QUICK PINS

— Steubenville native and former standout wrestler Cornell Birden, was named the Larry Deaton OVAC Referee of the Year prior to the start of Friday’s night session.

— The prestigious Mr. Mat Award will be presented to a worthy individual Saturday prior to the event’s championship finals, while the Dave Bierkortte Award will be presented to the Most Outstanding Wrestler, as voted on by tournament coaches.