Photo Provided Pictured is the Barnesville wrestling team after it captured the Ohio High School Wrestling Coaches Association Division III Regional championship last Saturday at home. The No. 4 seeded Shamrocks advance to the State Duals on Saturday at Marion Elgin, starting at 11 a.m. with a quarterfinal against No. 5 Delta.

MARION — The Ohio High School Wrestling Coaches Association is celebrating its sixth year of sponsoring the State Dual Meet Tournament, and Barnesville has appeared in all six.

The Shamrocks drew the No. 4 seed in Saturday’s 8-team event at Marion Elgin High School and will face fifth-seeded Delta in the quarterfinals at 11 a.m. The winner gets the survivor of the top-seeded Applecreek Waynedale vs. No. 8 Massillon Tuslaw in the semifinals.

“We’re looking at the sixth straight year of competing in the state duals. I have a good mix of experienced wrestlers — old and young — but only one senior,” veteran Barnesville head coach Jayson Stephen said. “We just need to let them know that no matter what seed they are, it doesn’t matter.

“If everyone does their job, and that’s just to wrestle, they will be fine.

Barnesville placed sixth last year — its seed — in going 1-2. The Shamrocks were runnersup to, ironically, Delta in 2024 as the No. 1 seed when they went 2-1. As the No. 2 seed in 2023, Barnesville finished third. It was fourth in 2022 and eighth in the inaugural event in 2021.

The Panthers haven’t won an OHSWCA championship, but were perennial powers in the old Ohio High School Athletic Association’s State Duals, which ran from 20-13-2020. They won titles in 2013 through 2016.

Each team has nine ranked wrestlers, according to Borofan, with Barnesville’s coming in the lighter weights, while Delta’s are mainly in the heavier weights. Each team also has a pair of returning state placers.

“Yeah, we need to get the lead earlier and hold onto it,” Stephen stressed. “We need to get more bonus points than we give up.”

In the Regional finals against No. 3 Garaway, the third-seeded Shamrocks bolted to a 28-0 lead and then held off the Pirates. They also ousted No. 7 Bidwell River Valley (57-17) in the semifinals.

Barnesville’s lone senior — Hines Ford (175) — is the highest ranked individual for the Shamrocks. He checks in at No. 2. Junior Colt Carpenter (144) is No. 5 and freshman Ryder King (138) is eighth. Junior Easton Stephen (106) cracked the top 10 at No. 10, while freshman Jaxon Aberegg (120) is 11th; junior Christien Hannahs (215) is 14th; freshman Bentley Stephen (126) 16th; classmate Hoyt Hartshorn (113) 18th; and junior Brayden Trigg (150) at No. 30.

Of that group, Carpenter placed fifth at 138 and Ford 4th at 175. Ford has 165 career victories, while his cousin, Carpenter, has 107.

Delta is led by third-ranked Tyler Barnes (126). The senior was a state runner up last winter at 120 and placed eighth at 113 in 2023. Junior Lane Lopez (157) is No. 8 after placing fifth at 165 last season. Three other Panthers — sophomore Marcus Nagle (175-4th), classmate Gunner Taylor (165-6th) and senior Brady Smith (285-7th) — also cracked the top 10. Others ranked are seniors Thomas Hernandez (138-13th) and Emilio Arroyo (215-24); junior Luke Spiess (132–26th) and senior Wyatt Flickinger (190-29th).

Barnesville’s projected lineup stacks up like this:

106–Easton Stephen (Jr., 28-12); 113–Hoyt Hartshorn (Fr., 25-8); 120–Jaxon Aberegg (Fr., 37-4); 126–Bentley Stephen (Fr., 35-8); 132–Haden Bowman (Soph., 22-16); 138–Ryder King (Fr., 31-10); 144–Colt Carpenter (Jr., 31-8); 150–Brayden Trigg (Jr., 26-15); 157–Knoxx Mankin (Fr., 19-21); 165–Braxton Loring (Jr., 19-21); 175–Hines Ford (Sr., 36-6); 190–Austin Armstrong (Jr., 17-13); 215–Christien Hannahs (Jr., 33-10) and 285–Zachary Foster (Fr., 19-21).

So far this season, Barnesville has won the OVAC Ron Mauck Class 3A title; the OVAC Bill Hinegardner Class 3A Dual Meet championship; the Jimmy Wood Classic at New Lexington High School; the Buckeye 8; the Doan Ford-Barnesville Invitational; and the Josh Taylor Invitational at Hebron Lakewood.

Third-seeded Delta advanced with Rossford Regional wins over No. 6 Port Clinton (44-31) and No. 2 Genoa Area (39-25).

Competing in the other state quarterfinals are No. 6 Versailles vs. No. 3 Archbold and No. 7 Miami East versus No. 2 Lake Catholic.

The state championship match will be held at approximately 3 p.m.