18 New Wrestling Head Coaches Join OVAC For 2026-27 Season
Photo by Kim North The OVAC introduced eight new boys’ wrestling coaches for the 2026-27 season. Front row, from left, are Ethan Waggoner (Edison), Skyler Lasure (Southern Local), Anthony Duffield (East Liverpool) and Alec Cook (Weirton Madonna). Back row, from left, are Dalton Hoover (Indian Creek), Jack Otto (Buckeye Local), Greg Honecker (Wheeling Central) and Kaden Kenworthy (Buckeye Trail).
Photo by Kim North The OVAC announced that there will be 10 new head girls’ wrestling coaches this year. They were introduced during Monday night’s preseason press conference inside WesBanco Arena. Pictured, from left, are Jimmy Morelli (Buckeye Local), Luke Spencer (Edison), Rilei Levasque (Indian Creek) and Josh Coil (East Liverpool). Not pictured are Brandy Waller (Caldwell), Monica Supancik (Linsly), Paden Stewart (River), Alijah Demitras (Steubenville) and Brian Shannon (University).
Photo by Kim North The OVAC introduced eight new boys’ wrestling coaches for the 2026-27 season. Front row, from left, are Ethan Waggoner (Edison), Skyler Lasure (Southern Local), Anthony Duffield (East Liverpool) and Alec Cook (Weirton Madonna). Back row, from left, are Dalton Hoover (Indian Creek), Jack Otto (Buckeye Local), Greg Honecker (Wheeling Central) and Kaden Kenworthy (Buckeye Trail).
Photo by Kim North The OVAC announced that there will be 10 new head girls’ wrestling coaches this year. They were introduced during Monday night’s preseason press conference inside WesBanco Arena. Pictured, from left, are Jimmy Morelli (Buckeye Local), Luke Spencer (Edison), Rilei Levasque (Indian Creek) and Josh Coil (East Liverpool). Not pictured are Brandy Waller (Caldwell), Monica Supancik (Linsly), Paden Stewart (River), Alijah Demitras (Steubenville) and Brian Shannon (University).
Trending
WHEELING - The 2026-27 high school wrestling season officially kicked off Monday night with the annual preseason press conference inside WesBanco Arena.
Eighteen new head coaches - boys and girls - were introduced during the event. Ten of them are on the girls' side as the sport continues to grow by leaps and bounds.
The new boys' coaches are Jack Otto (Buckeye Local), Kaden Kenworthy (Buckeye Trail), Anthony Duffield (East Liverpool), Ethan Waggoner (Edison), Dalton Hoover (Indian Creek), Skyler Lasure (Southern Local), Alec Cook (Weirton Madonna) and Greg Honecker (Wheeling Central).
The new girls' coaches include Jimmy Morelli (Buckeye Local), Brandy Waller (Caldwell), Josh Coil (East Liverpool), Luke Spencer (Edison), Rilei Levasque (Indian Creek), Monica Supancik (Linsly), Paden Stewart (River), Alijah Demitras (Steubenville) and Brian Shannon (University).
"This is the most new head coaches that I can remember in quite some time," OVAC Wrestling Director Dan Doyle said.
The 73rd OVAC Ron Mauck Championships will take place on Thursday, Jan. 14 through Saturday, Jan. 16. The only change is the championship finals will be moved back to 4:30 p.m.
The biggest change for the upcoming season occurs in the Bill Hinegardner Dual Meet Championships as the top seed in each of the four divisions (1A/2A, 3A, 4A, 5A) will serve as the host of their respective division. Those hosts include Shadyside, Fort Frye, Barnesville and John Marshall.
The Class 1A/2A and Class 4A tournaments will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 7, with the Class 3A and Class 5A events on Thursday, Jan. 7. Action begins at 6 p.m. both nights.
"We hope this new format brings more people out to each tournament," Director Jim Rocchi said.
The qualifiers were based on the results of the underclassmen from the 2026 OVAC Ron Mauck Tournament.
Shadyside, the two-time defending champions Class 1A/2A champions, received the top seed. Bridgeport (No. 2), Toronto (No. 3) and River (No. 4) make up the Class 1A/2A field.
The Class 4A foursome includes defending Class 3A kingpin Barnesville as the No. 1 seed. Western Belmont County rival Union Local received the No. 2, followed by Martins Ferry and Buckeye Local.
On Thursday, Jan. 7, the Class 3A and Class 5A squads will battle.
With Barnesville moving up to Class 4A, a new champion is assured in Class 3A that includes top-seeded Fort Frye, No. 2 Shenandoah, No. 3 Wheeling Central and fourth-seeded Bellaire.
Fourth-seeded Steubenville returns to defend its Class 5A crown, along with No. 1 John Marshall, No. 2 University and third-seeded Wheeling Park.
Pending approval this week, the OVAC could grow to 56 schools with the addition of Crestview, Indian Valley and Tyler Consolidated. Crestview and Tyler Consolidated were previously OVAC members.