MORRISTOWN — Five OVAC wrestlers started their seasons with championships at the 25th annual Union Local Rink Link Invitational Saturday inside ‘The Hangar’ at Union Local High School.

Barnesville’s Hines Ford (175), Martins Ferry’s RJ Welshans (157), Union Local’s Gunnar Gossett (150) and the East Liverpool duo of Kyle Ingram (113) and Tristan Eckles (120) stood atop the awards podium.

In the team race, Parkersburg made its debut in the 24-team event a smashing success as the Big Reds piled up 223 points in running away from the largest field ever assembled. Steubenville edged past Barnesville, 158-150, for second place. East Liverpool (150) finished fourth; Martins Ferry (136) fifth and Union Local (135) sixth.

Parkersburg also led the way with three individual champions in Seth Drennen (106), Dominic Way (138) and Kayden McDonald (144). Drennen defeated fellow teammate Austin Carrodus, 6-3 in overtime; Way recorded a 23-4 technical fall over Barnesville’s Colt Carpenter; and McDonald outscored Huntington’s Jeff Hood, 13-8.

“We were looking to score a lort of points today,” Parkersburg head coach Chris Way said. “The goal was to come here and win as many matches as possible. We did a pretty good job of scoring a lot of bonus points with pins and technical falls.”

Ford, seeded second, registered a first-period takedown against Union Local’s top-seeded Brody Perzanowski and made it stand up in a 3-1 victory.

“I don’t think a lot of people gave him a chance to win that match, but he wrestled solid,” Stephen said. “He did a good job.”

Welshans, the No. 2 seed, dominated East Liverpool’s top-seeded Jayden Shaw, with a 11-0 major decision. Welshans took a quick 5-0 lead with a takedown and two-point nearfall in the first period.

“RJ may only be a sophomore but he is one of our leaders,” Martins Ferry head coach Chad Ware said. “You can definitely tell he has put in the work during the offseason. He’s the hardest worker in our (wrestling) room, and it showed today.”

Gossett, a returning Ohio state placer, pinned Parkersburg’s Parker Woods in 3:11. He was leading 8-0 at the time.

“”He’s a tough kid. He works really hard,” Union Local head coach Nate Starkey said of Gossett. “He’s always looking to score points and that makes a difference. His wins are well-deserved.”

Ingram made it back-to-back titles with a pin of Steubenville’s Cole Harvey in 1:05. He won at 106 last year.

Eckles won the Most Valuable Wrestler award via his 8-4 decision over Parkersburg’s CJ Carrodus.

Other champions were Proctorville Fairland’s CJ Graham (126); Huntington’s Shad Henry (132); Ellwood City’s Gabe Lilly (165); Waynesburg Central’s Jake Stephenson (190) and Roan Tustin (215); and Circleville’s Caidhen Morgan (285).

Stephenson and Tustin defeated the Linsly duo of Griffen Kernik and Brody Cottrill (215).

PIN FALLS

• There were 286 wrestlers entered in the tournament.

• 716 matches were contested.

• In addition to Parkersburg, also making their first appearances in western Belmont County were Huntington, Maysville and Fairland.

• University High of Morgantown was the two-time defending champions.