Kim North LOCKED UP — Indian Creek’s Luke McMillion, left, and Buckeye Local’s Jorge Alvarez fall to the mat during their 285-pound match in the 72nd annual OVAC Ron Mauck Boys Wrestling Championships Friday night inside WesBanco Arena. McMillion won.

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.

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.”

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.

Kim North
IN CONTROL — Steubenville’s Briella Guntrum controls Warren Local’s Gretchen Deal during their 126-pound match during the inaugural OVAC Ron Mauck Girls Wrestling Championships Friday night inside WesBanco Arena. Guntrum won 8-3.

GIRLS

For the first time, girls shared the spotlight with the boys during the 72nd annual OVAC Ron Mauck Wrestling Championships as Day 2 of the three-day spectacle concluded Friday night inside WesBanco Arena.

While the boys got started a day earlier, the girls hit the mats in their maiden voyage with nearly 80 females from 26 schools donning the headgear and singlets.

Warren Local holds the lead in the one-class team race with 24 points. East Liverpool checks in at No. 2 with 22.5, while Steubenville is third at 20.

“The girls all wrestled well. They’ve spent a lot of time in the practice room,” Steubenville head coach Jamie Weaver said. “Now it’s time to propel them to the next level.”

Qualifying for today’s championship semifinals are Jamiah Beh (100), Katie Rivers (120), Alonna Barbour (126), Briella Guntrum (132), Talea Guntrum (138), Maleah Barbour (145), Gianna Millines (152) and Emilyn Bolanos (235).

Talea Guntrum is a two-time OHSAA state champion and recorded an 8-second fall Friday night to improve to a perfect 21-0 this season.

Wheeling Park, which sits in fifth place 17 points, has half-a-dozen semifinalists. They are Alivia West (132), Grace Tamburin (138), Kendra Falcone (152), Kylah Cunningham (165), Kymber Heldreth (185) and Terriona Gibbons (235).

“These girls have been working hard,” Wheeling Park head coach Danny Doyle said. “It wouldn’t surprise me to see most of them in the finals.”

Warren Local had moved five individuals into the semifinals, which get underway at 11 a.m. Saturday. The championship finals are slated 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 Friday.