STEUBENVILLE – Big Red senior standout Cooper Smith made a triumphant return to the lineup for the Big Red wrestling team.

Cooper, who was a state runner-up last season, made his return to the mat Saturday after missing the majority of the season due to an injury, and Smith picked up right where he left off as he won all three of his matches en route to capturing a sectional title at 144 pounds at the Ohio Division II Eastern District Sectional Tournament inside the Big Red Crimson Center.

“Cooper, this was his first tournament since back at the very beginning of the season,” Big Red head coach Lucas Huffman said. “He had surgery on Christmas Eve. This is a testament to how hard he worked to come back, and he came out of it as a sectional champion.”

Smith, who is now 7-1 on the season, was the No. 1 seed in his weight class, and he received a bye in the first round. In the quarterfinals he defeated Beaver Local freshman Aiden Hendrick by pinfall in 55 seconds before pinning Indian Valley sophomore Brett O’Connor in the semifinals in 1:55.

In the finals, Smith faced off against Cambridge sophomore Mason Hill, who was the No. 2 seed. Hill put up a fight, but Smith wasn’t going to be denied as he won the match by decision, 4-1, to win the gold.

Smith was the first of three wrestlers to win a sectional title for the Red-and-Black. Landon Crosier (175) and Beau Hudson (285) also won titles for the host school.

Crosier (44-4) was the No. 1 seed in his weight class, and he cruised into the final with two byes and two victories via tech fall. Crosier, who is a junior, received a bye in the first round and in the quarterfinals before defeating West Holmes junior Lincoln Moans, 17-2, in the semifinals.

Crosier had a much more difficult time in the final as he squared off against No. 2 seed Bradley Barr of Indian Valley. It was a hard-fought match, and Crosier scored the lone point of the match as he defeated Barr, 1-0, to capture the crown.

“Landon wrestled the kid from Indian Valley a couple of weeks ago,” Huffman said. “It was a tough match, and we knew this one was going to be a battle. Landon was able to push through and come out on top. I am very proud of him.”

Hudson (37-11) was the No. 2 in the tournament, and the senior received byes in the first round and in the quarterfinals before wrestling his first match against No. 3 seed Dylan Sours of West Holmes in the semifinals. Hudson controlled the match as he defeated Sours via decision, 5-0, to advance to the tournament final where he faced off against a local rival and No. 1 seed Luke McMillion of Indian Creek.

Hudson wrestled a solid match against McMillion, and he was able to come away with a 4-1 victory by decision to capture the championship.

“Beau and McMillion have wrestled a few times, and he has lost some tight matches,” Huffman said. “It is great that he was able to get it done today. There is no better time to avenge a loss than in the sectional final.”

Hudson ended the district tournament last season at Big Red with a pin in the final match allowing his team to finish as co-district champions along with Beaver Local.

“Beau has picked up some really big wins for us from time to time this season and not just last season,” Huffman said. “He did have the big win in the district tournament last year. He is a guy we can really rely on. He has been in our lineup since he was a freshman. He is a really valuable member of this team.”

McMillion (36-3) received a bye in the first round and in the quarterfinals before defeating Morgan’s Devin Waggy by pin in 5:31 in the semifinals to advance to take on Hudson.

Indian Creek did have one individual champion as No. 1 seed Ethan Starr (30-13) brought home the title at 138. The junior opened the tournament by getting a bye in the first round before defeating Cambridge’s Cashtin Resor by major decision, 11-1, in the quarterfinals. Starr had a more difficult time in the semifinals as he squared off against Beaver Local’s Matthew Tomaino. It was a high-scoring affair, but Starr ultimately came out on top with a 15-11 victory via decision to advance to the final against No. 2 seed Boston Braun of Indian Valley.

It was another hard-fought match, but Starr was able to rise to the occasion as he secured a victory via decision, 9-8, to win the gold.

“Ethan wrestled well,” Indian Creek head coach Brandon Pendleton said. “He is peaking at the right time.”

The postseason is when teams and individuals want to peak.

“He has had an up-and-down season,” Pendleton said. “The OVAC Tournament was not his best, but he is turning it on at the right time. I am glad to see him do that.”

Big Red freshman Colt Gamble finished as runner-up at 215. Gamble (25-7) entered the tournament as the No. 2 seed, and he received a bye in the first round and another in the quarterfinals before wrestling his match in the semifinals.

In the semifinals, Gamble edged out Ethan Ross of West Holmes via decision, 4-3, to advance to the final. Gamble battled in the final, however, Beaver Local’s Robert Marra – the No. 4 seed – was too tough to overcome as Marra brought the title home to Columbiana County with a 5-3 victory by decision.

All told, Big Red had 11 wrestlers qualify for the district tournament.

“I thought we wrestled really well,” Huffman said. “We had a real tough semifinal round, but our kids are resilient and they battled their way back through the consolations. I am proud of them for that.”

As a team, Big Red finished in fourth place with 191 points.

“This is a really tough sectional,” Huffman said. “The kids wrestled really well against tough competition. This sectional tournament really helps us prepare for the district tournament and the state tournament.”

Beaver Local won the team title with 226.5 points, West Holmes ended up in second place with 210 and Indian Valley finished third with 201. Locally, Edison ended up in sixth place with 102.5 points and Indian Creek placed seventh with 73.5.

“It was not our best showing today,” Pendleton said. “We had some guys fall short. The effort was there, but things just did not go our way.”

The top four individuals in each weight class qualified for the district tournament starting Friday down at Gallia Academy High School.

“This is definitely a tough sectional,” Pendleton said. “We like coming here. We know it is a challenge. Sometimes, it just doesn’t work out the way you want it to.”

Big Red had 12 wrestlers place at the sectional tournament.

Big Red had five wrestlers ended up in third place – Jailen Steave (113), Cole Harvey (120), Terahji Thompson (126), Dorian Haddad (132) and Braylon Hayden (190).

Derek Williams (106) and Julius Mullins (138) finished in fourth place for Big Red, while Demeatrus Benjamin (150) placed sixth.

Starr and McMillion were the only two wrestlers for Indian Creek to advance to the next level, however, the Redskins did have seven wrestlers place at sectionals.

Individually, Jackson Scharfenberg (120) and Ian Starkey (157) each finished fifth, while Ayvien D’Ambra (165), Landon Barz (190) and Jayden Sturtevant (215) all ended up in sixth place.

“Our young guys are still developing,” Pendleton said. “They are working hard. The effort is there. They just need to grow.”

The Wildcats did not have an individual champion or a runner-up, however, Edison ended up having five wrestlers place at the sectional tournament to clinch their spot at the district tournament.

For Edison, Kaleb Marker (106), Kelsey Hedrick (150) and Kaiden Mcallister (165) all ended up in third place, while Brecken Banovsky (132) and Nolan Haught (144) finished fourth.

The Wildcats also had four other wrestlers place at the tournament as Marcus Greene (113), Edward Mcallister (175) and Kyle Burke Reed (215) all finished fifth, while Spencer Cooley (120) placed sixth.

The district tournament is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. Friday before continuing at 9 a.m. Saturday morning.

“We are going to take it easy on Monday,” Huffman said. “We are going to get together with some other guys, and we are going to have hard practices Tuesday and Wednesday. We are going to treat it like it is just another tournament. We are going to train as we do and prepare for the district tournament.”

Indian Creek has its own plan to prepare for the districts.

“We are going to take care of our weights,” Pendleton said. “We are going to make sure are weights are right. We are going to leave early. It is a long trip. We are going to battle. We are going to give it our best.”