WHEELING — The 2021-22 high school wrestling season was another exciting one on both sides of the Ohio River as two schools — Wheeling Park (AAA) and Cameron (A) — captured state titles at the 75th annual West Virginia state tournament in Huntington, while St. Clairsville recorded its first state champion last month during the 85th annual OHSAA state tournament inside Value City Arena at the Jerome Schottenstein Center in Columbus.

The annual All-Valley squad is released today and includes half-a-dozen state champions; seven state runnersup and 11 Ohio Valley Athletic Conference Ron Mauck Tournament titlists.

Captains of the 18-member talent-ladened team are Wheeling Park’s Erick Brothers Jr. and St. Clairsville’s Caden Stout.

A capsule of each honoree follows:

BROTHERS JR. won his third state title in as many tries as he improved to 12-0 inside Mountain Health Arena.

“Erick has become so reliable that you sometimes forget how lucky you are to have him in your line-up,” Wheeling Park head coach Brian Leggett said. “Not only does he rack up wins, but most of his victories end in bonus points for our team. This season he emerged as a leader for this program.”

The Patriots’ junior captured the Class AAA 220-pound title by pinning three of his four opponents. He finished the season 44-5 and secured his 100th career win in the state tournament semifinals.

STOUT — This senior snapped a streak where 28 Red Devils had earned spots on the Division II awards podium without the school having a state champ. He finished with a 171 career wins, two shy of the school record set last year by Koen Kish. A four-time Ohio state qualifier, his sophomore season the state tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 outbreak, he capped his star-studded career with a perfect run throughout the postseason en route to the state championship and a 49-4 mark.

He was a two-time OVAC Ron Mauck Tournament finalist, losing to Indian Creek’s Dom Paterra this year. He avenged that reversal, however, in the state finals.

“Caden is a very hard worker and he deserved everything he accomplished this season and his career,” St. Clairsville head coach Joel Sansone said. “He wasn’t his healthiest, but he grinded it out and attained his goal of being a state champion.”

NATE SHELEK, Wheeling Park — He finished a sterling career for the Patriots with book-end state titles, winning as a freshman and then dominating the 132-pound field at this year’s event. He finished his career with 135victories against just 18 setbacks, including 45-4 this winter.

“Saying that we are going to miss Nate simply does not do it justice. He has been a staple in our lineup and wrestling room since he stepped on the mat as a freshman four years ago,” Leggett said. “He is an amazing wrestler, teammate and person. His talent and love for wrestling shows every time you watched him wrestle. He poured everything he had into helping this team win a state championship this year.

“I am excited to watch him go on and compete at West Liberty University.”

Shelek was a four-time OVAC placewinner and a four-time W.Va. state placer.

IAN BUSH, Cameron — This Dragons senior finished his career as a two-time W.Va. Class A-AA state kingpin as he defended his 182-pound crown this winter as he pinned his way through the tournament field.

“It has been a pleasure to watch Ian wrestle at Cameron,” head coach Tim Jones said. “He is one of the hardest workers I’ve ever been around. He knows the sport so well and strives to keep getting better.”

Bush will continue his mat career at West Virginia University.

He finished his distinguished career with a 147-12 record. Of his wins, 105 of them came by pin.

Bush was 27-0 as a junior and was twice voted the W.Va. Class A Wrestler of the Year at the state tournament. He also won the Hercules Award at the 2022 OVAC Ron Mauck Tournament.

BRADYN LUCAS, Wheeling Park — This Patriots’ junior had an outstanding season after injuries derailed his sophomore year.

He won the OVAC Ron Mauck Tournament title at 138 pounds and duplicated that performance at the state tournament when he avenged a loss in the Region I tournament finals by pinning Buckhannon-Upshur’s Tyler Hurst in the first period.

“Bradyn finally got a full season under his belt and was able to show everyone what we have known for years, Bradyn is a great wrestler,” Leggett noted. “He worked his butt off day-in and day-out, and willed himself to becoming an OVAC and state champion this season.”

Lucas finished the season 42-8 and is 72-22 for his career.

GABE CARMAN, Wheeling Park — Another Patriot who overcame an adversity-filled junior season to reach the top of the Mountain State as a senior.

Carman, who transferred from John Marshall prior to his junior year, won the 160-pound championship in a strange way. Leading Parkersburg South’s Robert Shockey 3-2 after one period, Shockey was disqualified before the second period started for flagrant misconduct.

“I could not be happier for Gabe and what he accomplished this season. After all the setbacks he went through last season and not being able to compete, he made up for it this season,” Leggett stressed. “We will miss him and his leadership but we know he will go on to do great things.”

Carman was 50-4 this season and 127-29 for his career.

He finished as a three-time state placer.

DOM PATERRA, Indian Creek — This Redskins junior on the OVAC Ron Mauck Tournament title at 152 pounds and finished second at 150 to Stout at the Ohio state tournament. He was 49-6 this winter, with five of those losses coming to Stout.

“Dom had a great season for us,” Indian Creek head coach Brandon Pendleton said. “He wrestled smart all year and we are looking forward to his senior season.”

BRODY SACCOCCIA, Steubenville — Just a freshman, Saccoccia burst onto the high school season and made it all the way to the Division II state finals at 120 pounds before falling to Mentor Lake Catholic’s Brendan McCrone.

He finished his first varsity season with a superb 45-6 mark. He was an OVAC Ron Mauck Tournament titlist.

“I’m extremely proud of Brody. He had a great season and showed a lot of poise for a freshman,” Steubenville first-year head coach Lucas Huffman said. “He got a lot of valuable experience this season. He’ll be back.”

AUSTIN STARR, Indian Creek — Another Redskins grappler who enjoyed a great career. He was a state runnerup in Division II at 195 pounds, losing to Aurora’s nationally ranked Dylan Fishback in the finals.

“I thought Austin wrestled well against him,” Pendleton said. “He (Fishback) had pinned everybody in the first round (of the state tournament) and he didn’t get this far by not being very good.

“Austin held his own and had a great career for us. He will be missed.”

Starr finished 40-4 and is the school’s all-time leader in pins. He also won an OVAC Ron Mauck Tournament title in January.

LOGAN DAVIS, Oak Glen — The Golden Bears sophomore was a state runnerup in Class A-AA at 106 pounds, improving from a third-place finish as a freshman. He was also the OVAC Ron Mauck Tournament champion.

“Logan had an incredible season and was a great leader for us this year. Logan’s improvements to his wrestling skill over the last two seasons shows how much work he has put in to achieving his goals,” Oak Glen head coach Patrick McGillian said. “He wrestles a physical style that keeps his opponents off balance. We look forward to seeing what he can accomplish over the next two seasons.”

Davis was 41-1 this winter and is 62-4 in his career.

NOAH WHITE, Wheeling Park — White was the Region I champion as a freshman and advanced to the Class AAA 106-pound state finals before losing. He also took third in the OVAC Ron Mauck Tournament and finished with a fine 42-9 record.

“Noah truly loves the sport and you can see it in everything he does. He is a constant purist of getting better each day and it shows in his wrestling ability,” Leggett continued. “He had an extremely successful freshman season and we are excited for the next three seasons.”

JACK LOWE, Wheeling Park — Another of the Patriots’ ‘Young Guns,’ Lowe made it to the finals at 126 pounds after winning the Region I crown.

He was also an OVAC Ron Mauck third-placer and finished the season at 36-10.

“Jack bought into the program on day one. You sometimes forget he is a freshman because he is mature for is age,” Leggett noted. “He makes great decisions and wrestles smart.

“Jack had a great freshman season and his ceiling is very high for the next three seasons.”

ADAM ANGEL, Cameron — A junior for the Dragons who transferred from Wheeling Park where he was a two-time Class AAA placer, he had an outstanding season that finished in a second place at 170 pounds in Class A-AA.

He is 76-36 for his career and was 35-10 this winter.

“Adam came to us and fit right in, both on the mat and in the (practice) room,” Jones said. “He had a really good season and we thought he had a chance to win the state title, but things just didn’t work out.”

GANNON KAZMIRSKI, St. Clairsville — This Red Devils’ senior also capped a four-year career with an eighth-place finish at 113 pounds during the recent D-II state tournament. He finished with 137 victories. He was also an OVAC Ron Mauck Tournament champion this season, as well as a Division II sectional kingpin. He had a season record of 46-9 and had more than 100 career wins.

“I am extremely happy for Gannon. All his hard work and determination paid off for him,” Sansone said. “He had a tremendous senior year. He is a wonderful young man and deserved a spot on the podium.”

DAKOTA KING, Barnesville — This sophomore has had two outstanding seasons in a Shamrocks singlet, going from sixth at 113 pounds as a freshman to third this season in Division III at 120. He has accumulated a fantastic 92-9 career mark thus far. He is a two-time sectional and district champion and was the OVAC Ron Mauck Tournament’s 126-pound champ this season before bumping down a weight class.

“Dakota had another great season and still wanted to do better,” Barnesville head coach Jayson Stephen said. “He wanted to perform better each time he stepped on the mat.”

ZAK DOBSON, Martins Ferry — This Purple Rider senior established a new single-season record for wins as he finished his superb season with a 53-5 mark. He was fourth in the Division III 215-pound weight class and was third at the OVAC Ron Mauck Tournament at 220.

Head coach Chad Ware was proud of what his senior standout accomplished.

“I’m proud of him. Any time you get on the podium it’s a great achievement,” Ware said. “He’s a great kid who works his tail off every day. He deserves everything he gets.”

LUCAS THOMAS, Harrison Central — Became first Huskies OHSAA state tournament semifinalist in quite a while, earning sixth place in the 215-pound weight class. He was the OVAC Ron Mauck Tournament titlist after entering as the third seed.

“Lucas is a vital part of our wrestling program and his commitment to succeed is second to none,” Harrison Central head coach Bill Bryant said. “Lucas became an OVAC champion this season, but he still isn’t content … he wants to be a state champion.

“We believe he can reach that goal but he has to continue to grow in all aspects of life,” Bryant continued. “I don’t know if his goal is to be an Olympic champion one day, but I thank the elementary teacher that told him to be realistic when she asked the class what they wanted to be when they got older. So far that has been great motivation.”

LOGAN OURS, Beaver Local — “Logan was a great guy to have in our program. He lifted up his teammates and us as coaches both on and off the mat,” head coach Johnny McComas said. “Third place is not what he wanted, but I am proud of him for battling through adversity and injury.”

Not only was Ours a three-time OVAC Ron Mauck Tournament champion, but he was also the 2022 Bierkortte Award winner which is symbolic of the Most Outstanding Wrestler as voted on by tournament coaches.

He will wrestle at the University of Wyoming.