Wright Time For John Marshall
Monarchs’ Senior Heavyweight Earns Pin For 37-36 Victory
MOUNDSVILLE - Trailing highly touted Barnesville, 36-27, with two weight classes remaining, John Marshall needed a miracle in dual meet action Wednesday night. Prayers answered.
Cayden Cochran (215) earned a 4-point major decision when posted a 10-2 decision to cut the deficit to 36-31. Senior Mathieu Wright (285) followed with a second-period pin and the Monarchs had pulled out a 37-36 verdict over the short-handed Shamrocks inside the John Marshall Field House.
Exactly one week ago, Wright was unable to come up with a victory in the OVAC Bill Hinegardner Class 5A Dual Meet Championship semifinals against Steubenville, but he didn't let that happen again.
"I'm so happy to be able to help the team. It feels really good to win a match so that the team wins," Wright explained. "I didn't get it done the last time out there (on the mat against Steubenville), so tonight I told myself I had to get the pin. That was my mindset out there."
Following a scoreless first period, Wright took the down position to start the second. He scored an early reversal which led to his fall in 2-minutes, 47-seconds, and the team's win.
"That's not the first time a match has come down to me. I've won several matches at the end like that," he noted.
The comeback didn't shock John Marshall head coach Ryan Asbury.
"Matt has been a great heavyweight for us this year. That Steubenville match was the first time he didn't come through for us, but nobody on the team is blaming him for that loss," Asbury said. "But we credit him and a few other guys that came through tonight," Asbury continued. "Cayden's win was huge. He did a good job late when he was dead tired to get that major (decision)."
Asbury also cited Lemaster for his win and his lightweights for getting the match started off on the right foot.
"Atley Bonar has been in-and-out of the lineup all year, so that was a big win for him, and the team."
What wasn't overlooked by Asbury, or the Monarchs and their fans, was Cochran's clutch major decision a weight class earlier.
"Cayden's four team points were huge. They turned out to be the difference in the match," Asbury noted.
Cochran led 4-1 after one period and, following a scoreless second period, he recorded an escape and was awarded a penalty point as Barnesville's Montgomery Evens was guilty of locking his hands. A takedown made it 8-1, so at the urging of Asbury and his coaching staff, he allowed Evens to escape with a little more than 30 seconds left. A subsequent takedown gave him the 8-point difference.
Barnesville was without state-ranked wrestlers Dakota King (132) and Logan Tague (144) as they had already reached their regular-season eligibility point total of 20. They will be able to compete in the postseason.
"They would've made a difference, no doubt," Barnesville head coach Jayson Stephen said. The Shamrocks won both bouts at those weights, but bumped up kids to do so.
"Obviously we wanted to win the dual. I could've bumped up at 106 to 113, but it wasn't that big of a deal," Stephen said. "We had some kids that we wanted to get some matches, but you've still got to go out and perform, though."
Barnesville took a 6-0 lead on a forfeit to Johnathan Huntsman (106), one of four OVAC Ron Mauck Tournament individual champions for the Shamrocks. However, John Marshall used a trio of consecutive pins to build an 18-6 margin.
Zander Ward (113) needed 3:07 for his win while Atley Bonar (120) and OVAC Ron Mauck titlist Ethan Cook (126) recorded first-period pins in 1:26 and 1:07, respectively.
A late pin (5:02) by Barnesville's Hines Ford (132) stopped the Monarchs' run, but Alex Harbert (138) got those points back in quick fashion with an 18-second fall as the count went to 24-12.
Four straight Barnesville wins - two pins and a like number of decisions - put the Belmont Countians ahead, 30-24 as state-ranked Skyler King (144) and Reese Stephen (150) earned falls in 3:09 and 3:34, respectively. King is rated No. 3 at 138, according to Borofan, while Stephen is No. 1 at 150.
An 8-3 decision by Karson Milhoan (165) and a 6-2 nod by Ayden King (175) gave the Shamrocks their 30-24 margin.
Maverick Lemasters (190) started John Marshall's rally with a 10-3 decision to make it 30-27. Barnesville's Marshall Meade had a second-period fall as the advantage increased to 36-27.
That's when Cochran and Wright stepped up.
Barnesville will compete in the Ohio High School Wrestling Coaches Association Division III State Duals on Saturday at Versailles High School. The Shamrocks are the No. 2 seed. Meanwhile, John Marshall celebrates Senior Night Saturday as Brooke, Oak Glen and Weir High visit for a quadrangular meet.