Barnesville Wrestlers Win First OVAC Overall Title Since 1985

Kim North

WHEELING -- For the first time in nearly four decades, Barnesville finished as the overall team champion as the 70th annual OVAC Ron Mauck wrestling tournament came to a close Saturday night inside WesBanco arena.

The talented Shamrocks piled up 259 points to slip past University which tallied 251.5. It's the first overall championship since 1985. Barnesville also collected its fifth straight Class 3A crown and now has 13 total OVAC Tournament titles.

"The kids battled and battled. We had some kids that stepped up and got higher places on the podium that they were projected," Barnesville head coach Jayson Stephen said. "This is a big deal. It's an awesome feeling but this team had a lot of bigger goals for down the road."

Barnesville led the 42-team field with 10 placers, including three champions, a trio of runners up, a third, a fifth and two sixths. Winning his third title, which clinched the team championship, was senior Dakota King (138).

The Ohio State University recruit put on a takedown clinic in his 23-8 technical fall of Cameron's Slaton Pettitt in the finals. He had four of his 11 two-pointers in the first period and coasted from there. All of Pettit's points came on escapes.

"This one feels better than the first two because I finally passed my dad," Dakota said. "He won two and now I'm one up on him. That feels good."

As much pleasure as he took in passing his father, assistant Barnesville coach T.J. King, he was equally proud to be part of a championship team.

"It's been a long, long time since Barnesville won the OVAC Tournament, so this is an exciting time right now," Dakota added. "It was a total team effort and I'm glad to have been a part of it.

Other Shamrocks claiming titles were senior Skyler King (157), no relation to Dakota, and surprising freshman Colt Carpenter (126). It was Skyler King's second consecutive title as he blanked Steubenville's Savier Faulks 6-0. Carpenter, the No. 5 seed, took down University's second-seeded Colton Gillespie, 8-6. That put the Shamrocks ahead by three points and Dakota King's subsequent win sealed the deal.

"The kids did what they had to do," Coach Stephen said. "We had some kids step up, like Colt, and some others. It took an entire team effort."

University head coach Ken Maisel praised the Shamrocks.

"They have a really, really good team," he said. "For a small school they are doing big things. We made a run at them, but just could get over the top."

The Hawks won the Class 5A team title and also had a trio of titlists in three-time champ Luca Felix (165), two-time titlist Brock Kehler (285) and Pepper Martin (106). Felix defeated Barnesville's Ayden King, 8-2, while Kehler pinned Harrison Central's Landen Thomas and Martin decisioned Beaver Local's Justus Fisher, 9-1.

Parkersburg South, which finished as the Class 5A runner up with 203 points, had two champions, as did Steubenville, which finished third in Class 5A with 181.

The Wood County Patriots winners were Gage Wright (175) and Cole Smith (113). The No. 1 nationally ranked Wright posted a 12-2 major decision over Wheeling Park's Jameson Maynard, who was a defending OVAC champion. Smith edged East Liverpool's Tristen Eckles, 3-2.

Big Red winners were sophomore Cooper Smith (144) and senior Brody Saccoccia (150). Smith topped Barnesville senior Karson Milhoan, 5-1, while Saccoccia outlasted the Shamrocks' Reese Stephen, 2-1, in an ultimate tiebreaker.

Wheeling Central was the Class 3A runner up with 101.5 points.

Wheeling Park had a champion in Malaki Washington (190). The sophomore, also a No. 5 seed, won by medical default over Beaver Local's Kane Curran who suffered an ankle injury and couldn't continue.

"I said before that Malaki was adjusting to that weight class and this weekend I think he made the final adjustment and showed that he is here to stay," Wheeling Park head coach Brian Leggett said.

Wasdhington credited his victory to his training partner.

"I work every day with Jameson Maynard and he really pushes me. Going to camps also helped me further my skills," he said.

Oak Glen's Logan Davis (120) became a three-time champ with a pin of Shenandoah's Tristen Rossiter in 3:49. The win helped the Golden Bears to the Class 4 team title in head coach Josh Cornell's second year. They tied with Indian Creek last year.

"Our depth really came through this weekend," Cornell said. "We had some guys step up and get on the podium. Sure we would've liked to have had more, but we had enough to get the job done."

When asked about Davis, Cornell really didn't know what to say that he already hasn't about his senior stud.

"He just goes out and takes care of business."

Other champions were Harrison Central's Lucas Thomas (215) and Beaver Local's Robert Buccheit (132). Both won their second titles, but Thomas's first came two years ago. He was runner up last year.

Thomas pinned Wheeling Central's Isaac Martin in 5:37.

"This championship feels a lot better than the first because I felt I was more dominant and in control tonight," Thomas said.

Buccheit earned a 3-1 decision over University's Carter Pauley with a late escape.

Wright was voted the Bierkortte Ward winner by tournament coaches as the Most Outstanding Wrestler. Kehler earned the Hercules Award for most pins in the shortest amount of time in the championship bracket.

Cameron won its third straight Class 1A/2A title, but the first under first-year head coach Derek Martin.

"The kids had a goal coming in here and they accomplished it," Martin noted.