photo by: Kim North

OVAC Ron Mauck Tournament Director Shane Shaffer talks to coaches during Monday night’s OVAC Ron Mauck Wrestling Championship press conference inside WesBanco Arena. The three-day event begins Thursday night and concludes Saturday afternoon.

WHEELING – Just when you thought the three-day OVAC Ron Mauck Wrestling Championships couldn’t get any bigger, think again.

The 72nd annual boys event gets underway Thursday night inside WesBanco Arena, while the girls will take to the mat for the first time ever, starting Friday afternoon. The ‘Crown Jewel Of the OVAC’ concludes with Saturday afternoon’s championship finals in both genders.

“I’m really excited with what we’re doing this year,” third-year Tournament Director Shane Shaffer said prior to Monday night’s kickoff press conference inside the East Meeting Room of the downtown venue. “We have 402 boys entries among 39 schools and we have 95 girls from 27 schools.”

OVAC Executive Director Dirk Decoy also expressed his feelings.

“This is a very exciting time for the OVAC and our wrestling family,” he said. “With the boys tournament already being a big thing, the addition of the girls tournament puts us over the top. We’ere looking forward to the competition.”

Five returning champions highlight the boys’ field, with Beaver Local and Linsly having two each. Union Local has the other.

The Beavers’ Robert Buchheit is trying to join an exclusive club of 4-time winners. The top seed at 150 has prevailed at 120 as a freshman; 132 as a sophomore and last year at 138. He is 5-0 this year in limited action.

Other defending champions are the Beavers’ Jake Hughes; Linsly’s Brock Humphrey and George Mamakos; and Union Local’s Gamble Gossett.

Hughes, the top seed at 157, won at 150 last winter. He checks in at 20-3.

Humphrey won at 106 last year but has bumped up to 120 where is the No. 1 seed. He is currently 28-2.

Mamakos captured the 132-pound crown last year and will look to repeat at 138 this year. He is 29-3 entering the tournament and the No. 1 seed.

Gamble won as a freshman at 120 and is up to 126 this year where he is top-seeded. He will carry a 26-2 mark into the tournament.

There were three other champions scheduled to return this year, but injuries sidelined two of those competitors – Cameron’s Braxton Birch who won at 126 and Steubenville’s Cooper Smith who prevailed at 144. Wheeling Central’s Isaac Martin won at 215.

There are two OVAC Ron Mauck titlists in the field as Barnesville junior Cole Carpenter won a title as a freshman and Linsly senior Malaki Washington won a crown as a sophomore while competing for Wheeling Park.

University won the 2025 overall and Class 5A titles. The Hawks had 13 of their 14 individuals receive seeds in the top 12 of their respective weight class. Four Hawks are the top seeds.

Beaver Local won the Class 4A title and finished as the overall runnerup. The Beavers received nine seeds, with three being No. 1s.

Barnesville, which continued its mastery of the Class 3A field last winter, had a dozen seeded wrestlers.

In addition to Humphrey, Mamakos, Buchheit, Gossett and Hughes, also receiving No. 1 seeds were Beaver Local’s Jordan Bates (106); Martins Ferry’s Jayce Nixon (113); Brooke’s Landon Burdine (132); University’s Nico Maisel (144), Maximus Fortier (175), Emerson Murphy (190) and Ryder Hastings (215); Union Local’s Gunnar Gossett (165) and Toronto’s Heath Thomas (285).

The festivities kickoff at 6 p.m. Thursday with the Olympic-style opening ceremonies. Wrestling begins 30 minutes later. Saturday’s championship finals for both genders and matches for third-through-eighth place on the boys’ side are set for 4 p.m.