Louisville will be represented by two in the OHSAA state wrestling finals Sunday evening.
Senior Pablo Castro punched his ticket to the championship match following an 8-3 victory over Licking Valley senior Alijah Stevens at 132 lbs.. Castro is familiar with the championship round, finishing as the state runner-up last year, losing in overtime.
“It’s awesome,” Castro stated after his match. “Not many get a second chance, so I’m back here…it’s time to put on a show for them.”
Castro said he has to focus and drown out the noise.
“Just staying focused, doing the right things,” he said. “When it comes down to it, these fans are all cool, they’re all sweet…but it’s just me and him [the opponent] on the mat. No one else has an effect on anything else.”
Louisville (138 lbs.) junior Dom Hoffarth secured his spot in the championship round with a 10-2 semifinal win over Clyde’s Lance Overmyer.
“I feel like I just went out there and wrestled like in practice,” said Hoffarth. “And I went out there. I knew I was better than [Clyde sophomore Lance Overmyer], and I just went out there and wrestled like I would in practice.”
Brenden Severs, a Louisville senior, fell 7-1 in the semifinal match to Graham Local’s Gunner Cramblett. He’ll wrestle in the consolation round tomorrow night.
FAIRLESS
Fairless senior Max Kirby is rebounding in the 2022 state tournament after finishing sixth in last year’s tournament.
Kirby (165 lbs.) won his semifinal match against Hartley’s Dylan Newsome by a score of 3-2. He’ll wrestle Sunday evening for the DII state title.
GARAWAY
Garaway’s Kyle Miller advance to the state championship 113-lb. match after winning by the semifinal match by default.
CARROLLTON
Carrollton sophomore Josh Carman earned himself a chance to continue his state journey in the consolation round. The 126-lb. Warrior won his third consolation match over Cleveland Central Catholic’s Rubyn Semedo 9-5.
Last year, the sophomore finished fourth at the state tournament which was held at a Central Ohio high school because of Covid-19 restrictions. He said he’s happy to get a chance to compete at the Schottenstein Center.
“It means a lot to be here,” Carman said after his match. “My idol all of my life was Benny Pasiuk. I’ve always came down, I got to miss a couple days of school to watch him wrestle. It’s just awesome to be here.”
The highest he can finish is third, the lowest is sixth.
DOVER
Dover’s Brandon Kiser lost in the semifinal round after being pinned in the second period. He’ll wrestle Sunday morning in the consolation round. The best he can finish is third, the lowest is sixth.
MINERVA
Minerva junior Kaiden Haines his third round consolation round to stay alive in the tournament.
The 215-lb. wrestler defeated Mansfield Senior’s Mekhi Bradle by a score of 7-2 to advance to Sunday morning’s consolation semifinals. The best he can place is third, the lowest is sixth.
NEW PHILADELPHIA
New Philadelphia senior wrestler Charlie Gibbs (150 lbs.) lost in the third round of the consolation.
He will wrestle for seventh place Sunday morning.
SANDY VALLEY
Sandy Valley senior Wyatt Moyer fell 5-1 in the third round of consolation at 215 lbs. With the loss, he drops down to the seventh place match slated for Sunday morning.
TUSLAW
Tuslaw senior Zach Lyons advance after winning his third round consolation match by a score of 11-5 over Mapleton’s Andrew Sas.
WEST BRANCH
West Branch senior Steven Marra lost his third round consolation match 3-2 and will wrestle for seventh place at 215 lbs.
UNITED LOCAL
Dallas McCracken (285 lbs.) will wrestle for seventh place Sunday morning.
