Brendan Lester (120 pounds) and Bryce Schott (138) each scored first-period pinfalls to help the host Highland wrestling team take home the Ammons Sword with a 38-34 win over Buckeye Valley on Friday, Jan. 29, in Sparta.
Caleb Wetzel (126), Cody Matthews (160), Eli Grandstaff (182) and Triston Hinkle (195) also earned victories for the Fighting Scots against the Barons.
Highland turned right around and took seventh (152 points) out of 22 teams, behind first-place Barnesville (308 points) at the Jimmy Wood Invitational at New Lexington.
Matthews took second place, Wetzel finished third, Hinkle was fourth, and Kaden Miller and Grandstaff were fifth to lead the Scots.
Utica Invitational
Five Utica wrestlers took top honors in its host tournament on Saturday, Jan. 30.
Wesley Wydick (120 pounds), Brock Wygle (126), Clayton Smith (132), Austin Smith (138) and Nolan Hazelett (170) each finished first place in their respective weight divisions for Utica, which finished second with 250.5 points out of nine teams, behind Marion Elgin (284.5 points).
Gideon Snyder (152) and Dylan Cooperrider (285) were also solid with second-place finishes, and Nolan Bennett (145) and Zach Cyphers (160) each finished third for Utica.
Ryan Drury (152) and Kaden Burton (195) each took home third-place finishes for Cardington-Lincoln, which finished ninth as a team with 30 points.
INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
Erich Rhodeback earned first-place finishes in two events to highlight the Mount Vernon indoor track and field team’s second meet at Energy Fieldhouse in Mount Vernon.
The two-day event took place with field events on Friday, Jan. 29; and running events on Saturday, Jan. 30.
Rhodeback took top honors in the 200-meter dash with a time of 24.04 seconds, and the 60-meter hurdles (8.50).
Damion Blubaugh was right behind Rhodeback in the 200-meter with a time of 24.57.
Dylan Dowell (57.22) was also solid with a third-place finish in the 400-meter dash.
Julia Laracuente took top honors in the long jump at 17 feet, 8.25 inches to lead Highland.
Larcuente also had second-place finishes in a couple of events: she ran a 9.76 in the 60-meter hurdles and jumped 36-9.25 in the triple jump.
Hunter Bolton posted a time of 10 minutes, 38.99 seconds in the 3200-meter run to finish second for the Scots.
For Fredericktown, Steven Tumbleson and Korbin McGowan finished second and third in the pole vault with jumps of 12-0 and 10-6, respectively.
Titus Krabill was also solid for the Freddies in the 1600-meter run, posting a time of 5:00.69 to finish third.
BOWLING
Jordan Lacy rolled a 338 series and Noel Frakes was close behind with a 326 series to lead the Utica girls bowling team to a 1,732-743 win over Zanesville in Licking County League action on Saturday, Jan. 30, at Redskin Lanes in Utica.
Blake French was solid with a 408 series on the strength of a 227 first game, but the Utica boys bowling team fell to visiting Zanesville 2,140-2,041.
Jackets, Freddies split
Griffin Wayne bowled a 406 series and the Fredericktown boys bowling team withstood a furious comeback by host Mount Vernon in the Baker round to secure a narrow 2,155-2,142 victory in non-league play on Saturday, Jan. 30, at Colonial City Lanes in Mount Vernon.
Keshawn Goldsmith rolled a 374 series and Tre Flowers rolled a one-game 202 to pace the Yellow Jackets, who outscored the Freddies 419-346 in the Baker game to close the gap.
Izzy Moore (356 series) and Jace Kyle (353 series) led the Mount Vernon girls bowling team to a 1,961-1,779 victory over Fredericktown.
Macey Neer rolled a game-best 211 and finished with a 405 series to pace the Freddies.
