SPARTA – Highland junior Cody Matthews had trouble finding his voice.
Matthews, wrestling in the 160-pound weight division, captured his second consecutive Knox Morrow Athletic Conference individual championship by pinning Northmor’s Niko Christo. It was a performance worthy of a guttural scream of excitement.
“I started off with a loss in the finals my freshman year,” Matthews explained. “So it’s nice to get two back-to-back and help get us to a KMAC title.”
Matthews also spent the day cheering on his teammates. He was one of five to win league titles at the KMAC tournament on Saturday, Feb. 6, to help the Scots take home a league championship as a team for the second consecutive season.
Caleb Wetzel (126 pounds), Kaden Miller (132), Eli Grandstaff (170) and Triston Hinkle (195) also took top honors for Highland, which won the event with 153.5 points, edging out Mount Gilead (129 points).
“Then we had other guys that won big matches just to get to second place,” Highland coach Adam Gilmore said. “They could have very easily gotten third or fourth if they weren’t ready. That’s the kind of effort and attitude we needed, and that’s why we won.”
Northmor (106) finished third, followed by Loudonville (74), Elgin (66), Fredericktown (50), Cardington-Lincoln (1) and Centerburg.
Mount Gilead finished third last season, tied for second in 2019 and second in the tournament’s first year in 2018.
“It was within our grasp and we have nobody to blame but ourselves,” Mount Gilead coach Mike Williamson said. “But for 10 kids — not having a full roster — to be that close making up for numbers, we’re doing something right.”
Other tournament champions were Mount Gilead’s Joshua Sullivan (145), Andy Williamson (182) and Isaiah Fisher (285); Northmor’s CJ Stoney (120), Trenton Ramos (138) and Gavin Whited (220); Loudonville’s Drew Spreng (106) and Issac Wittel (113); and Elgin’s Kaiden Luikart (152).
The tournament was originally scheduled for Feb. 20 but was moved to allow teams to quarantine ahead of the sectional tournaments on Feb. 27.
“Adam brought it up (to move the tournament), and it was a good idea,” Williamson said. “If we did get caught, we could still quarantine, get a full week of practice and be ready for sectional. It’s the smart move.”
Always unique in finding ways to refocus his wrestlers, Williamson turns his attention to the team’s bowling competition.
“The (wrestlers) beat us last year, so the coaches gotta get back at them,” he said with a chuckle. “We’ve waited for a year, so we gotta get back at them.”
Gilmore was also asked about a concern of rust with a hiatus.
“I got some ideas to keep them sharp,” he said forcefully. “I had this in my mind when this got moved and I looked at the calendar. I have ideas. We’re gonna be sharp; we’re gonna stay sharp.”
Did he want to share those ideas?
“No, I don’t,” Gilmore said. “I don’t want them to know what’s coming to them. I’ll let that be a surprise.”
The date change also served as an opportunity to hold the middle school and high school tourneys at the same time at the same place. Northmor won the middle school title with 114 points, followed by Highland (92), Elgin (90), Centerburg (43.5), Mount Gilead (40), Loudonville (38), Cardington (20) and Fredericktown (20).
“It was awesome,” a hoarse Matthews said. “You would think the atmosphere wouldn’t be much with no fans here. But with just everybody here, teamwise made a for pretty good atmosphere. We had the middle schoolers here too.”
