MARION – Donnell Marshall made history, becoming the first Centerburg wrestler to place at state.
Marshall won two matches on the opening day of the Division III state wrestling tournament, held Saturday and Sunday, March 13-14, at Marion Harding High School, to secure a spot at the podium.
“I’ve been wanting to become a state placer — Centerburg’s first state placer — since, I don’t know, middle school,” the 145-pound senior said. “Just to get here, I was super-excited — just really excited and thankful. It means a lot. I remember watching Dallas (Scott) go off to state my freshman year and not being able to make (it). So I’ve just always wanted to just be here and get the job done.”
Marshall’s road to the podium was not easy. In battling a shoulder injury from football season, his wrestling season was limited. He was 21-0 entering the tournament.
“I’m happy for him,” Centerburg coach Alec Szanati said. “He’s put a lot of time in and to see him cap his career by finishing and being a state placer, that’s awesome.”
At state, there are no easy matchups. Marshall defeated Rootstown’s Cody Coontz by a 7-6 decision in the first round and Casstown Miami East’s David Davis in a quarterfinal. Davis had Marshall hopping on one leg for the final 10 seconds, but Marshall avoided the takedown and held on for a 1-0 decision to secure a spot on the podium.
Marshall had an even tougher road on Sunday, falling 7-2 to Creston Norwayne’s Austin Shepherd to fall to the consolation bracket.
He suffered a tough 2-1 ultimate tie-breaking loss to Garrettsville Garfield’s Hunter Andel before falling to Davis by a 6-2 decision in a rematch to finish sixth.
“I started out strong and didn’t get the job done the second day,” Marshall said. “I still accomplished one of my main goals … just gotta finish.”
Mount Gilead’s Andy Williamson (182 pounds) placed fifth and Northmor’s Niko Christo (152) placed eighth.
Fredericktown’s Gene Fitzpatrick (182) lost both of his matches by pin fall, to Springfield Greenon’s Trevor Stewart and Crestview’s Brier Godsey, respectively. Fitzpatrick (27-24) was the first Freddie to qualify for state since Mitchell Hurlbut and Skylar Davis in 2018.
“We’re proud of Gene no matter what,” Fredericktown coach Dan Stute said. “I’m sure he’s frustrated right now and rightfully so. I guess in our minds, we would have liked to have seen him do better. But it’s a great accomplishment to qualify for state and get here. We feel bad for Gene because we know he’s hurting right now. He should hold his head high. Making it to state is a good way to end a wrestling career.
Utica’s Wesley Wydick (113) and Brock Wygle (126) qualified for state for the second year in a row, but they didn’t get to compete last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The duo went a combined 0-4 but gained some experience along the way.
“It’s just a blessing to even be here … just to get to this point,” Utica coach Mark Rakoczy said. “It was a little discouraging (to not wrestle last year), just like I’m sure it was for every kid across the state. They were young; they were 10th-graders. So they knew they had the opportunity to come back and do it again.
“My goal this year was to get 20 matches. I didn’t know we were going to wrestle tournaments. For us to be here is just extra.”
Northmor’s Marcus Cortez (132) also competed, going 0-2.
