SPARTA – A pair of local athletes stood tall in the procession of All-Ohio champions ascending the podium at the Division I and II OHSAA State Wrestling Championships in Hilliard and Sparta.
Mount Vernon's Colton Spurgeon and Highland's Cody Matthews both placed seventh in their respective weight classes. There were restrictions on the number of fans and it was not held at its normal venue — the Schottenstein Center — because of COVID-19 restrictions, but the excitement on the mats was the same as always.
The DI tournament, held at Hilliard Darby on Saturday and Sunday, March 13-14, featured the 120-pound Spurgeon (44-8), who lost his opening match to Hudson Goebel of Findlay on Day 1. Goebel went on to place second in the tournament, while Spurgeon fought his way back to get a piece of the Division I podium — just like he did the previous week at district.
"Colton did a nice job of staying confident and having a short memory," Mount Vernon coach Nate Cornell said. "He didn't let the early loss get to him. He wrestled like a seasoned vet."
Spurgeon defeated Butler's Parker Lee 6-0 and Chris Rocha of Painesville Riverside 12-6 to land a spot on the podium. He became the 22nd Yellow Jacket to stand on the podium.
On Day 2, Spurgeon lost to Dylan Le of Dublin Scioto 12-6, sending him into the seventh-place final. There, Spurgeon won by default over Blake Cerny of Marion Harding.
For Spurgeon, standing on the podium is the best cure for making it to state last year and losing a chance to compete due to the pandemic shutdown.
"Yeah, It's surreal," Spurgeon said. "I found out last year right at the end of the school day — the day I was going to leave for the tournament. That was a big heartbreaker. It has been my dream to get on the podium."
It was also special for Matthews (47-6), who had the rare opportunity to represent the host school at DII state. Matthews (152 pounds) dropped his first match to Trace Braun of Graham Local on Day 2, only to come back with a 4-3 win in the seventh-place final against a formidable Mcale Callahan of Miami Trace.
"It was awesome," Matthews said about wrestling at state on his home mat. "I pushed that much harder to get on the podium, being in my own gym. (Standing on the podium) is awesome. It's something you push for the entire year."
After pinning Lake Catholic's Anthony Trivisonno to start out on Day 1, Matthews lost to Warren's Peyten Kellar to drop into the consolation bracket. Kellar (35-0) went on to take first place in the tournament.
In the lower bracket, Matthews beat John Metzger of Ashland 8-4 to get a foot on the podium. Matthews is the fourth Highland placer in school history.
"This is the third (state) placer that I've coached and it's just really special," Highland coach Adam Gilmore said. "It's an awesome accomplishment for him and our program."
Along with Matthews' accomplishment came the news that Highland athletic director Mike DeLaney was named Central District Wrestling Association Athletic Director of the Year.
"All of the credit goes to all the people in our community that volunteered to help make this a great event," he said.
