PERRYSBURG – Garrett Barth won his second-straight Division I district championship Saturday, winning the 170-pound weight class and punching his ticket to next week’s state meet with a top seed.
While Caleb Wood and Monte Chapman will join Barth at the state meet, Barth was the only Little Giant to go undefeated and claim a district title.
He won the championship with a 7-2 decision over Ethan Hatcher of Brecksville. The match prior, however, a 2-0 semifinal win over Lorain’s Shawn Petty, took the pressure off Barth as the semifinal win clinched a trip to Columbus.
While the state meet won’t be a new experience for Barth, Wood, a junior, will be competing for the first time in the Schott Center. Wood won third place in the 195-pound weight class, defeating Midview’s Seth Frambach by a 4-3 decision.
His previous, match, a win against Berea-Midpark’s Andrew Bachie, saw Wood score his 30th pin of the year, tying Ross’ single-season pin record.
Ross nearly sent another wrestler to the state meet with a No. 3 seed. Chapman held a two-point lead over his final opponent, Marco Regalbuto of Brecksville until Regalbuto scored a take-down in the final seconds of the third period to force an overtime period. Regalbuto scored the sudden-death win in about 15 seconds in the extra period.
While Barth, Wood and Chapman have their places reserves in Columbus, a fourth Little Giant may get another chance to wrestler as well. Jackson Weissener earned alternate status with his fifth-place finish at 160 pounds. After losing his opening match of the tournament, Weissinger rebounded to win three in a row, before falling to Elyria’s Jake Evans one match shy of clinching a state berth. He then won the next match for fifth place and a potential place at state in case of injury or failure by another competitor to make weight.
For more details, visit the Ross Sports Report.