TYING UP — Steubenville’s Keith Bodnar wrestles New Philadelphia’s Mercutio Williams in a 195-pound semifinal match on Saturday. Bodnar won by major decision. (Photo by Andrew Grimm)

STEUBENVILLE — Not coming as a surprise to anyone involved, but the middle of the championship finals of Saturday’s East District sectional tournament turned into a battle between Steubenville and Beaver Local.

The teams met in five of six matches between 126 and 160 pounds, and Big Red swept all five. In total, coach Mike Blackburn’s team went 7 for 7 in the championship rounds.

“Beaver is a strong team,” Blackburn said. “We’ve seen them at OVACs and throughout the year. We knew it was going to be a tough tournament. That was some quality wrestling. In the finals, we wrestled great. We matched up a bunch with Beaver and in some places where we haven’t beat them yet, and we won.

“We figured a lot of the final matches would be Beaver and us. (The strong final round) helps put us in a better position going into the district tournament. It gets your confidence going early in the tournament.”

Peyton Blasko backed up his OVAC tournament win over Cole McComas with a late pin of the Beaver Local standout, and was fired up about getting the best of his 126-pound rival.

“Every time I go out there against him, I’ve got to go 100 percent,” Blasko said. “It feels good to beat him. I was definitely fired up. I wasn’t expecting to go out there and pin him, so when I put him over I got real excited. I have a goal I’m working towards, so doing something like that really helps my confidence. With a lot of my family here, it feels good to finish strong at home.”

Tyler Muldrew (132 pounds) and Jacson Muldrew (138 pounds) — each of whom were injured in recent competitions — pinned Beaver Local wrestlers Jonathan Potts and Jared Wright in back-to-back matches on the middle mat to claim the top spots in their divisions.

“Tyler Muldrew got hurt and had to withdraw at the OVAC tournament and came back with a big win (Saturday),” Blackburn said. “Jacson got hurt against Lewisville in the Ohio Duals and has been out of commission for a couple weeks and came back and had a great tournament.”

Motivated by watching the work of his teammates, Anthony Rice pinned Beaver Local’s Logan Krulik — who he also defeated in the OVAC finals — with one second remaining.

“I wrestled him in OVACs, and I wrestled him the week after and tech-falled him,” Rice said. “All I was thinking about today was to go out there and pin him since all of my teammates were pinning Beaver Local kids. We’re working hard non-stop in the room to make each other better.

“It’s a really big time of the year. We’ve got two more weeks left to finish it off.”

At the OVAC tournament, Brenden Severs got the best of Big Red’s Ethan Pappas. Since then, the Steubenville grappler has been focused on avenging that loss.

Saturday, he did so in dramatic fashion with an 11-9, come-from-behind decision win, sealed by a takedown with 27 seconds to go in the final period.

“It feels good to avenge the OVAC finals loss,” Pappas said. “I’ve been working my butt off every day because it hurt to lose my chance to become a three-time OVAC winner. Every day I’ve thought non-stop about that moment. I got my heart broken on TV. Coming back and beating him in front of my home crowd, there are no words to describe it.

“It’s amazing to see all my friends, my family and everybody here. It makes it 10 times sweeter. I feel confident going into districts. I’ve got the best partners in Anthony Rice, David Tuttle and everybody pushing me.”

Also picking up sectional titles for Big Red were David Tuttle, who pinned John Glenn’s Eric Stillion in the 182-pound final, and Keith Bodnar, a winner by decision over St. Clairsville’s Derek Witsberger in the 195 championship.

Also placing in the top four to earn a bid to next week’s East District tournament at Heath were Steubenville’s Anthony Shevlin (fourth at 106 pounds), Bill Murray (fourth at 120 pounds) and Zane Minella (third at 145 pounds). Brandon Kinney (170 pounds) and Emanuel Ware (285 pounds) won fifth-place matches to be alternates for districts.

“This is when you want to peak,” Blackburn said. “Every year at this time you hope to be getting better and not plateau.”

The Beavers — thanks to a big lead tallied up in the early rounds and sectional champions in five weight classes– held off Steubenville to win the overall team sectional crown.

“We had a great first three rounds here and put a lot of kids in the finals, and that is what put us over the top,” Beaver Local coach Jordan Williams said. “It’s nice to win another sectional title. Those matches (against Steubenville in the finals) didn’t go our way, but I think that is going to give us motivation to push us this week and prepare the right way so we’re ready to go at districts. Steubenville is a great program, and they do the right things. It’s always a battle when we face them.”

Jaymin Salsberry (106 pounds), Logan Ours (120 pounds), Skyler Leasure (145 pounds), Beau Smith (170 pounds) and Daniel Wirth (285 pounds) all claimed the top spot in their divisions. Other Beavers advancing to next week are Mark Emmerling Jr. (runner-up at 113 pounds), McComas, Potts, Wright, Krulik, Severs, Garrett Givens (runner-up at 220 pounds) Christian Lerussi (fourth at 182 pounds) and Nicholas Wukotich (third at 195 pounds).

Smith in particular impressed his coach.

“Our senior Beau Smith is always very consistent,” Williams said. “He comes out and finds ways to win. This is his last ride, so he wants to put everything into it.”

Finishing third in the overall team scores was St. Clairsville with a school-record 10 district qualifiers. Koen Kish (120 pounds) was a runner-up, while Josh Denoble (113 pounds), Caden Stout (132 pounds), Austin DaRe (138 pounds), Reese Skaggs (170 pounds), James Dobbs (182 pounds) and Justice McCamick (220 pounds) each won third-place matches. Jaiden Springer (160 pounds) placed fourth to move on. Gannon Kazmirski (106 pounds) and Quintin Elerick (126 pounds) won their fifth-place matches.

“We exceeded our expectations,” St. Clairsville coach Joel Sansone said. “It’s a little bittersweet to leave here without a champion. I thought we had a good chance at two, but it didn’t work out in our favor. We’ve got a school-record 10 guys moving on, so we’ll take that.”

A young East Liverpool group will send two heavyweights to the district tournament, as Skylar Wooley won the 220-pound title with a victory over Givens, and Kaz Zubay was the 285-pound runner-up.

“Our two heavyweights did a tremendous job,” East Liverpool coach Scott Hiemstra said. “We’re young in a lot of places. We’ll make more improvements over the summer. There is only one senior in this group, and everyone of these kids has either missed a year or been hurt. We’re trying to get them comfortable in the sport. It’s a culture thing, and we’re trying to change it. I hope we come back stronger next year.”

CLAYMONT DIVISION II SECTIONAL

In the other Div. II sectional tournament involving local teams Saturday, Harrison Central placed sixth and Indian Creek ninth at Claymont High School.

Harrison Central’s Cody Gamble won the 285-pound title, while Justin Sampson moved on by finishing fourth at 106 pounds, as did Blayne Erwin who was fourth at 182 pounds. Austin Howard won the 132-pound fifth-place match to be a district alternate.

Indian Creek’s Mitch Wukelic placed third at 152 pounds, while Jeremy Brown (138 pounds) and Austin Starr (145 pounds) each finished fourth to advance.

BARNESVILLE DIVISION III SECTIONAL

Buckeye Local, the lone area representative in the Barnesville Div. III sectional tournament, had a strong showing on Saturday, placing fourth.

Brian Palmer won the 132-pound title, while Charles Smith claimed the top spot at 170 pounds. Zac Cesario was a runner-up at 220 pounds to advance, while Trevor Herbert (106 pounds), Travis Light (120 pounds) and Shayne Christian (182 pounds) won their third-place matches. Jordyn Spencer (113 pounds) placed fourth to also claim a spot in the district tournament the Panthers will host.

SANDY VALLEY DIVISION III SECTIONAL

Three local teams in Div. III competed in the Sandy Valley sectional on Saturday. Toronto led the way for local teams, placing seventh. Edison finished ninth and Catholic Central ended the day in 12th.

Toronto’s Garrett Dozier won the 138-pound title, while Chris Parker was a runner-up at 152 pounds. Joseph Savage (113 pounds) and Kyre Smith (145 pounds) each placed fourth to move on. Bryan Cattrell (106) pounds) and Josh Fancher (285 pounds) placed fifth to be district alternates.

Hayden Johnson was the 132-pound runner-up for Edison to be a district qualifier.

Catholic Central will send Michael Herrmann to districts, as he finished as the 182-pound runner-up. Nate Loot (113 pounds) and D.J. Wetherell (195 pounds) won fifth-place matches to be alternates.

(Grimm can be reached at agrimm@heraldstaronline.com)

East District Sectional Tournament

at Steubenville High School

TEAM SCORING: 1. Beaver Local 277.5; 2. Steubenville 236; 3. St. Clairsville 172; 4. West Holmes 171.5; 5. New Philadelphia 89; 6. East Liverpool 77; 7. Maysville 61.5; 8. John Glenn 50; 9. Meadowbrook 16; 10. Zanesville 11.

CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS

106: Jaymin Salsberry (Beaver Local) dec. Jack Welsh (West Holmes) 6-3

113: Cael Woods (West Holmes) pin Mark Emmerling Jr. (Beaver Local) 3:17

120: Logan Ours (Beaver Local) dec. Koen Kish (St. Clairsville) 6-4

126: Peyton Blasko (Steubenville) pin Cole McComas (Beaver Local) 4:30

132: Tyler Muldrew (Steubenville) pin Jonathan Potts (Beaver Local) 2:58

138: Jacson Muldrew (Steubenville) pin Jared Wright (Beaver Local) 5:06

145: Skyler Lasure (Beaver Local) maj. dec. Walker Uhl (West Holmes) md12-4

152: Anthony Rice (Steubenville) pin Logan Krulik (Beaver Local) 5:59

160: Ethan Pappas (Steubenville) dec. Brenden Severs (Beaver Local) 11-9

170: Beau Smith (Beaver Local) pin Hayden Mcgee (Maysville) 0:35

182: David Tuttle (Steubenville) pin Eric Stillion (John Glenn) 4:41

195: Keith Bodnar (Steubenville) dec. Derek Witsberger (St. Clairsville) 10-5

220: Skylor Wooley (East Liverpool) dec. Garrett Givens (Beaver Local) 6-4

285: Daniel Wirth (Beaver Local) dec. Kaz Zubay (East Liverpool) 9-5

THIRD PLACE

106: Jarret Stillion (Meadowbrook) dec. Anthony Shevlin (Steubenville) 7-4

113: Josh Denoble (St. Clairsville) pin Drake Harper (Maysville) 0:49

120: Tyler Masters (West Holmes) dec. Bill Murray (Steubenville) 5-3

126: Lucas Stevens (New Philadelphia) dec. Kendel Weber (West Holmes) 4-1

132: Caden Stout (St. Clairsville) pin Tucker Kaufman (West Holmes) 0:35

138: Austin DaRe (St. Clairsville) maj. dec. Charlie Gibbs (New Philadelphia) md11-1

145: Zane Minella (Steubenville) forfeit Ian Brogan (New Philadelphia) Forfeit

152: Brady Emerson (John Glenn) maj. dec. Alex Warne (Maysville) md10-2

160: Dillon Miller (West Holmes) maj. dec. Jaiden Springer (St. Clairsville) md13-0

170: Reese Skaggs (St. Clairsville) dec. Cruz Alexander (West Holmes) 3-2

182: James Dobbs (St. Clairsville) pin Christian Lerussi (Beaver Local) 2:46

195: Nicholas Wukotich (Beaver Local) dec. Mercutio Williams (New Philadelphia) 3-2 TB

220: Justice McCamick (St. Clairsville) dec. Gabe Howard (Maysville) 3-2

FIFTH PLACE:

106: Gannon Kazmirski (St. Clairsville) def. Justin Bucheit (East Liverpool) Default

113: Isaiah Young (New Philadelphia) forfeit Rydge Hail (Steubenville) Forfeit

120: Josh Gifford (John Glenn) dec. Andrew Zadra (New Philadelphia) 11-6

126: Quintin Elerick (St. Clairsville) pin Kaleb Bailey (East Liverpool) 0:19

132: Drake Gamertsfelder (New Philadelphia) dec. Noah Wellmeier (John Glenn) 5-0

138: Marshall Humphrey (Maysville) forfeit Hunter Bowling (West Holmes) Forfeit

145: Braidyn Wright (East Liverpool) pin Carson Milner (Zanesville) 2:23

152: Devon Keys (East Liverpool) no match Gavin Greer (West Holmes) No Match

160: Rodrigo Suarez Hernandez (New Philadelphia) pin Andrew White (Maysville) 2:54

170: Brandon Kinney (Steubenville) forfeit Levi Turner (East Liverpool) Forfeit

182: Stephen Baldridge (West Holmes) dec. Logan Ortt (New Philadelphia) 8-4

195: Colt Cox (West Holmes) Bye

220: Skylar Anderson (West Holmes) pin Connor Milner (Zanesville) 3:56

285: Emanual Ware (Steubenville) pin Tyler Stillion (John Glenn) 3:53