Team wrestling tourney makes its debut in Ohio
1/24/2013This season wrestlers will not only determine who the best individuals are in the state but also the best dual meet team.
The Ohio High School Athletic Association has sanctioned the first state team wrestling tournament with the finals set for Feb. 9 at Ohio State University.
In 2010, the OHSAA voted to sponsor the dual meet or team tournament along with the individual tournament.
The dual meet regional quarterfinals were held Wednesday. The regional semifinals will be next Wednesday, and the regional final is Feb. 6.
Regional sites will be hosted by the highest seeds at each level. The champions advance to Columbus.
To enter the tournament a school team must fill a minimum of eight weight classes.
The state is divided into eight regions with each having approximately 24 teams per division. Each region has been geographically subdivided in half. Each half region seeds four teams.
Regional quarterfinals were held at the highest-seeded schools Wednesday. The Division I regional quarterfinal took place at Clay and Perrysburg. The Division II quarterfinals were held at Wauseon, Central Catholic, Sandusky Perkins, and Clyde. The D-III sites include Archbold, Delta, and Genoa. The winning teams advance to the regional semifinals next Wednesday.
One team from each semifinal will advance to the regional final. Eight regional champions per division will meet at the state tournament.
According to the OHSAA, there are 600 sanctioned high schools that sponsor the sport for approximately 14,000 wrestlers.
“By sponsoring a true team tournament we anticipate more youngsters participating in the future,” OHSAA officials stated.
The traditional individual tournament will continue to be conducted in a sectional, district, and state format.
Those sectionals will begin the week of Feb. 11, and the state tournament will be held from Feb. 28 to March 2 at OSU.
Contact Mark Monroe at: mmonroe@theblade.com, 419-724-6354 or on Twitter @MonroeBlade.