March 7, 2009
OHSAA Wrestling Championships End in Record Fashion
St. Edward wins
13th-straight Div. I title, Div. II Graham sets two records,
Division III race comes down to final matches
- Video of all championship matches at
OhioHSsports.com
-
Complete brackets
and team standings
COLUMBUS, Ohio �
A pair
of four-time state champions was crowned, two team records were set
and the closest race in almost 30 years came down the final hour of
the championships as the 2009 OHSAA wrestling championships wrapped
up Saturday night at the Jerome Schottenstein Center in Columbus.
Of the 14 weight
classes, Division II power St. Paris Graham qualified nine wrestlers
to title matches, winning a state record seven of them. The Falcons
had 13 total Top-8 placers on their way to a state record 282 team
points. That total is 53 points better than the previous team total
of 229 set by Division I Lakewood St. Edward in 2007, and the seven
individual titles breaks the record of six set by Cleveland West in
1951.
Graham�s David
Taylor and Lakewood St. Edward�s Collin Palmer became the 17th and
18th four-time state champions in OHSAA history. Taylor won state
titles at 103 pounds as a freshman and sophomore, 112 pounds last
season and 135 pounds this season. Palmer won titles in four
different weight classes, including 112, 125, 135 and 140 this
season.
Building on its
record for state wrestling titles, Lakewood St. Edward won the
Division I championship with 111.5 points. It marks the 25th title
for the Eagles and their 13th in a row.
The Division III
race was not decided until Troy Christian senior Zach Toal�s major
decision victory at 160 pounds clinched the Eagles�
third-consecutive championship with 113 points. Challenging Troy
Christian for the Division III title was runner-up Monroeville,
which finished with 112 points, marking the closest team race since
Bluffton won the Class A title by half a point over Summit Station
Licking Heights in 1981, 67.5 to 67.0.
Toal�s individual
title was his third in a row to go along with his team�s
third-straight title.
Also factoring into
the Division III race was Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy with 108
points.
Massillon Perry
finished second in Division I with 91 points and Uhrichsville
Claymont was the Division II runner up with 81 points.
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