COLUMBUS, Ohio – St. Paris Graham and Lakewood St. Edward were in familiar territory at the 2017 dual team wrestling state championships Sunday night at St. John Arena. In the event’s fifth edition, St. Paris Graham took home its fifth Division II title, while St. Edward claimed its third Division I title. Milan Edison joined the champions’ club, taking home its first dual wrestling title in school history.
St. Edward defeated Massillon Perry 39-24 to win the Division I title. It is the Eagles’ 33rd overall OHSAA wrestling state championship (30 coming at the individual tournament). The Eagles beat Dublin Coffman 57-16 in the quarterfinals and Mason 35-24 in the semifinals before knocking off Massillon Perry in the finals. That improves the Eagles’ dual wrestling tournament record to 12-2 in five appearances. Massillon Perry now has two state runner-up finishes (2013, ’17) to go along with one state championship (2014) in five appearances.
In Division II, St. Paris Graham continued its run of perfection in the dual wrestling tournament, claiming its fifth duals title in five years, a perfect record of 15-0. The Falcons defeated Wauseon in the finals for the second straight year by a score of 48-9. St. Paris Graham stormed through the tournament, knocking off Washington Court House Miami Trace 65-12 in the quarterfinals and Mentor Lake Catholic 57-13 in the semifinals. The Falcons have also won every OHSAA individual wrestling tournament since 2001. Wauseon now has back-to-back runner-up finishes.
There was a new king in Division III, as Milan Edison defeated Massillon Tuslaw 29-25 in the finals. The Chargers knocked off Swanton 42-22 in the quarterfinals and Mechanicsburg 32-31 in the semifinals on the way to its first dual state championship in school history. Massillon Tuslaw claimed its second Division III runner-up finish, the first coming in 2013.
Total attendance for the state tournament was 3,777, a record-high for the tournament.