An early season test for a young Panther wrestling squad occurred at the annual Teays Valley Dual Meet Tournament this past weekend. Miami Trace was runner-up with a 4-1 record on the day for the second consecutive year losing a close contest to eventual champion and host, Teays Valley, in round three of the six team event. The Vikings handed the Panthers a 37-28 loss, their first of the season. Miami Trace is now 6-1 on the year.

Head coach Dave Dietrick knew this tournament would be an important part of his team’s development. “We have many young kids on the team. We started seven freshmen. We improved each round throughout the day. Our young kids are under fire with this level of competition and it will only get tougher as the season progresses.”

While several freshmen shined, two stood out among the group. Keaton Webb (103 pounds) and Travis McIntosh (189 pounds) both went undefeated at 5-0 to win their respective weight class. Coach Dietrick praised their effort as well as others in his youthful lineup. “Cody Snyder won a huge match for us with a late pin to seal the win against Galion Norhmore. Each of our freshmen had at least one win. Our conditioning was a key for us this weekend. We had a pretty good day and our early season conditioning was definitely a big part of that success.”

Dylan Clements, a sophomore, had a key pin in overtime to defeat his Northmor opponent. Northmor ended Miami Trace’s long undefeated dual meet streak last season in this same tournament. A core group of proven veterans on the Miami Trace wrestling team came through time and again throughout the day. Returning State placers Jacob Garringer (119), Cody Neff (125) and Dustin Fraley (145) all breezed through the competition going 5-0 to win weight class titles. Fraley impressed the coaches with his dominance and was voted the tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler.

The senior remains undefeated on the year at 7-0. Neff is also 7-0 and Garringer sports a 5-0 record. Jordan Fraley and Jared Chaney both went 3-2. Shawn Smith, Cody Snyder, Tyler Fraley and Dylan Clements were 2-3 on the day while Brad Wright, Dalton Dean,

and Tyler Ison won one bout. “We had some spirited competition on the day,” commented coach Dietrick. “We have a lot of work to do in order to get better. We will stress fundamentals this week. This team will grow together and get better.”

That fact will be a necessity. A Thursday tri-match is followed by a Friday and Saturday tournament in Cincinnati at the Soutwest Ohio Wrestling Coaches Association Holiday Tournament. This features the top teams in the Cincinnati area including Moeller, Elder, Lakota East and West. It gets even more challenging after that as the Panthers head north to Brecksville for a big tournament during Christmas break and then to the far northeast side of the state to compete in the Alliance Top Gun Tournament. All of these tournaments are rated among the toughest in Ohio each year.

Tournament Results:

1. Teays Valley 5-0

2. Miami Trace 4-1

3. Northmor 3-2

4. Dublin Scioto 2-3

5. Chillicothe 1-4

6. Groveport Madison 0-5

Tournament Notes:

The Eagle Has Landed- During the time the Panthers were taking a runner-up

finish at Teays Valley, another dual meet was in progress pitting two of the

top three teams in the nation. Graham pounded the St. Edward Golden Eagles

with a resounding 47-13 defeat in the Elite 8 Tournament. The Falcons routed

Clovis (#1 team in California) in the semi-final round with a 62-6 thrashing.

Graham was the first Ohio school to defeat the perennial juggernaut since 1994

and the first public school in Ohio to do so since the 1970’s when Nordonia

achieved the feat in 1977.

An Omen of Things to Come- Six consecutive weight classes for Miami Trace are occupied by freshmen. Starting at 152 pounds with Cody Snyder, Dalton Dean,(160) Tyler Ison, (171)Travis McIntosh, (189) and Tyler Fraley (215), each are just freshmen. Heavyweight, Dylan Clements, breaks the streak. He is a sophomore. A young group such as this often translates into many successes if they progress as Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?- State qualifiers John Reeser and Josey Neff, older brother to Cody Neff, are expected to be in the lineup this week. The senior pair have yet to compete this year and should contribute greatly to the Panthers’ bid to place in the upper echelons of the upcoming tournaments.

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