Join the Excitement: The Ron Mauck Tournament Kicks Off!

TOURNAMENT OPEN — Steubenville’s Kasyn Berkey takes on Oak Glen’s Micah Julian at 120 pounds on the opening day of the Ron Mauck OVAC tournament. Berkey won by technical fall, 16-0. – Kim North

WHEELING — Day One of the 71st annual OVAC Ron Mauck Wrestling Championships was thrilling. Wrestling fans witnessed 144 matches unfold inside WesBanco Arena, with an exciting 117 matches ending in pins. Many of these pins happened in less than a minute.

Wrestling continues on Friday at noon. Fans can look forward to second-round matches in the championship bracket and the first round of consolation matches. The quarterfinal bouts will take place at 6 p.m.

In total, there were 15 technical falls, seven major decisions, four regular decisions, and one injury default during the day.

Among the 168 seeded wrestlers, just four faced upsets. The highest seed to fall was No. 7 Braylon Leiffer at 150 pounds, who lost to Barnesville’s Eli Messenger. Other notable upsets included No. 9 Drake Bouscher at 157 and No. 10 Jake Carman at 132.

Unfortunately, before the event, top-seeded Klypsan Wallace from Cameron at 175 withdrew, and University’s second-seeded Kaden Nieman at 120 missed weight. Weather issues also caused Conotton Valley, Magnolia, and Paden City to withdraw from the tournament.

On the mat, University led with 47 points, edging out Steubenville, which had 42.5 points. Defending champions Pepper Martin (113) and Brock Kehler (285) also scored wins by pin.

University coach Ken Maisel mentioned, “It was a frustrating start with Kaden not making weight. That probably cost us around 20 points in the tournament. But I told the kids that if everyone does their part, we can accept the results.”

Steubenville also dominated, winning all of their matches with impressive pins from returning champions Cooper Smith (144) and Brody Saccoccia (157). Coach Lucas Huffman expressed confidence, “We knew some matches could go either way, but we pulled through.”

Returning champion Malaki Washington from Wheeling Park won his first match by pin at 215 pounds, adding to the excitement. His teammate Jameson Maynard, who placed second last year, also secured a pin in just eight seconds.

Barnesville, last year’s champion in both overall and Class 3A, currently leads Class 3A with 29.5 points, with their returning champion Colt Carpenter winning by pin. Hines Ford recorded the fastest fall of the night in just seven seconds.

Wheeling Central holds fourth place in Class AAA with 12 points, while Coach Rick Welker noted the young strength of his team in the middleweights.

Defending Class A champions Cameron lead their class with 24 points, driven by top-seeded Slaton Pettit’s quick pin.

In Class 4A, Beaver Local is in the lead with 33.5 points, followed closely by Oak Glen at 23.

PIN FALLS

• During pre-tournament festivities, the 2024 Coaches of the Year were honored. They included Dennis Bowers (Class A/AA), Jayson Stephen (Class 3A), Josh Cornell (Class 4A), and Ken Maisel (Class 5A).
• Wheeling Park’s Justin Goneau received the Assistant Coach of the Year award, while Stephen Hunter from Brooke Middle School was recognized as Junior High Coach of the Year.
• A total of 338 wrestlers entered the event, with 81 already having placed in past competitions.
• A moment of silence was held in memory of former Cameron coach Jim Potts and four-time W.Va. state champion R.C. Anderson.

Overall, the first day of the OVAC Championships brought excitement and many standout performances. Fans eagerly await the matches to come.