Western Brown’s Jake “Hondo” Henderson (front), Eric Altman (back left), and Brandon Lucas (back right) pose with their belts after wrestling their way to first place finishes in the Western Brown Hammer and Anvil Invitational held Saturday, Jan. 14.

Lucas, Henderson, Altman wrestle for 1st place finishes –

By Wade Linville –

Success continued for the Western Brown High School varsity wrestling team over the weekend, as they finished second of 22 teams while hosting its annual Hammer and Anvil Invitational.
As a team, the Broncos recorded a final score of 230.5 in their runner-up finish behind the 2017 Hammer and Anvil champion team of Mason High School that finished with a score of 421.5.
There were three Broncos to win their respective weight classes during the Jan. 14 invite at Western Brown High School.
Western Brown’s Brandon Lucas won the 113-pound weight class, defeating Circleville’s Nate Keaton in the championship match by a narrow 5-4 decision.
Western Brown’s only senior, Jake “Hondo” Henderson wrestled his way to a first place finish in the 152-pound weight class, claiming a 4-0 decision over Mason’s Cameron Schweitzer in the championship bout.
Western Brown’s Eric Altman won the 170-pound weight class, pinning Mason’s Jack Stein (5:15) in the finals.
Other Western Brown wrestlers to finish among the top five included Jedidiah Marlow, who placed third in the 106-pound weight class; Seth Taylor, who placed fourth in the 120-pound class; and Jordan Hamblin, who placed third in the 132-pound class.
Wrestling their way to eighth place finishes were Western Brown’s Tanner Donathan (126-pound class) and Seth Jermer (285-pound class).
On his road to the Hammer and Anvil 113-pound title, Lucas captured a first round victory by pinning Fairborn’s Trevor Landon and going on to win round two by pinning Wilmington’s Cameron Smart.
In the third round it was Lucas pinning Lebanon’s Patrick Dillon (5:47) for the win, and semifinals action saw Lucas defeat Gallia Academy’s Kyle Greenlee by technical fall (17-2).
Henderson started off his day by pinning Bellefontaine’s Dawson Miller for a round one victory. Henderson went on to defeat Tippecanoe’s Lucas Moore by a quick pin (0:30) in round two action.
In round three, it was Henderson pinning Bellbrook’s Matthew Billock (1:47)/ Henderson went on to claim a 9-2 decision win over Gallia Academy’s Kaleb Crisenbery in the semifinal round on his path to a Hammer and Anvil 152-pound title.
Altman started off his day with a round one win by pin over Miami East’s Colton Kowalak.
Altman returned to the mat to capture a third round win by pin over Fairborn’s Michael Coker (0:58).
In the semifinals, it was Altman defeating Bellefontaine’s C.J. Cook by a 10-2 major decision.
The Broncos entered Saturday’s Hammer and Anvil Tournament after capturing the program’s first ever “Battle of 32” dual by topping Glen Este 53-18 on Jan. 11 at Hamersville School.
“It was nice to finally get a win against them,” Western Brown High School’s head wrestling coach Wendel Donathan said following Wednesday’s win over Glen Este. “Our team goal in every dual is to win every match and we didn’t accomplish that, so we still have work to do. Glen Este has totally dominated us over the last five seasons. We have chipped away year after year and were finally rewarded. Individually, there were a few matches that I was not pleased with because of our efforts. Bronco-style wrestling was not displayed out there in a few matches and we are going to have to address that. Overall, it was a win and we will start looking ahead to the OHSAA State Dual Tournament that begins soon. We will have to compete better if we want to advance.”
The dual started off with the 195-pound weight class with Western Brown junior Aaron Fischer falling to Glen Este sophomore Max Beckman to give Glen Este an early 6-0 advantage.
What followed was the 220-pound match-up that saw Western Brown sophomore Austin Terrell pin Glen Este freshman Jaxson Frysinger late in the first period to even up the team score at 6-6.
It was Jermer coming through with a takedown in overtime to claim a narrow victory over Glen Este sophomore Nicholas Miller in the 285-pound showdown.
After Western Brown’s Jed Marlow won the 106-pound weight class by default, it was Bronco junior Brandon Lucas defeating Glen Este freshman Jake Ransbottom 16-3 in the 113-pound battle to give the Western Brown team a 20-6 lead.
It didn’t take long for Taylor to claim a first period win by pin over Glen Este sophomore Chase Henderson to expand the Bronco lead to 26-6.
In the 126-pound weight class, it was Donathan pinning Glen Este senior Orien Reeves in the final minute of the second period.
Hamblin was able to pin Glen Este sophomore Javanni Lopez with 1:11 to go in the first period of the 132-pound battle to give the Broncos a 38-6 lead.
Western Brown’s Blake Hurt took the mat to claim a 6-3 win by decision over Glen Este junior Nick Sutter in the 138-pound match-up.
In the 10th varsity battle of the night, it was Glen Este’s Matt Lewis pinning Western Brown’s Chad Robinson for the win in the 145-pound bout.
Wednesday also marked Senior Night for the Western Brown wrestling team, and recognized was the Broncos’ only senior wrestler, Henderson.
When it came time to take the mat, Henderson was all business. It took Henderson less than a minute to pin his opponent for the win in the 152-pound battle, lifting the Bronco team to a 47-12 lead. With Wednesday’s win, Henderson rose to a 23-3 record on the season.
“Jake (Henderson) is having the season he has earned thus far. Glad to see him be a part of winning the Battle for 32,” said Donathan.
Western Brown’s Dylan Mosher was able to defeat Glen Este’s Spencer Gerding in a close 7-6 decision in the 160-pound weight class.
In the 170-pound battle, it was Altman rallying from behind to claim a 8-5 decision win over Glen Este sophomore Mitch Gibson.
The Broncos remained unbeaten at 9-0 in duals this season with Wednesday’s team victory.
Wendel Donathan was also pleased to see some of his junior varsity wrestlers perform well to claim wins in Wednesday’s dual against Glen Este.
“It was good to see our JV kids battle hard and win some matches. Those kids sacrifice as much as the varsity kids do and it was nice to see them get rewarded,” said Donathan.
The Broncos were scheduled to be back in action at Western Brown High School on Jan. 14 as they play host to the Hammer and Anvil Tournament.

HAMMER AND ANVIL TEAM SCORES
1. Mason                 421.5
2. Western Brown    230.5
3. Circleville           181.5
4. Oak Hills            176.5
5. Clarkston            175.5
6. Lebanon              171.5
7. Miami East          151
8. Hillsboro             126
9. Franklin               121
10. Gallia Academy  106
11. New Richmond   100
12. Clinton Massie    86.5
13. Wilmington         86
14. Bellefontaine       77
15. Rochester            67
16. Tippecanoe         55
17. Bellbrook            52
18. Goshen               50
19. Blanchester         47
20. Hamilton Twp     43
21. Fairborn             15
22. Northwestern       0