Members of the Western Brown High School varsity wrestling team pose with their regional championship trophy after topping Clinton-Massie and Hamilton Ross to claim the Division II, Region 15 title on Feb. 1.

Western Brown wrestling team heads to OHSAA State Dual Team Wrestling Tourney –

By Wade Linville –

The Western Brown Broncos are headed back to Ohio State University’s St. John Arena to compete in the Division II OHSAA State Dual Team Wrestling Tournament after topping Clinton-Massie and Ross to become the Division II, Region 15 champions on Wednesday, Feb. 1 at Western Brown High School.
Proud to see his Broncos perform well to earn another berth in the Elite 8, Western Brown head wrestling coach Wendel Donathan said there is more work to be done before the OHSAA State Wrestling Dual Team Tournament set for Feb. 12.
“We’re excited for sure, but we’re going to have to clean some things up,” Donathan said following the regional finals win over Ross and earning a trip to the state quarterfinals. “Ross is a good team, so when you make mistakes against good teams and good wrestlers you pay the price. We did some things that weren’t smart and it cost us some matches. We want to win every match, that’s our goal.”
The Broncos started off the evening by facing Clinton-Massie in the regional semifinals, cruising to a 64-15 victory.
The Broncos started off the semifinal dual with a 12-0 advantage after Clinton-Massie failed to have wrestlers to compete in the 106-pound and 113-pound classes.
In the 120-pound bout, it was Western Brown junior Seth Taylor pinning Clinton-Massie junior Matt Asher with 1:09 to go in the third period to give the Bronco team an 18-0 lead.
Clinton-Massie also failed to have a wrestler to compete in the 126-pound weight class, expanding Western Brown’s lead to 24-0.
Western Brown sophomore Blake Hurt started off what would be an excellent evening on the mat by claiming a win by pin over Clinton-Massie’s Will Callendine in the first round of the 138-pound battle, lifting the Broncos to a 30-0 lead.
Western Brown junior Jordan Hamblin continued the Bronco run by pinning Clinton-Massie’s Jason Martin with 1:04 to go in the first round of the 132-pound match to widen the margin to 36-0.
In his first match back from a knee injury that kept him out of action until Wednesday evening, Western Brown sophomore Derek Spears battled hard, but eventually suffered a narrow 10-9 loss by decision in the 145-pound contest.
Western Brown senior Jake “Hondo” Henderson won the 152-pound battle with a second round pin to lift the Broncos to a 42-3 advantage.
Also capturing wins for the Broncos in their team victory over Clinton-Massie were junior Eric Altman (11-1 decision, 170-pound), junior Davey Stamper (pin, 182-pound), and junior Seth Jermer (pin, 285-pound).
While the No. 1 seed Broncos topped No. 2 seed Clinton-Massie on mat one, it was No. 1 seed Ross defeating No. 2 seed Eaton on mat two to earn a berth in the regional finals.
The Broncos captured the regional crown by defeating the Hamilton Ross Rams 48-33 in a exciting dual.
Western Brown junior Jedidiah Marlow started the Broncos off with a 6-0 advantage by claiming a second period win by pin in the 106-pound weight class.
The Bronco lead rose to 12-0 with Western junior Brandon Lucas defeating Ross junior Jake Gentry by second round pin in the 113-pound bout.
After trailing 4-1 going into the third period, Western Brown junior Seth Taylor pulled through for a win by pin in the final minute of the third round to come out victorious in the 120-pound battle, upping the Western Brown lead to 18-0.
Hamblin claimed a win by pin in the 132-pound match to give the Broncos a 24-3 advantage, and Hurt topped off an excellent evening with a first-round pin to leave the Rams trailing by 27 points.
Henderson dominated the mat for a round one win by pin in the 152-pound battle, upping the
Broncos’ lead to 36-9.
It was Western Brown sophomore Dylan Mosher pinning Ross’ Jeff Dragan for a win in the 160-pound contest to give the Broncos a 42-9 lead.
Then it was Altman winning by first-round pin in the 170-pound match to expand the Broncos’ led to 48-9.
The Rams found most of their success in the higher weight classes, winning the final four matches of the dual.
The Broncos stood at an overall dual team record of 13-1 following Wednesday’s victories over Clinton-Massie and Hamilton Ross.
The Broncos head back to St. John Arena coming off last year’s appearance in the OHSAA Division II State Dual Team Tournament that saw them fall to Mentor Lake Catholic in the state quarterfinals.