By Reporter Kyle Spence
Indian Lake sophomore Owen Pummel, wrestling in the 190-pound weight class, started his division III state tournament run in a similar fashion to his freshman campaign. Pummel picked up a 5-3 victory over senior Marshal Sayre from Caldwell. In the first period, the Laker scored a takedown to carry a 2-0 lead into the second period, which started with Sayre choosing the down position. With 1:00 left in the period, Sayre escaped to make the score 2-1 and followed it up with a late takedown to secure a 3-2 lead going into the third period. After choosing to go down to start the period, Pummel was able to escape to knot the score 3-3. To cap off his first match at state, Pummel earned a takedown with :23 seconds left in the match to finish the win by a 5-3 score.
Pummel will face returning 2x state placer, Junior Keegan Sell of Garrettsville Garfield in round 2.
Other area wrestlers also competed in the state tournament. Mechanicsburg’s Ronnie Thomas (190) was victorious over Spencerville’s Maddox Jurek. Fellow Indian Wrestlers Nolan Fraley (106), and Zane Hitchcock (215) suffered first-round losses. In their consolation matches, both were victorious to move on to day two.
Perennial powerhouse Graham currently resides in 1st place with 28.5 points. 9 out of their 10 qualifiers remain in the tournament, with 8 of them wrestling in the championship quarterfinals.
Sidney standout and 3x state champion Josie Davis (125) won her first match in the inaugural OHSAA Girls State Tournament. She defeated Campbell Splete from Mentor via a 30-second fall.
