Mar 8, 2025
Correspondent photo / Michael G. Taylor Howland’s Christopher Mijavec, left, pins his opponent in a Division II 190-pound match during the State Wrestling Championships at Schottenstein Center at Ohio State University on Friday.
COLUMBUS — Day 1 of the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) state wrestling tournament is complete, and 12 athletes from the Mahoning Valley remain in contention for a state title.
More than 30 area wrestlers traveled to Columbus to take part in the season’s final and most important tournament, but a majority were welcomed with a first-round loss, immediately ending any hopes of a state championship run.
The dozen that are left include five from Division II, three in Division III and four in the single-division girls tournament. No Division I wrestlers qualified for states from The Valley.
Returning state placers Tyson Seesholtz (South Range, 150 pounds), Tyler Scharrer (Canfield), Ella Thomas (Poland, 100) and Madison Burns (Howland, 140) are among those looking to improve on their previous placings in Columbus. Abbie Miller (Poland, 145), Reghan Koch (Austintown Fitch, 155), Savva DiRenzo (Poland), Kayden Welker (South Range, 132), Aiden Stecker (Salem, 165), Joey Pannunzio (Canfield, 175), Gabe Miller (Canfield, 190) and Christopher Mijavec (Howland, 190) are attempting to stand on the podium for the first time in their careers.
“This whole week has been just one big momentum-building week,” said Seesholtz, who won 11-3 in his only match Friday. “Every practice, getting more locked in, having more fun, getting more excited. Every single day, just building up on top of itself. And I had my best first match I’ve ever had at states, so it paid off.”
Unlike Seesholtz, Welker, his South Range teammate, had never been to states before, so Raiders head coach Frank Giordano did what he could to ensure his 132-pound senior was not overcome by the massive stage.
“The first thing I told him when we first came out of the tunnel, I told him to look up and take it in and embrace it, and then we’ll refocus once we get to the mat. But enjoy the moment,” Giordano said.
Welker said he felt nerves but not as many or as intense as he thought, which may have helped him dominate his first-round match, which he won 16-1 via technical fall.
South Range is one of four local programs to have multiple wrestlers advance to the championship quarterfinals Saturday. They are joined by Howland, Canfield and Poland, the latter two of which have three wrestlers apiece still vying for titles.
“The girls wrestled with smart game plans, and it went our way,” Bulldogs head coach Jordan Beadle said of Thomas and Miller. “On our boys side, [DiRenzo] was the four [seed] wrestling the one. So we knew we were gonna have tough competition there. Similar mindset, just stayed to the game plan and it worked out for us today.”
The opening wins allowed the respective wrestlers as much time as possible to rest and prepare for Saturday since those who emerged victorious in their championship preliminary would not have to wrestle the rest of Friday.
This downtime is atypical of most wrestling tournaments, which can force athletes to compete half of a dozen times or more in a weekend. With the relatively long breaks between matches, though, the mental aspect of the sport becomes more important than ever.
Howland coach Matt Zakrajsek, who has two wrestlers in the championship bracket (Burns and Mijavec) and another (Deacon Mock) in the consolation bracket, said he spoke with his trio and advised them to take their minds off of the sport when they’re not on the mat in Columbus.
“Find something that you can do to separate yourself from wrestling in the Schottenstein Center while we’re here; a movie, a book – I said either coloring or a reading book, whatever they’re into – stickers,” Zakrajsek said. “But something to separate yourself from this place. Have some downtime, relax. We’re here four or five days, and you never really shut down, so emotionally, that can take a toll. Go back, get something good to eat, get some more fluids in you and forget this whole place and wrestling exists for a little.”
DOWN, BUT NOT OUT
Most were not as successful as the dozen that made it to the championship quarterfinals. Nearly two-thirds of the Valley’s athletes lost their first match, knocking them out of the running for first place and ensuring they would have to stick around the arena for a while longer for their consolation opener.
Of those who lost to begin Friday, several rebounded later on.
In Division III, Joey Klimenko (Girard, 106), Landon Andel (Garrettsville Garfield, 138), Jack McDevitt (Jackson-Milton, 144) and Zach Ward (Girard, 165) began their consolation runs with a win.
Markel Hackwelder (Hubbard, 120), Alex Hackwelder (Hubbard, 175), Mock (Howland, 138) and Gavin Hang (West Branch, 215) similarly advanced in Division II.
Nadirra’G Matlock (Fitch, 140) and Emily Flynn (Hubbard, 130) won their girls consolation first-round matches.
Although many managed to do so, bouncing back is a difficult task.
“You gotta have a short memory,” said Girard head coach Jim Cardiero, who coached two wrestlers to consolation wins Friday. “You only got one more loss, and then your season’s over. So you gotta go out and keep competing at the highest level you can and hope to keep getting victories and get on the podium.”
Cardiero said both Klimenko and Ward “wrestled more like they have during the season” after losing their first-round match, which could have been due to nerves, as well as the stiff competition the state tournament always provides.
Zakrajsek similarly pointed to the first-time experience for Mock, who lost 14-5 in the championship before winning his consolation match 6-5.
“You try to explain what it’s like down there, a lot of emotions, everybody’s amped up,” Zakrajsek said. “It’s something like – not comparable – but when someone tells you about what it’s like having a child. You can’t explain the feeling. So [Mock] comes down here, he experiences it. After that, the glamor kind of wears off. You can just get back to your normal matches. So he was able to shake that first one off, get back and get another hard-fought win.”
GOING HOME EARLY
Two losses on Friday at the state tournament meant the season was over, and for a few unfortunate area wrestlers, that was a reality.
Of the 30-plus athletes, three girls – Aurora Hall (Lakeview, 115), Yelieishka Perez-Navedo (Fitch, 120) and Isabella Williams (Brookfield, 145) – and six boys – Cam Lewicki (Garfield, 113), Tucker Steiner (Girard, 175), Joey Kana (Salem, 138), Shawn German (Salem, 150), Tristan Miller (Canfield, 157) and Will Harmon (Salem, 157) – finished the 2025 state tournament without a victory.
Day 2 of the event begins at 9:30 a.m. today with the Division III championship quarterfinals. Championship semifinals and consolation quarterfinals for all three divisions and girls will be completed by the conclusion of today.
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