It didn’t matter. Tthe Falcons had six titleists, went 9-2 in placing matches and totaled 311 points to win their 12th GMVWA title.
“It’s pretty nice that even with guys out, we can still do good as a team,” Graham’s Rocky Jordan said after taking first at 152. “We had some freshmen step up and prove themselves which was nice.
“This is a good tough tournament and it’s good to get some solid matches in before we host St. Eds (Jan. 21). Hopefully we are healthy by then.”
Mitch Moore (132), Tanner Jordan (106), Gage Braun (182), Kavan Sarver (195) and Johnny Shafer also won titles for Graham.
Dublin Coffman won the large school division and finished second overall with 177 points.
Building block: Springfield junior Joe Cochran (195) entered the finals against Graham's Sarver on a roll.
Cochran exited searching for answers.
“It’s going to take awhile to sit down and think about it,” he said of the 11-4 loss.
After a scoreless first period, Sarver opened up a lead by using a solid leg attack.
“He just came out better than I expected him too and my mind froze up in the second period,” Cochran said. “I didn’t stick to what I wanted to do offensively.”
Marked improvement: After not placing as a freshman, Greeneview sophomore Devan Hendrix had mixed emotions about his finish.
Hendrix, who entered the fourth seed, was excited to be in the finals at 106, but not thrilled with the 15-0 loss to Graham’s Tanner Jordan in the finals.
“Second place is better than no place,” Hendrix said. “It’s pretty pretty awesome, but I found out I have to get better on the bottom. I can’t give up all those back points.”
Jordan recorded a takedown in the first period before securing the technical fall with 13 near-fall points.
Clean sweep: Graham made a clean sweep of the special awards presented at the conclusion of the tournament.
Moore was named Most Outstanding Wrestler from 106-145 and won the award for most pins in the championship bracket in cruising to the title at 132.
Rocky Jordan was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler from 152-285 after recording five technical falls and a pin in the finals at 152.
Into the Hall: Prior to finals, the GMVWA inducted four members — Gary Baumgartner, Robyn Grant, Mike Hennessy and Dean Palmer — into its hall of fame.
Baumgartner, a former coach at Edgewood, created www.baumspage.com in 1999. The program generates brackets and results, allowing fans to follow tournaments online. The program is used by the GMVWA and the Ohio High School Athletic Association.
Grant co-founded the program at Ben Logan in 1989 and stayed a part of the coaching staff until 2015. Hennessy spent his career at a host of high schools, but was instrumental in wrestling in Dayton Public Schools. Palmer was a long-time assistant coach at Brookville.
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