Which Cincinnati boys, girls wrestlers are heading to the 2023 OHSAA state tournament?

Alex Harrison
Cincinnati Enquirer

For the first time, the Schottenstein Center is ready to welcome both the best boys and girls wrestlers in the state.

With boys wrapping up districts and girls finishing the regionals, the Schottenstein Center will be the host of the 86th boys state tournament as well as the inaugural girls tournament as an OHSAA sport.

Here's how the tournaments before the big tournament played out.

Harrison girls win 3 classes, team regional title

Harrison has been Southwest Ohio's top team and that didn't change as a sanctioned sport. The Wildcats had seven wrestlers place in the top four and qualify for state, including three regional champs.

Chloe Dearwester, top, of Harrison, wrestling in the finals of the 105-pound weight class, is about to pin Scotlyn Adams of West Union, thus winning the match in the OHSAA regional girls wrestling tournament at Harrison High School March 5, 2023. The top four girls in each weight class advance to the state tournament in Columbus, Ohio.

Two-time state champion junior Chloe Dearwester won the 105-pound class while Raegan Briggs won the 125-pound class and Jessica Edwards in the 235-pound division. Runner-up Mia Hotchkiss also qualified as well as Leah Willen, Lilly Kinsel and Olivia Olive.

Harrison won the Ohio High School Wrestling Coaches Association state tournament last season and could be the first team to win a state title in the sport in consecutive years.

Oak Hills and Lebanon produce pairs of regional champs

Outside of Harrison, only two Southwest schools produced multiple regional girls champions: Oak Hills and Lebanon.

Lebanon finished with 148 points as a team, claiming the runner-up spot on the podium while Oak Hills finished tied for sixth overall.

Bri Graves, top, of Oak Hills, wrestling in the finals of the 100 lb weight class, competes against Vita Savage, of Taylor High School. Graves won by pin in the first period of the OHSAA regional girls wrestling tournament at Harrison High School March 5, 2023. The top four girls in each weight class advance to the state tournament in Columbus, Ohio.

Lexi Grant and Bri Graves both picked up a pinfall win in the finals to reach state. Graves brought down Taylor's Vita Savage in 30 seconds in the 100-pound finals while Grant won the 115-pound bracket by pinning Harrison's Hotchkiss.

Lebanon won both the 140-pound and 145-pound classes. Sophia Rohrs pinned Western Brown's Abigail Miller in the lighter class before Lexi Fornshell earned a 7-3 decision win against Jesse Foebar from Clermont Northeastern.

Sophia Rohrs, right, of Lebanon wrestles against Abigail Miller of Western Brown in the finals of the 140-pound class. Rohrs won by pin in the second period of the OHSAA regional girls wrestling tournament at Harrison High School March 5, 2023. The top four girls in each weight class advance to the state tournament in Columbus, Ohio.

Rylee Gust from Springboro, Elizabeth Madison from Loveland and Kiara Martin from Batavia also won regional championships.

Wyatt Hinton brings it home in DIII

Outside of the number of Division I athletes who come from Greater Cincinnati to qualify for the OHSAA state finals, just one local claimed a district title in either Division II or III.

Norwood's Wyatt Hinton won the Division III district championship in 132-pound wrestling, defeating Covington's Chase Vanderhorst 7-5 in the finals. Vanderhorst's semifinal opponent, Valley View's Evan Wilcox, was the third-place finisher.

Norwood's Wyatt Hinton at the Bob Kearns Madeira Wrestling Invitational on Jan. 7. Hinton went on to be a district champion after the postseason tournament on March 4.

Beyond Hinton in Division III, Bethel-Tate's Logan Dean, Waynesville's Mark Ellis and Deer Park's Kyle Langdon earned second-place finishes in their weight classes. They were joined by Division II second-placer finishers Jimmy Lalezas of Taylor, Billy Foster of New Richmond and Reading's duo of P.J. Murphy and Dickie Engel.

Springboro wins the Division I title; La Salle has 2 individual champs

With 180 points, Springboro won the district championship in Division I while La Salle finished just behind with 164 points. Despite the second-place finish, the Lancers had three individual winners, the most of any school.

La Salle's Holden Huhn grapples with Jack McCall of Lebanon in the title bout at 132 pounds at the Division I Southwest District boys wrestling championships in Kettering, Ohio, March 4, 2023.

Aiden Allen, Holden Huhn and Carson Thomas won district titles for the Lancers. Huhn won his title by major decision while Thomas earned a pin. Alijah Mohanna and Jack Willen also finished as runners-up for La Salle.

Springboro's championship was aided by first-place match wins from Conner Kleinberg and Matt Kowalski while Myles Johnson and Aiden Weimer finished in second.

Maclain Morency of Anderson took down Jack Willen of La Salle for first place at 157 pounds at the Division I Southwest District boys wrestling championships in Kettering, Ohio, March 4, 2023.

Besides those with multiple titles, Adam Gelman (Sycamore), Konner Lambers (Elder), Wyatt Brock (Harrison), Matthew Szczepaniak (Lakota West), Maclain Morency (Anderson), Wyatt Ferguson (Oak Hills) and Will Adkins (Moeller) will head to state as district title holders.

Both the boys and the girls state finals will be at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus from March 10-12. The finals will begin at 5 p.m. on Sunday, March 12.

State qualifiers

Boys

Division I

106 – Adam Gelman (Sycamore), Alijah Mohanna (La Salle), Brody Palm(Harrison); 113 – Konner Lambers (Elder), Nathan Moser (Monroe), Jake Lentz (Fairfield), Jordan Miller (Ross); 120 – Aiden Allen (La Salle), Joey Thamann (Elder), Gael Ramirez (West Clermont), Marsel Sabirdjanov (Mason); 126 – Marshall Morency (Anderson), Eli Marengo (La Salle), Bryce Sears (Colerain); 132 – Holden Huhn (La Salle), Jack McCall (Lebanon), Ty Harter (Loveland), Ryan Wissmar (Springboro); 138 – Wyatt Brock (Harrison), London Murphy (Moeller), Micah Cottrell (Princeton), Tanner Beermann (Fairfield); 144 – Matthew Szczepaniak (Lakota West), Cohl Wandsnider (Harrison), Stone Busler (Moeller), Jacob Castillo (Middletown); 150 – Conner Kleinberg (Springboro), Eugene Harney (Sycamore), Flint Guerra (Lebanon); 157 – Maclain Morency (Anderson), Jack Willen (La Salle), Liam Schram (Lebanon); 165 – Carson Thomas (La Salle), Jack Hoffman (Springboro); 175 – Matt Kowalski (Springboro), Sam Libby (Mason), Kam Harden (La Salle); 190 – Wyatt Ferguson (Oak Hills), Myles Johnson (Springboro), Nick Scally (Milford); 215 – Will Adkins (Moeller), Aidan Weimer (Springboro), Brentan Simmerman (Little Miami), Wyatt Walker (Edgewood); 285 – Lucas Stuerenberg (Moeller), Richard Thornton (Springboro), Jibril Bradford (Northwest).

Division II

106 – Cody Lisle (Clinton-Massie); 113 – Mythias Stuckey (Wilmington); 120 – Jimmy Lalezas (Taylor); 126 – Tate Bein (Batavia); 138 – Gage Murphy (Reading), Thane McCoy (Wilmington); 144 – Nathan Kulbe (Batavia); 150 – P.J. Murphy (Reading); 157 – Wyatt Eppert (Batavia); 165 – Gage Davis (Wilmington); 175 – Dickie Engel (Reading), Zach Yordy (Badin); 190 – Joshua Snell (Wilmington); 215 – Jaden Owens (Goshen), 285 – Billy Foster (New Richmond).

Division III

113 – Logan Dean (Bethel-Tate); 126 – Matthew Wheeler (Middletown Madison); 132 – Wyatt Hinton (Norwood); 138 – Mark Ellis (Waynesville); 144 – Colby Johnson (Clermont Northeastern); 150 – Kyle Langdon (Deer Park), Levi Collins (Waynesville).

Girls

100 – Bri Graves (Oak Hills), Vita Savage (Taylor), Leah Willen (Harrison), Haley Williams (Mason); 105 – Chloe Dearwester (Harrison), Joy Steinmetz (West Clermont), Caroline Kearns (Sycamore); 110 – Charley Jones (New Richmond); 115 – Lexi Grant (Oak Hills), Mia Hotchkiss (Harrison); 120 – Kaylee Ramsey (Clinton-Massie), Olivia Olive (Harrison); 125 – Raegan Briggs (Harrison), Andi Addis (Lebanon), Liberty Johnson (Clermont Northeastern); 130 – Rachel Nusky (Badin), Janelle Donahue (Clermont Northeastern), Olivia Gilliand (Northwest); 135 – Rylee Gust (Springboro), Kelsey King (Lakota West), Lilly Kinsel (Harrison), Savvy Jacobsen (Little Miami); 140 – Sophia Rohrs (Lebanon), Abigail Miller (Western Brown), Ariana Finn (Batavia); 145 – Lexi Fornshell (Lebanon), Jesse Foebar (Clermont Northeastern); 155 – Rylee Miller (Ross), Janee Houston (Shroder); 170 – Elizabeth Madison (Loveland), Audrey Garcia (Ross), Chloe Vining (Bethel-Tate); 190 – Kiara Martin (Batavia), Elesia Guerra (Lebanon), Shayne Manning (New Richmond); 235 – Jessica Edwards (Harrison), Kate Fenton (Lakota West).