GALLIPOLIS — Marshall Laishley didn’t just punch his ticket to Columbus; he kicked the door down. The Cambridge High junior capped a flawless 4-0 run through the 150-pound bracket at Gallia Academy on Saturday, March 7 to claim the Division II district title and headline a strong contingent of local grapplers set to compete in next weekend’s OHSAA State Wrestling Championships.
The top four placers in each class advanced, while those placing fifth will be alternates.
The three-day tournament kicks off Friday, March 13, at the Jerome Schottenstein Center on the campus of the Ohio State University.
Laishley gets payback to earn trip to the “Schott”
Laishley’s dominant district performance included a perfect final day on Saturday, that included a bit of payback in the championship match. Laishley started off by defeating Jason Sivy of Minerva 4-2 in the semifinals.
Up next was a rematch with Robert Buchhelt of Beaver who bested Laishley 4-2 in the sectional championship bout last weekend. This time around, it would be Laishley claiming the title with a 4-3 victory to earn a trip to the state meet next weekend.
During opening day action on Friday, Laishley won both his matches to advance to semifinals on Saturday. Laishley beat David Little of Logan Elm 14-0 and then took down Lucke Skinner of Sheridan with a pin at the 1:37 mark of the first period.
Laishley will be joined by sophomore teammate Mason Hill who will also be competing on the state mats after he punched his ticket with a gritty fourth-place district showing in the 144-pound division. Noah Keen will also make the trip to the state capital as a state alternate following his fifth place effort.
Laishley and Hill begin state tournament action on Friday at 1 p.m. with session 1. The state tournament continues with two sessions on Saturday and the consolation and championship finals on Sunday.
John Glenn and Meadowbrook join D-II Field
The Cambridge trio will find plenty of familiar faces in the Division II brackets. John Glenn will be well-represented by seniors Dominic Bates, who earned a runner-up showing in the 175-pound division, and Owen Edwards, who secured his spot in Columbus with a third-place finish at 157 pounds.
Bates, named the MVL’s Most Outstanding Wrestler at the league tournament, outlasted Washington Court House Miami Trace’s Gabrial Carson, 2-1, in a semifinal nailbiter.
He faced another close call in the finals, but was on the wrong end of a 3-2 tiebreaker to Steubenville’s Landon Crosier to settle for second.
Bates’ drill partner, fourth-ranked senior Owen Edwards, took a 43-1 record into his second-round match with Beaver Local sophomore buzzsaw Jake Hughes.
Hughes handed him a 17-1 technical fall en route to the finals, where he defeated defending state champion Louden Dixon, of West Holmes, 3-1, to avenge last week’s loss at the sectional.
As for Edwards, thrice he picked up one-point victories in the consolations, including a 7-6 win against Cambridge’s Gavin Resor in the qualifying match.
Meadowbrook will also have a presence at the “Schott”, as senior Brayden Jensen will serve as a state alternate following a fifth-place effort at the district meet.
Pemberton returns to state in Division III
In Division III district action, Caldwell junior Jesse Pemberton proved he belongs among the state’s elite wrestlers once again. Pemberton qualified for a return trip to the state meet by battling his way to a second-place finish in the 126-pound division, ensuring another opportunity to join the OHSSA wrestling championship hunt.
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This article originally appeared on The Daily Jeffersonian: Cambridge’s Laishley leads local effort in district wrestling action
Reporting by Kevin Sutton, Cambridge Daily Jeffersonian / The Daily Jeffersonian
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