NORWALK — In a perfect world, Luke Remy and Tre Copeland would be part of Clear Fork’s school record state-bound stable of wrestlers.
But even an imperfect world has its plusses.
Despite falling one win shy of being a state tournament qualifier, it was Remy’s pin in his fifth-place heavyweight match that lifted Clear Fork to the first district championship in program history Saturday at Norwalk High School.
And while this has mostly been a lost season for Copeland due to injuries — limiting him to two matches heading into the post-season — his four wins in the last two weeks had a big hand in Clear Fork turning back Sandusky Perkins for Division II sectional and district titles.
The sectional crown, another first for the Colts, was decided by a half-point. Seven days later it was again a half-point separating Clear Fork and front-running Perkins going into Remy’s decisive match.
A win by Remy would have sufficed. Pinning Norwalk’s Cooper Gee at 1:23 was simply a finishing flourish, giving Clear Fork the title by a 129 to 125.5 margin over Perkins.
“I did not know (what was at stake),” said Remy, a sophomore. “I was just told to go out there and have fun and let’s do you. If I had known, I probably would have been shaken, all amped up. I wrestle really good when I’m not under pressure, when I’m super calm and collected and doing my thing.”
Remy, who entered the tournament with a modest 21-12 record, did not let the disappointment of losing in the blood round stop him from ultimately giving his team reason to celebrate.
“I lost quite a bit this year,” he said. “Not as much as last year, but you have to block it out and just move on. Just flush it away.”
Copeland had to flush most of his final season because of injuries. But the senior 215-pounder willed himself to a 3-1 record and third place finish at sectionals and added another victory Saturday when every point mattered in the team standings for the second week in a row.
“Honestly, it’s really great to be part of this team,” Copeland said. “There’s no other feeling like it. It’s hard to put into words. I love this sport and I love this team. We didn’t really talk about (winning sectional and district titles), but we knew we put in the work, we put in the effort.”
Before the final round began Saturday, the Colts knew that no matter the outcome in the team standings they would be sending an unprecedented five wrestlers to next weekend’s state tournament in Columbus.
Leading the way were three sophomore finalists – repeat district champ Anthony Oscar at 144 pounds, 113 champ Caleb Snyder and 157 runner-up Luke Lee. Joining them at state will be junior repeat qualifier Colton Wenger, who was fourth at 120, and junior Lakota Leedy, third at 175. Remy will be a state alternate.
“We had a lot of kids putting in consistent, off-season work,” 11th-year head coach Nick Allerding said. “There were even a couple more we wish could be here with the (same) opportunity. Slone McGhee and Conner Bailey had injuries and would have been in the mix to get out, too.
“And, obviously, Tre’s not healthy. He gave it everything he could. Talk about the courage of that kid … it’s pretty amazing. All of those guys are good enough wrestlers in our minds to be state (qualifiers), along with our heavyweight.”
Oscar won by default in the finals for his second title, but up to that point looked every bit the part of his No. 2 ranking in the state. He won his first two matches by technical fall before outlasting Clyde’s No. 5 Michael Gessner 4-0 in the semifinals. He heads to Columbus with a 37-4 record.
Snyder, a Division I state qualifier last year as a freshman for Mount Vernon, opened with two pins and then outscored his last two victims 13-0, including a 6-0 decision in the finals over Columbus Bishop Hartley’s Vincent Martiah. Ranked No. 4 by borofanohio.net, Snyder heads south with a 32-7 record.
Lee, 33-12, scored 38 points in his first three matches before losing 16-3 in the finals to Madison’s Aiden Proctor. A week earlier, Lee had beaten Proctor — a 2025 state medalist — 8-4 in the sectional semis.
Leedy, 34-10, went 4-1 at districts, his only loss by a 4-2 count in the semis to Napoleon’s Hayden Groll, the eventual champ.
And Wenger, 30-11 despite battling shoulder issues, went 4-2 for his return trip to Columbus, his only losses by default. He, as much as anyone, personifies the resiliency and perseverance shown this season by the Colts.
“Since early in the year, it’s been a struggle with health,” Allerding said. “It’s always a battle, but this year has probably been the worst.”
Nevertheless, the Colts fought through the adversity, nearly winning a second straight Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference title despite being down four regulars in the lineup.
“We went up to Bellevue early in the year and put it on them pretty good and had some good matches there, so there was some belief there,” Allerding said. “We’ve had belief in them. (Our coaching staff has) been in the game long enough to know what state caliber wrestling looks like. We knew we had some guys primed to have breakout years.”
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Clear Fork matches first sectional wrestling title with first district crown
Reporting by Jon Spencer, Mansfield News Journal / Mansfield News Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
