ONTARIO — When he began his varsity wrestling career three years ago, Ontario’s Aiden Ohl didn’t know if the career record for wins at the school was 160 or 1,600.
It was the former.
He knows now because he shared it with Josh Ohl (no relation, ironically) going into Saturday’s Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference tournament on his home mats. He would become the undisputed No. 1 in the first round and would win two more times en route to the title at 120 pounds.
As if one milestone weren’t enough, Ohl edged Clear Fork’s Colton Wenger 2-1 in the finals to become a four-time MOAC champ.
“I had no clue (about career wins); I had no idea who had the record or if I could even get close,” said the Ohio University-bound Ohl, thinking back to his freshman season in 2022-23. “At the end of last year I started thinking, wait a minute, how many wins do I have? What’s the record? I knew I was getting close.”
Speaking of close, the second-ranked Ohl has had his share of tight battles with Wenger, ranked No. 7 in the state. By Ohl’s count this was the seventh time they’ve met in the last two seasons. Ohl has won them all, including a 4-0 decision at 113 in last year’s MOAC finals and a 4-1 win in this year’s finals of the J.C. Gorman Invitational.
“He knows how to hang on,” Ohl said. “He knows how to keep it close. I need to tweak little things that make a huge difference and take a 4-1 match to a 10-1 match. My cardio is high and my mentality is great.”
Ohl won’t truly be able to enjoy being the winningest wrestler in program history unless he becomes Ontario’s fifth state champ – joining his dad, Monty, uncle, Perry, Tony Cooke and Warriors head coach Wes Turnbaugh.
“I don’t think I’m the best until I get that state title,” he said. “When I get that, then I feel that (No. 1 status) is secured because then no one can debate anything. They can’t be, ‘Oh, you’re a four-time conference champ with the most wins, but you didn’t win state.’ That’s my thought on it.”
Monty Ohl, who was in Aiden’s corner Saturday as an Ontario assistant, knows where his son is coming from.
“This program has been going on a long time, so to have that (wins) record … just to stay healthy and focused for four years is something,” said the elder Ohl. “But we just need to finish the season off. It’s a progression, about getting better.”
Projected state champs lead Galion
Aiden Ohl didn’t have the distinction of being the area’s only four-time MOAC champ. That feat was shared by Galion’s Gradey Harding who, like Ohl, knows what it’s like to reach the state finals. He did it in 2024 and 2025 and Ohl did it in 2024.
They had two other things in common Saturday. It was a two-milestone day for Harding as well, with his 150th victory coming in the 132 finals. And, like Ohl, he had to scratch and claw for his title victory, nipping Ohl’s teammate, Tyler Turnbaugh, 4-3.
“I’ve got bigger things to chase now, a state title to chase,”said Harding, the first four-time MOAC champ for Galion. “I’ve got to start locking things down now. Today was a rough day; I didn’t wrestle too hot. You have those days. I’ll get back to it this coming week. It won’t be like that the rest of the year. I definitely saw some holes I have to work on. I could have gotten to the legs multiple times, but for whatever reason I didn’t. It won’t happen again.”
What makes him so sure? Well, for one thing, this projected state champ gets to spar every day in the practice room with another projected state champ, teammate Carter Trukovich, Saturday’s champ at 126 with a 21-5 technical fall over Luke Clark of team champion Highland.
It was the third MOAC title for the Galion junior and the first of three consecutive weight class titles for the Tigers on Saturday. Senior Ryder Alberty followed Trukovich and Harding by pinning Clear Fork’s Jesse Schmidt in the 138 finals.
Could the practice room at Galion be any more competitive?
“It’s awesome; it’s a blessing,” Trukovich said. “We get groups of three and four and we scrap. It’s pushing us all to get better. It gets pretty intense and emotions are flying, but at the end of the day we’re all shaking hands and best friends again.
“We train hard every day, no matter what we’re ranked. We stick to the system and fall in love with scoring points, no matter what.”
Harding is going to miss those one-on-ones with Trukovich when he heads off to the University of Buffalo in the fall.
“It’s a lot of fun,” Harding said. “We used to drill every single day together, but we know each other so well it’s hard for us to do anything on each other, so we’ll rotate around the room and get other guys involved. It’s amazing. Everybody’s growing. It’s awesome having two No. 1s in the room and Ryder is right up there with us. It’s a battle. We’re always pushing it, taking dumb shots to see what happens. It’s the only way to get better.”
Warriors boast three champs
Ontario matched Galion with three champs, thanks to senior Julian McGinty and junior Gavin Miller winning back-to-back at 150 and 157, respectively. McGinty beat Clear Fork’s Sloan McGhee 12-0 and Miller held off Clear Fork’s returning champ Luke Lee 8-6.
Miller is a reigning J.C. Gorman Invitational champ, but the 2025 state medalist was back on the mats for the first time since tearing a knee ligament in the Maumee Bay Classic. An MOAC runner-up last year at 132, Miller jumped four weight classes this season but will be sliding down to 150 for next week’s sectionals at Galion.
“It’s great to have MOAC champ on the resume,” said Miller, who has battled injuries all three years with the program. “This was just another bounce-back tournament to use for motivation going into the (post-season).
“Being out (with an injury) sucks because of conditioning, but when I’m out I see things more and I’m smarter from looking at little things.”
Miller picks up plenty watching teammates like Ohl.
“I think Aiden is great at owning the mat,” he said. “His hand fighting is really solid, how he crowds people and how gets in for some deep shots. I’m trying to mimic that a little bit.”
Short-handed Colts still shine
Even though coach Nick Allerding was missing four regulars, defending champ Clear Fork matched its runner-up showing in the Gorman, finishing just 17 points behind Highland. Depth was the key for the Colts. They had champs in sophomore Anthony Oscar (145) and junior Alex Schlosser (190), along with five runners-up.
Oscar, a projected state finalist and 2025 All-Ohioan, was a repeat champ, beating Highland’s Kacey Clark 8-3 in a rematch of last year’s 138 finals. Schlosser toppled Shelby’s Christian Santiz 8-2 for his title.
Since losing in their first meeting last year, Oscar has beaten Clark three times.
“I just had to wrestle my match,” Oscar said. “Nobody’s beaten me as long as I wrestle my match. I’m never satisfied. There’s always room for improvement; there’s always something I can change to up my game.”
Whippets make strides
Taking a big step forward Saturday were the rebuilding Shelby Whippets, starting with freshman Sebastian Cain winning the 106 title with a 10-6 win over Marion Harding defending champ Mark King.
The Whippets also had three runners-up in sophomore Corbyn Barth (113), senior Christian Santiz (190) and junior Gavin Garrett (285).
“It’s been awhile to get there,” coach Gavin Speelman said. “Coach (Jeremiah) Howe started this. It’s probably the toughest thing we’ve ever done. Taking over a program, it’s not like it was rock bottom, but I know where we started. It wasn’t with four finalists, that’s for sure.
“I’ll know things are good when people are talking about us and asking about the program. It’s been a process and I appreciate the seniors and what they’ve met to the slow change over time. Quick change doesn’t last. Everyone just leaves. This has been a slow process and (the progress) is starting to show.”
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Mat milestones | Ohl, Harding earn their fourth MOAC titles – and more
Reporting by Jon Spencer, Mansfield News Journal / Mansfield News Journal
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