LCA wrestling establishing dynasty

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COLUMBUS — Competing at the state level shouldn’t be as easy as Legacy Christian’s wrestlers make it appear year after year.

A dominating performance over the first two days of the 86th OHSAA Wrestling State Tournament helped secure a third consecutive Division III team championship for the Knights.

“This group is special,” first-year head coach Michael Sizemore said. “I’m big on doing things the first time. I told these guys in school history, we’ve had teams that have won this before and been here, but they’ve never got to win three in a row.”

LCA scored 115.5 team points, finishing ahead of Milan Edison for the third straight year.

Six Legacy wrestlers qualified for the state tournament, the second most of any D-III school, and all of them placed on the podium.

Dillon Campbell at 126 won his third consecutive individual championship. Eli Campbell at 113 and Boede Campbell at 144 both made the championship match and finished as runner-up.

Brayden Brown and Ethan Cooper bounced back from semifinal defeats to win third-place at 138 and 157, respectively. Nathan Attisano at 120 got fifth in his freshman season.

The Knights were possibly the freshest group during the majority of the five sessions of any team in the competition. No LCA wrestler dropped a match before the semifinals as they won all of their first round and quarterfinal battles.

LCA got plenty of additional points as well, racking up six pins, one technical fall, and seven via major decision. They also won the most total in-match points of any D-III school.

“The scoreboard shows it all,” Dillon Campbell said. “We went six-for-six in the quarters, and I don’t think we’ve done that ever, and we’ve got all six wrestlers and all of them placed here. I think that’s really special for us to win a state title again and for the seniors too.”

Legacy across their three team championships have produced six individual titles and 17 podium finishes.

Dillon Campbell, a member of all three title teams, attributes the successful run to new faces wanting to join each year after seeing the team members rack up the achievements.

“Senior leadership by Boede Campbell and Ethan Cooper have both done an amazing job,” Sizemore said. “And they’re not voiceful, they just lead by example.”

Sizemore said as the team began to wrap up the championship, he was fielding questions in a badinage nature from his peers about when he believed the run could end.

There’s no guarantees that teams will win after all. Sizemore said he doesn’t want to ever have his wrestlers think they will either.

He does expect them to make one assurance: that they will always work hard in prepartion believing once they do that, everything they want can start to fall into place.

“I’ve heard it all weekend from other coaches, ‘You know, you guys are probably in better shape than anyone we’ve faced,’” Sizemore said. “We pride ourselves on that because we do work hard.”

Five seniors will graduate from the core group of 13 Knights wrestlers. Four of this year’s placers were underclassmen. The team has reloaded after each championship so far and already have a foundation in place to potentially set up another run next year.

A dynasty is underway at Legacy Christian.

CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHES

DIVISION III

113 — Abe Hermes (So.), Milan Edison (28-1) def. Eli Campbell (Jr.), Legacy Christian (36-3), dec. 2-1

126 — Dillon Campbell (Jr.), Legacy Christian (45-2) def. Brock Durbin (Jr.), Ashland Mapleton (41-1), pin 2:32

138 — Ashton Homan (Jr.), Monroeville (42-5) def. Ashtan Hendricks (Sr.), Greeneview (48-4), dec. 4-2

144 — Brodie Dominique (Jr.), Archbold (61-4) def. Boede Campbell (Sr.), Legacy Christian (26-5) dec. 7-2

GIRLS

126 — Eve Matt (So.), Greeneview (37-2) def. Sophia Rohrs (Sr.), Lebanon (40-3), pin 2:44

CONSOLATION PLACEMENTS

DIVISION III

120 (5th) — Nathan Attisano (Fr.), Legacy Christian (38-11) def. Cowin Becker (So.), Northmor (46-5), dec. 9-3

138 (3rd) — Brayden Brown (Jr.), Legacy Christian (36-7) def. Owen Miller (Sr.), Oak Harbor (45-9), md. 9-1

157 (3rd) — Ethan Cooper (Sr.), Legacy Christian (39-8) def. Tyson Clearn (So.), Malvern (48-6), pin 0:54

285 (7th) — Dustin Winner (Sr.), Casstown Miami East (40-9) def. Hawkeye Hickman (Sr.), Greeneview (37-7), dec. 6-1

DIVISION II

215 (5th) — Bryson Getz (Sr.), Akron St. Vincent St. Mary’s (29-9) def. Jimmy Bechter (So.), Carroll (43-4), dec. 4-2

GIRLS

235 (5th) — Karlie Harlow (Sr.), Greeneview (33-3) def. Jessica Edwards (Jr.), Harrison (28-9), pin 1:46

Contact Steven Wright at 937-502-4498 and follow on Twitter @Steven_Wright_.

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