BUCYRUS (Crawford County Now) — Pleasant came out on top of a hotly contested tournament in the Bucyrus Invitational Pool event Saturday at Alex Kish Memorial Gymnasium.

The hosts finished fourth (129) behind the Spartans (184.5), Lorain (158) and Oregon Clay (130).

Taking first for Bucyrus was 132-pound freshman Camden Redmon, a 21-3 winner over Abram Norton of Pleasant.

Junior James Wills (113) also took top honors with a 12-7 win over Calvert’s Dante Fabrizio to cap a 4-0 tourney. Wills was chosen tournament MVP, and both were 5-0.

“We have 20 teams. We have 12 of the 14 weight class with 16-man brackets completely full,” Bucyrus head coach Shane Kokensparger said. “It’s mainly varsity wrestlers from teams in Northeast Ohio all the way to Northwest Ohio.”

“Finally, after five years of me being here we are at a full tournament.”

A solid lineup

A full slate of returning grapplers has Kokensparger optimistic, but a young wrestler already is garnering attention.

“Our top wrestler right now is Cam Redmon. At 132 pounds, he’s a freshman and he’s 8-0 coming in here. He tech-falled a state qualifier from Northmor in the opening match of the year.”

Weber, a senior has 102 career wins “and is pumping on all cylinders.” He placed fifth via a 13-2 decision over Fredericktown’s Owen Garver.

Junior Hayden Butcher, wrestling at 285 pounds, fell 6-1 to Ashland’s Skyler Radeff in the championship match. He is 10-2 on the season.

“Eventually we think Hayden will get down to 215 and Hayden Ginn up to heavyweight, so that balances out a little more. We’re looking at the J.C. Gorman (Jan. 2-3) as that date.”

Butcher has 82 career wins.

Ginn was 4-1 before the tournament and picked up early round pins in 59 seconds and 10 seconds. He placed sixth, losing to McComb’s Kaydin Hedges-Sawinski 3-0.

One surprise has been the progress of Wills.

“He’s been with us a few years and had been a sub .500 kid. He just finished third last week at the Tom Ellis Classic at Madison,” Kokensparger said. “He put in a lot of work and time this summer.”

Redmon went 5-0 at Madison while Weber, Butcher and Ginn were 4-1.

Next are the Makeever brothers, freshman Isaac and sophomore Wyatt.

“Isaac is a shining star and in a really tough weight at 175.

“His football weight was about 182. He went on a strict diet. He’s not missing any meals, just maintaining diet and working hard — and that’s what our team does.”

Isaac placed fourth after a loss to Ethan Lewis of Upper Sandusky, who then won the title at 175.

“Wyatt (165) is not wrestling today. He had some bumps and bruises we’re trying to get over. He’s also 5-2 on the year.”

Kaden Vaughn at 215, Nykk Zornes at 120 and Ginn all took sixth places with 2-2 marks.

Bucyrus placed third behind the hosts and Norwalk.

“We have a really, really good team and we’re looking for big things. We have a valid shot this year at the N10 championship,” Kokensparger said.

That will be held Feb. 21 at Seneca East.

“These kids start practice without a coach there. If coaches are late because of a meeting in the building, they’re in there stretching, warming up. That’s how you know you’re firing on all cylinders.”

Taking on bigger schools and high-profile tournaments have made the Redmen better the past few seasons.

“It’s really shaped us as far as seeing better competition. We’ve even stepped it up one more this year with a Christmas holiday tournament (Dec. 23) at Bishop Watterson. They’re defending Division II state champs, so we’re going down there and test the waters and hope we get some victories.”

After that it’s the J.C. Gorman and the Napoleon Gold Medal Duals, an invitational, followed by the Sally George Invitational at Pleasant.

“We’re preparing for March and tailoring back in February to get healthy.”

Bucks have young core

Buckeye Central head coach Rocky Ranker welcomes a group that includes six freshmen.

“We started out with nine kids and no injuries this year so that’s good. By next weekend, we’ll be spread out in our weight classes.”

“Our biggest thing is teaching those six kids how to get through that first match,” he said. “It’s a nice class to build around. I have two brand-new kids who’ve not wrestled before.”

Two weight classes, 120 and 132, are filled this season, which is a first.

“I’m excited to teach those guys how to move on. We’ll be fine.”

Austin Bogner returns as a sophomore at 190 pounds.

“He’s going to be a top contender this year. He’s been a leader every day at practice,” Ranker said.

Bogner placed sixth.

“He’s gotta lead but also step down a little bit and help bring them in slowly. I’m pretty excited with these kids. We have two 165-pounders, but we’ll settle them into their own weight classes.”

Warriors begin to reload

Mohawk head coach Brad Rice has 19 wrestlers on the roster. He brought underclassmen to this tourney.

“We use this tournament to get our young guys match time early on. It lets us know what they need to work on.”

Connor Eader took third at 157 and Jack Bennington sixth at 106. Both are freshmen.

“Seniors Owen Patrizi, Troy, Braxton Frisch, Liam Pursell, Brant Kirian and junior Kaden Bish all return. It’s a great group this year,” he said.

Patrizi was third at 132 and Bish seventh at 175 at the state meet last spring. Kirian (138) also competed but didn’t place.

“They put in time on the mats, but it’s a long season. You don’t want something minor at the beginning of the season to continue to bug until the end.”

Myer Kirian, Aden Patrizi and other youngsters will compete for Mohawk.

Rice is also conscious that student-athletes need a break from the rigors of practice.

“They get to school when it’s dark and they go home when it’s dark. Sometimes they need to be kids. It takes a strain on you mentally and physically,” he said.

“Some days we come in and go like hammers and we get out. Other times we slow it down, work on technique and get it to perfection. We might stay later on those days that are a little lighter.”

Full results from the Bucyrus pool tournament at https://www.flowrestling.org/nextgen/events/14611368/team-scores

Galion third at Memorial

GALION — The hosts finished third in the Kooper McCabe Memorial Saturday.

Olentangy Orange won the team title, followed by Bellevue, Galion and Seneca East. Thirteen schools competed.

Tigers placers include Carsten Branstetter was second at 126, Carter Trukovich first at 132, Gradey Harding first at 138, Ryder Alberty second at 144, Kane Hay second at 150, Blake McDaniel first at 157, Brice McDaniel second at 175 and Chayse Rinehart fourth at 285.

Seneca East had Elijah Sanderson fourth at 113, Owen Cline fifth at 138, Deacon Lacy third at 150, Cal Geary second at 157, Bentley Gayheart second at 165, Jackson Gayheart first at 190 and Alex Young second at 215.

The annual tournament is held in honor of Kooper McCabe, who passed away in 2022 while a student-athlete at Galion. He was a member of the football and wrestling teams.