COLUMBUS — Bryant Pfeifer didn’t reach the podium. But the Bucyrus High school wrestler made history.

The 215-pounder lost to Mogadore’s Michael Lowe by technical fall 17-0 on Saturday in the Division III state wrestling tournament held at the Jerome Schottenstein Center.

“Bryant had the most pins in school history, 40, and the most wins with 48 breaking Noah Blankenship’s record of 47,” Redmen head coach Shane Kokensparger said.

Pfeifer was the first district champion at Bucyrus since 1992 and the first state qualifier since 2009.

“He got overmatched. That guy is wrestling for a state title Sunday,” Kokensparger said of Lowe. “Bryant felt confident and was on weight.”

Pfeifer lost his second match of the day, falling to Brookville’s Bronson Stacy via pin in 1:24 in the consolation round.

“Bryant didn’t shy away from any competition. He worked hard; he came in on Sundays and did some extra training. He worked well with the team,” he said.

Kokensparger said Heidelberg, Muskingum and Ohio Wesleyan University are recruiting him to wrestle in college.

“He’s got options. Hopefully, his past will lead him to continue to wrestle. More importantly, Bryant’s a great kid.”

His success on the mat is enhanced by the quality of the young man, Kokensparger said.

“He is an honor roll student, and he is what we need in helping build our program at Bucyrus. The success he showed this year caught the eyes of many kids in the school. So, we think that will help increase our numbers.”

Bucyrus had eight wrestlers place in the sectional tournament and has bolstered its numbers significantly over previous seasons.

“We hope to have even more numbers next year with football players hopefully doing other sports,” he said. “I suspect that we’re going to have many new wrestlers based on the success the program had this year.”

Pfeifer won the Division III district championship the prior weekend over Jacob Thompson of Milan Edison in a rematch of the sectional championship. He avenged that defeat with a 3-1 victory to qualify for the state tournament.