By Cort Reynolds
LIMA - Ada junior Chase Sumner captured the 138 lb. title while the Bulldog wrestling team finished 11th and qualified three wrestlers to the Troy district out of the 14-team Div. III sectionals at Lima Central Catholic last Friday and Saturday.
Ottawa-Glandorf won the team competition with 178 points to edge Coldwater (167.5) by 10.5 points. Allen East came in third (135.5) while Ada ended up with 53 points.
Sumner (33-2 this season) went 4-0 in the sectional meet and was a convincing champion with three quick pin wins. He advances to the Troy districts with his win as one of four top seeds.
"I was really proud of how these three wrestled this weekend," said Ada head coach Jason Sumner. "Chase finished as a sectional runner-up in 2015 and 2016, and it was great to see him get his first sectional championship."
Sumner sectional results:
1st round: Sumner pin Derek Combs (Patrick Henry) 1:11
Quarterfinals: Sumner pin T.J. Burrows (Coldwater) 0:51
Semifinals: Sumner pin Ethan Meyer (Parkway) 0:39
Finals: Sumner dec. Wyatt Place (Delphos Jefferson) 7-4
Bulldog junior Adam Bailey also qualified for districts by finishing fourth (2-2) in the 285 lb. division.
Bailey pinned David Parsons of Lincolnview at 4:57 in the third consolation round after losing his first match. Bailey then decisioned Jayden Moore of DJ 7-1 to reach the third-place finals.
Noah Reel of Wayne Trace pinned Bailey at 2:00 in the third-place match.
"Adam just missed making it to Troy last season by finishing as a district alternate," said Sumner. "This year after getting upset in the first round, Adam battled for two straight wins to make it to the consolation finals where he came up short, but still advanced to districts."
Ada freshman Damien Cameron (3-2) came in fifth at the 113 lb. bracket after pinning Chase Settlemire of Spencerville at 4:46 in a consolation round match.
Cameron pinned Danial Ruiz of Wayne Trace at 0:54 in the quarterfinals. He lost to eventual 113 lb. champion Kobe Cunningham by pin in the semis, then fell to Mustang Cody Kretzer by a 13-1 decision in the consolation semis.
"Freshman Damien Cameron had to pull off a last-second pin to earn a come-from-behind fifth-place finish," noted Sumner. "He left LCC as a district alternate but with low numbers in one of the Div. III sectionals, he had his ticket punched to come compete at Troy."
Ada freshman Matthew Middlebrook took sixth at 220 lbs. after losing to Lane Brooks of O-G.
Div. III LCC sectional team results
1. Ottawa-Glandorf 178 points
2. Coldwater 167.5
3. Allen East 135.5
4. Delphos Jefferson 105
5. Wayne Trace 95.5
6. LCC 93.5
7. Columbus Grove 90
8. Patrick Henry 84.5
9. Bluffton 77.5
10. Delphos St. John's 73
11. Ada 53
12. Parkway 39
13. Spencerville 28
14. Lincolnview 19
Sumner and Bailey compete in the Div. III, double elimination district event March 3-4 at Troy's Hobart Arena. A top four finish in any weight class qualifies one for the state meet.
Sumner (33-2) seeks a return to the state meet at Columbus March 9-11 in the Schottenstein Center. He took third in the 132 lb. class last year at Troy, then finished fourth at the state event. .
In the first district round at Troy, he faces the fourth seed out of the Ben Logan sectional, freshman Logan White (9-17) of Twin Valley South.
If the heavily-favored Sumner wins his first round bout, he will face the winner of Kamron Paulus (38-2) of Milton-Union and freshman Zach Fox (16-9) of Fairbanks in round two.
Bailey (15-15) will have a much tougher road to Columbus. As a four seed, he will face off against undefeated top seed Cameron Coffman (41-0), a senior out of Dixie, in the first round.
Cameron (19-11) will face off against senior Caamron Neal (35-4), a two seed from Preble Shawnee, in first round action.
"It was nice to see these three get the opportunity to compete at the next level," said Sumner. "We are looking forward to a hard week of training to prepare these young men for their next challenge.
