By Cort Reynolds
COLUMBUS - Ada junior wrestler Chase Sumner won his first round match in the 138 lb. bracket at the Div. III state meet Thursday in Columbus at the Schottenstein Center.
Sumner is now 39-3 this season after winning his lone match of the day.
Sumner started out in the 16-man draw as a three seed against sophomore Billy Luft, a sophomore from Newark Catholic who came in as the two seed from the Coshocton district with a 37-7 record.
Sumner pinned Luft at 1:10 to advance to the quarterfinals against Gavin Stilke, the top seed in that quarter of the draw.
The junior from Creston Norwayne sports a 44-2 record after winning the Garfield Heights district title and decisioning J.D. McNett 11-2 of Otsego in his first round state match.
Sumner will face Stilke in the championship quarterfinals of the double-elimination event Friday morning at a little after 10 a.m. The winner advances to the semifinals, while the loser will drop down to the consolation bracket.
The Div. III second consolation round starts at 12:15 p.m. Friday. The Div. III semifinals begin at 6:30 p.m. Friday evening. The consolation quarters are slated for 8:40 p.m. Friday night.
Competition resumes Saturday morning at 10 a.m.
