Max Hermes wins 3rd state title in decisive fashion

COLUMBUS — Max Hermes usually is all business, no emotion. Sunday night was different. The Edison senior won his third state wrestling championship with a dramatic 6-1 victory over Miami East's Cooper Shore, who came into the 120-pound Division III final with a lot of hype. Hermes was truly upset last year when he was denied a match with Shore in the 113 final because Shore was disqualified for slamming an opponent in the semifinals. The talk about Shore didn't sit well with Hermes, who was on the verge of tears (happy ones) after his emotional victory. "I know I'm a better wrestler," he said as he let it all out. "He's dangerous, I'll give you that. But I'm dangerous, too. "Last year I won. Everybody said I wasn't the real champ because Cooper Shore got disqualified. I just beat that kid 6-0 and had him pinned, so tell me I'm not the champ again." Hermes won 6-1 at the Schottenstein Center, losing a point in the final seconds for stalling, and finished his final prep season with a 52-3 record. Shore finished 49-1 after a third period that went Hermes' way. Hermes was leading 1-0 when he made his move from his feet midway with about a minute left in the match. He used his left leg to knock Shore off balance, then threw him to the mat. In a matter of seconds his lead was 6-0 thanks to a 2-point takedown and a 3-point near fall. "He wants to go upper body so we went upper body," Hermes said. "I'll wrestle with anybody, any position. They want to see a show, it was the most anticipated match of the tournament. "I think the first 2 1/2 periods were pretty boring, I'm not gonna lie. He kind of pushed me around and I got mine in the third." Hermes thought he pinned Shore but was satisfied with the win. He let out a roar to the crowd and, along with his brother Abe, who won the 113-pound title moments before Max took the mat, made his way to the nearby seats to give his mother, Emily, a hug. "This is the match everybody's wanted to see for four years," Edison coach and wrestling dad Davy Hermes said. "That was his focus; he wanted to get to this match. There were a lot of people chattering that Cooper Shore was gonna beat Max and Max can't hang with his pace. "Max has wrestled every good kid in the country and deserves respect. That could've been his fourth state title there. He was ranked No. 1 as a freshman and lost it to COVID." Hermes, who will wrestle collegiately at Rutgers University, finished his high school career with three state titles and a gaudy 223-12 record. "I think tonight he went out and validated his career," Davy Hermes said. "Cooper Shore was undefeated and thrashing everybody all year. Explosive wrestler. "When we get to the third period 1-0 and there was that upper body situation and I was, 'Oh, my God, he's gonna throw him,' and sure enough Max throws him." The first period was a standoff and Hermes got a quick escape in the second to make it 1-0. Shore, who will wrestle at Campbell University, picked a neutral start in the third and was active, but Hermes held his ground. "Getting the match he wanted and his brother winning made it a beautiful evening for our family," Davy Hermes said. Max, who recorded two pins and an 8-0 major decision to advance to the finals, saw Abe's match from the tunnel on the far side of the venue. "My brother won a state championship, too," he said. "I'd take his one over my three any day." Edison finished second as a team for the third straight year and the Chargers will be welcomed back to town with a parade on Monday. "It's special. I've coached a lot of state champs and it's obviously more special when it's your own kids," Davy Hermes said. "They work their butts off and getting what they deserve."