Perkins going for 3-peat at SBC wrestling tourney

Seven of 14 individual champions from 2024 will compete Saturday at the Sandusky Bay Conference wrestling championships at Norwalk High School. That list includes Edison's Luke James, who was a state champion last year at 175 pounds, and Abe Hermes, who was a state champ two years ago. Perkins will try to win the overall team title for the third straight year. "We're gonna have to get bonus points and wrestle better than we did at the state duals (last week)," Perkins coach Travis Crabtree said. "It'll be a tough tournament, as usual. "We're trying to recover from the state duals, which were three pretty physical matches. We're correcting mistakes." The Pirates finished sixth in Division II at the state duals last week in Columbus. Perkins' main competition for the SBC team title could come from Bellevue, which was runner-up last year and joins Woodmore as one of two schools that will fill 13 of 14 weight classes. Team champions will be crowned in the Lake, Bay and River divisions. Twenty schools will be represented. One individual champion will be crowned at each weight. Perkins has two defending champs in the field: Sawyer Smith, who won at 113 last year and will wrestle at 126, and Eli Sanchez, who returns to defend his heavyweight title. Wrestling begins at 10 a.m. with the finals tentatively scheduled for about 5 p.m. The seeding meeting will be Saturday morning. "I feel like with the way our schedule's been, going to Medina, Perrysburg, Maumee Bay, wrestling Wapakoneta and De Sales and going to the state duals, it seems like we've been wrestling state-level matches the whole season," Crabtree said. "Hopefully that plays into our favor starting this weekend and build some momentum going into sectionals." Perkins will be without three-time All-Ohio wrestler Kaiyon McKinney, who is out for the season with a knee injury. Edison will be without injured Cy Finnen, who was the 190-pound SBC champion last year. The Chargers still have three defending champions in James, Abe Hermes and Mason Hermes (106 last year, 113 this year). Abe Hermes is ranked No. 2 in the state in Division III at 138 pounds. He could face third-ranked Ben James from St. Mary Central Catholic in the finals if the seeds hold. Luke James, who is ranked No. 1 in the state at 175, will be favored to repeat at the SBC meet. Lakota's Grant Bomer, a district runner-up last year at 157, could challenge James at 175. Two of the deepest weights at the SBC tournament are 126 and 144. At 126, Port Clinton's Josh Cornell, Perkins' Smith and Clyde's Hunter Pollack are all returning district placers. At 144, Perkins' Braxden Martin is a contender after finishing sixth at state at 150 last year. Gibsonburg's Antonio Salazar finished eighth at 138 last year. Bellevue's Ben Jacobs is another top contender at 144. Other returning state-placers in the SBC field are Lakota's Braxton Quaintance at 165 and Lane Thacker at 150; and Edison's Mason Hermes and Xander Gfell-King, who will compete at 113 and 120, respectively.