WRESTLING: Perkins, Port Clinton win SBC team titles; Hermes, Jacobs MVPs

NORWALK — Perkins won its third straight overall Sandusky Bay Conference wrestling team championship while Port Clinton broke through with some school history by winning the Bay Division title Saturday at Norwalk High School. The Pirates had three individual champions and scored 217.5 points. "Three-peat sounds pretty good," Perkins coach Travis Crabtree said. "That's what we discussed all week with the kids. We told them it would take a team effort and they came out and took care of business." The SBC title was the ninth for Crabtree as Perkins' coach. Sawyer Smith (126 pounds), Haiden Bollini (215) and Eli Sanchez (285) won individual titles for the Pirates. Port Clinton first-year coach Dustin Cornell guided his team to its first-ever SBC title and it came in dramatic fashion. Needing a pin in the 190 final, junior Malakii Pinkleton delivered, pinning Woodmore's Michael Seeger in 3:01 as his teammates cheered him on next to the mat. "I knew I had to get a pin to help us win," Pinkleton said. "I caught him right in the cradle. For the pin, I chin-whipped him and got him. It was a great feeling. "I knew my team was counting on me to win that match. I could hear them. They were pretty loud. I couldn't have done it without them by my side. We're a great team. Best ever in Port Clinton history." Pinkleton's pin gave Port Clinton 166 points. Edison finished second in the Bay with 165.5. "Kii's one of the more clutch athletes in our school," Cornell said. "I told him after the match I wouldn't want it in anyone else's hands. I thought we had it in the first period. He ended up locking up the cradle in the second period and got the fall." The title was years in the making for PC. Cornell credited former coach Adam Hicks, who stepped down this year to become an assistant principal. He also pointed out assistant coach John Hazzard, Cornell's high school coach who is retiring after 34 years of teaching. "(Hicks) is still a vital part of our program. I talk to him daily," Cornell said. "He'll send me workout plans. "This is (Hazzard's) last go-round. I told him I wouldn't want to send him out any other way." PC's Elijah Ramsey was the 106-pound champion. Josh Cornell was runner-up at 126 and Gavin Cornell, who was returning from a shoulder injury, picked up crucial points by finishing third at 150. "We started years ago implementing a lot of kids in the biddy program, understanding we were gonna take some lumps at the high school level," Cornell said. "Every one of these kids has been through our biddy program." Edison senior Abe Hermes was named Most Outstanding Wrestler in the Bay after dominating with four pins to win at 138. Hermes became the 17th wrestler in SBC history to win four individual titles. He pinned St. Mary Central Catholic standout Ben James in 2:59 in the finals. "My plan going in was to stack the takedowns and build a lead," Hermes said. "He's really good on the mat so I wanted to stay away from that. "I ended up in kind of a scramble position and I always like my odds in those positions. Came out on top and got the pin." The move Hermes used to win was one he showed his teammates in practice. "He shot a deep single leg and we kind of scrambled," Hermes said. "I rolled through; it's a move I actually showed the team this week in practice. Nobody else knew how to hit it. I rolled through, caught the cradle and set him up for the pin." Bellevue junior Ben Jacobs was named Most Outstanding Wrestler in the Lake Division. Jacobs defeated two returning state placers, including an 8-7 decision against Perkins' Braxden Martin in the finals. "We were hand fighting and he let that lead foot stay a little too long and I took the angle to go up 4-0," Jacobs said. "It was a major win. Hoping to keep that momentum going forward. Hoping to make it down to state. "(Martin will) more than likely be my district finals match. Let's hope we can push through that and get the win." Port Clinton got off to a strong start in the finals when Ramsey scored a 19-5 major decision against Perkins' Marco Muratori, who was a SBC champ last year. "That's the first time Elijah's ever beat Muratori," Dustin Cornell said. "Believe it or not, when Elijah was a freshman he was like 85 pounds wrestling 106. Now he has to lose a little bit of weight to get to 106. "He's coming a long way mentally and physically. He's a podium kid at the state tournament if he believes in himself." Edison sophomore Mason Hermes won his second straight SBC title by pinning Clyde's Heath Norris in 3:36 at 113. Bellevue's Owen Sterritt shut out Edison's Xander Gfell-King 4-0 at 120. Perkins' Smith scored a 9-3 decision over PC's Josh Cornell at 126 in a battle of 2024 conference champions. "I've wrestled him my whole life and it's always a fun one," Smith said. "He didn't take many shots. I was a little frustrated at the end because I couldn't get anything going. Just learn from it. "It's my second title. This one meant a lot — my senior year. I really wanted to go out on top and now it's time to focus on the postseason." At 132, Sandusky senior Dre' Campbell dominated Vermilion's Ashton Clifton, 8-0. "I heard he was really strong so I wanted to get him out of position and get to my attacks," Campbell said. "(My height) helps me out with a lot of scrambles and overall just helps to maintain position." Bellevue's Jeremiah Hash won at 157 with a 9-3 decision against Vermilion's Aiden Kyser. Lakota's Braxton Quaintance — the River Division MVP — won by fall at 165 before Edison's Luke James rolled to a 13-1 major decision over Lakota's Grant Bomer at 175. Bomer was a familiar face because Lakota wrestlers practice with Edison. "Not quite as dominant as I wanted to be. He's tough; we wrestle a couple times a week," James said. "We invited them over and they've been wrestling with us. It's been helping me a lot and I'm sure it helps him. "Quaintance, too. That's who I drill with when they come in. He's tough, he's strong, he's fast. He's everything you need in a good drill partner." After Pinkelton's win clinched PC's team title, Perkins' Bollini and Sanchez finished off the tourney with pins. It was Bollini's third straight year in the finals and his first title. "Last year, me and (Edison's) Cy (Finnen) had a good match and sophomore year I went against Max Ray, who was a state runner-up," Bollini said. "There was no doubt in my mind. I let two go before this; there was no way I was gonna let an SBC title slip through my fingers. Last thing I remember was I caught him on his back and held him there until they called a pin." Perkins had the team title clinched before Bollini wrestled, but the last two wins were a fitting ending for the Pirates. "It was nice for (Bollini) to finally get a championship and Eli is starting to figure it out at the right time," Crabtree said. "We've been blessed all my years to have some great upper weights To end with them is really good." SBC Championships Team scores 1. Perkins 217.5; 2. Bellevue 193.5; 3. Port Clinton 166; 4. Edison 165.5; 5. Woodmore 132.5; 6. Clyde 131; 7. Lakota 90.5; 8. Vermilion 85; 9. Willard 73.5; 10. Norwalk 67.5; 11. Columbian 66; 12. Sandusky 60.5; 13. Gibsonburg 45.5; 14. St. Mary CC 38; 15. Calvert 34; 16. Hopewell-Loudon 26.0; 17. Margaretta 23; 18. Huron 11.5 First Place 106: Elijah Ramsey (Port Clinton) maj. dec. Marco Muratori (Perkins) 19-5 113: Mason Hermes (Edison) pin Heath Norris (Clyde) 3:36 120: Owen Sterritt (Bellevue) dec. Xander Gfell-King (Edison) 4-0 126: Sawyer Smith (Perkins) dec. Joshua Cornell (Port Clinton) 9-3 132: Dre' Campbell (Sandusky) maj. dec. Ashton Clifton (Vermilion) 8-0 138: Abe Hermes (Edison) pin Ben James (St. Mary CC) 2:59 144: Ben Jacobs (Bellevue) dec. Braxden Martin (Perkins) 8-7 150: Lane Thacker (Lakota) dec. Law Davlin (Perkins) 6-4 157: Jeremiah Hash (Bellevue) dec. Aiden Kyser (Vermilion) 9-3 165: Braxton Quaintance (Lakota) pin Landon Rich (Woodmore) 2:33 175: Luke James (Edison) maj. dec. Grant Bomer (Lakota) md13-1 190: Malakii Pinkleton (Port Clinton) pin Michael Seeger (Woodmore) 3:01 215: Haiden Bollini (Perkins) pin Wyatt Crow (Hopewell-Loudon) 3:48 285: Eli Sanchez (Perkins) pin Taylin Bell (Columbian) 1:37 Third Place 106: Jose Figueroa (Willard) tech. fall A.J. Crabtree (Edison) 21-5 113: Rajon Randleman (Perkins) pin Cole Bishop (Port Clinton) 1:28 120: Wyatt Thieroff (Woodmore) pin Benny Byington (St. Mary CC) 4:29 126: Hunter Pollock (Clyde) maj. dec. Quentin Cox (Edison) md14-1 132: Luke Slone (Willard) dec. Drew Aigler (Columbian) 6-0 138: Jaycion Everett (Perkins) maj. dec. Linkin Mullins (Clyde) 13-0 144: Michael Gessner (Clyde) dec. Nick Toth (Norwalk) 4-0 150: Gavin Cornell (Port Clinton) maj. dec. Mitchell McMurray (Bellevue) 8-0 157: Gavin Herrig (Woodmore) dec. Briar Rohrer (Port Clinton) 9-6 165: Logan Peterson (Vermilion) maj. dec. Cooper Cisco (Perkins) 12-4 175: Kevin Howard (Norwalk) dec. Bill Sberna (Bellevue) 6-2 190: Vaughn Zimmerman (Columbian) pin Cohen Mooney (Vermilion) 1:36 215: Noah Green (Bellevue) pin Bailey Jendrzejak (Woodmore) 0:29 285: Cameron Bagent (Calvert) pin Jaden Minch (Clyde) 1:02 Fifth Place 106: Jordan Conway (Sandusky) dec. Blake Andres (Clyde) 7-6 113: Carson Quaintance (Lakota) maj. dec. Lawtyn Holley (Gibsonburg) 10-0 120: Ethan Stefan (Vermilion) dec. Nolan Kilgore (Willard) 2-1 126: Landen Lewis (Bellevue) dec. Ashton Juszczyk (Vermilion) 4-1 132: Nolan Hartman (Bellevue) dec. Aiden Cordy (Woodmore) 5-0 138: Caiden Wilson (Norwalk) pin Trace Wilson (Margaretta) 2:34 144: Jace Cornell (Port Clinton) def. Antonio Salazar (Gibsonburg) Default 150: Aidan Greenslade (Clyde) pin Bob Seeger (Woodmore) 2:06 157: Josiah Walbom (Edison) pin Sam Cox (Huron) 3:18 165: Kolt Lewis (Bellevue) pin Xavier Elder (Clyde) 1:35 175: Ramierion Roldan (Sandusky) tech. fall Caleb Spencer (Port Clinton) 16-1 190: DeShawn Harper (Perkins) dec. Tatum Gore (Bellevue) 8-1 215: Haydin Brown (Gibsonburg) dec. Devin Kolanda (Norwalk) 10-9 285: Deacon Nunez (Bellevue) dec. Joel Smith (Edison) 8-2