Sandusky places 3rd at Clyde girls invitational

CLYDE — Sandusky's girls wrestling team posted the best finish among area schools at Sunday's Clyde invitational. Sandusky finished third out 38 teams with 129.5 points at the Nancy E. Hanger Gymnasium and had the largest number of placers in the area with eight. "It was a very nice tournament and things went very well for us," Blue Streaks coach Andre Grant said. "It was a tough tournament, and I have these ladies in tough tournaments in order to get them ready for the postseason." Sandusky has had girls wrestling for three years and went from only having four wrestlers to 19 this season. "The whole school is behind us along with the community," said Grant of the explosion of growth. "It's me recruiting in the hallway and everyone buying in. Everybody wants to be a Lady Blue Streak wrestler and wants to be a part of the growth of the sport." Sandusky junior Avaiya Cunningham was runner-up in the 100-pound weight class. "I am just happy. The girl I competed against beat me last year at districts, so to beat her felt good," Cunningham said. "I come from a family of wrestlers, and even though I tried to quit, I keep coming back. Bottom is what I got to work on." Junior Mia Thompson was the champion at 120 class with an 8-4 decision over Fremont Ross' Jaiden Long. "I didn't think I was going to win," Thompson said. "I wasn't looking at the score and I thought I was losing because I was on bottom most of the match, but I kept fighting and didn't want to lose and I wanted it so bad. Wrestling has taught me a lot about body and life in general." Britoriah Rollison was the champion at 155, pinning Ontario's Lilly Gray in 1:03. "I was overwhelmed, it hasn't sunk in yet," Rollison said. "I am still out on the mat. I was really nervous, but she was a tough opponent. I came in harder and that's how I won." Additional placers for Sandusky included Willow Evans (sixth at 125), Tia Stewart (fifth at 170), Sadie Jarret-Jackson (eighth at 170), Miracle Jones (seventh at 190) and Savannah Palmer (fourth at 235). "I have seen so much growth not only in the program, but in the girls as well," Grant said. "It comes from our practice room. It's all in the team approach." Perkins had three girls wrestle at Clyde. Freshman Karynne Randleman placed third at 135 by pinning Khloee Kee from River Valley in 3:48. Perkins placed 28th out of 38 teams with 21.5 points. Elyria won the invite with 136 points and Ross was second at 135. Gibsonburg was fourth (115.5) and Vermilion took fifth (100.5). Randleman had a 4-1 record at the invite. "All three of our girls are freshmen and are working hard at it," Perkins coach Travis Crabtree said. "We came in with the expectation of getting 1 percent better and I am proud of our girls. "(Karynne) has been good for our other girls because she has been taught well. They taught her well at Sandusky and we have been building off of that foundation that they built." Host Clyde landed in seventh place. Four of the Fliers' five wrestlers placed and the team scored 86.5 points. "It was a good warmup for our competition at Findlay next week," Clyde coach Adam Greenslade said. "There were a few more hammers at this one that's for sure. It was just little things that we can fix in the room and nobody gave up. "We had one match that was a quick pin, but other than that, they are shutting their brains off and doing what we want them to do." Meredith Greenslade was runner-up at 125 to Emilie Conley from Elyria. "Mimi has been wrestling really well the last couple of weeks," said Greenslade of his daughter's performance. Mallory Meggitt finished third at 130 with a 4-1 decision over Vermilion's Cora Frederick. Meggitt finished as a runner-up in the same weight class at Avon Lake Invite on Dec. 7. With both of her placements so far, she is proving to be a significant contributor for the Fliers. "Mallory is an excellent example of a team leader," coach Greenslade said. "She has improved so much from last season because of the hard work she puts in during the offseason and absolutely deserves to be recognized. She consistently stays after practice to continue working on her skills." Additional placers for Clyde included Samantha Young (fourth at 140) and Caroline Prudham (sixth at 190). Bellevue — in its first year with a girls wrestling team — had five wrestlers at the invite and placed 24th in the team standings. Jersey Mayes was the lone placer for Bellevue, taking third at 110. "We had a rough start. We have a lot of first-year wrestlers," Bellevue coach Dan Zenowicz said. "They work hard in the room, but we have a lot of work to do and a lot of holes. "Thankfully, Jersey has made it easier to lead the team. She got a dub today and then took third." Mayes pinned Toledo Whitmer's Renea Edmondson in 4:40 in the third place match. "I started off the day strong, but I knew my second match was going to be tough," Mayes said. "I gave it my all and I ended up getting pinned, but after that I knew all I could do was to work hard to climb back up that ladder. "I was nervous for the last match, but I knew I needed to trust all the work I put in." Mayes was an OAC champion. She's played other winter sports but wants to leave a legacy as part of the Lady Red wrestling program and be a pioneer. "I knew after I wrestled during the summer and Dan asked me to come join that I wanted to help get this program going," Mayes said. "I want it to be a big thing at Bellevue." Another established area program is Vermillion. Vermilion had girls wrestling before it was officially sanctioned by OHSAA. While officially only in its third year, the Sailors had the program prior to 2022. The Sailors had five placers to go with their fifth-place finish. "Candidly, it was frustrating," Vermilion coach Brandon Gilbert said. "We have high expectations of our girls. It's a very experienced group and expectations come with that. "They fought hard, but there are bits and pieces we can take away from that. A lot of work still needs to be done." Alyssa Woodward was the Sailors' only champion. She pinned Ross' Adelynne Scherer in 3:38 in the 135-pound final. Also placing for the Sailors were Emily Stiner (second at 145), Fredrick (fourth at 130), Sophie Habermehl (fourth at 155), Kathryn Hrpcha (sixth at 135) and Marissa Torres (seventh at 140). Port Clinton placed 11th with 67 points and had four placers. Michaela Stork was runner-up at 190. Also placing for PC were Jami Schlotterer (third at 145), Torrie Hatlay (fifth at 115) and Gabby Howard (sixth at 140).