Bellevue, Edison close out SBC on top; Jacobs repeats as MVP

NORWALK — Bellevue and Edison won team titles and Ben Jacobs prevailed in the spotlight match at the Sandusky Bay Conference wrestling championships Saturday. Jacobs topped a loaded 150-pound bracket to earn important points for Bellevue. The senior won an entertaining 8-6 decision over St. Mary Central Catholic junior Ben James in the finals. Jacobs, ranked No. 6 in the state in Division II at 150, recorded two takedowns and took a 7-2 lead before a late flurry by James made it close. "I haven't seen him wrestle like that all year," Bellevue coach Brett Atkins said. "That's probably the best he's wrestled, just being aggressive. Ben James is a heckuva wrestler. To beat him like that, he definitely deserved the MVP." Jacobs was named Most Outstanding Wrestler in the Lake Division for the second straight year. The match was scoreless after the first period before Jacobs took a 3-1 lead with a late takedown. "He was pressuring a little too hard," Jacobs said. "I figured if I didn't rip it he was gonna get that takedown so I just let it fly and ended up on top." James, ranked No. 2 in the state at 150 in Division III, won a 4-1 decision against Perkins' Braxden Martin (No. 7 in Div. II) in the semifinals. Jacobs advanced with a 4-1 decision over Port Clinton's Gavin Cornell, who is ranked No. 15 in Div. III. Jacobs recorded in pins in 48 and 27 seconds in his first two matches. "I didn't really let the nerves get to me because in the long run, the SBCs are kind of a warmup to get down to state," Jacobs said. "I didn't like that last takedown (James) got on me. It made it a little closer than I'd like, but it went according to plan. Got the win." Jacobs was one of three defending SBC champs who wrestled Saturday and all three won. The other two: Bellevue's Owen Sterritt (138) and Port Clinton's Malakii Pinkerton (190). Sterritt got to the finals with three first-period pins, then won a 10-0 major decision over Willard's Luke Slone to repeat. Thomas Reesman (113) was Bellevue's third champion. He scored a 10-2 major decision over Edison's Brayden Barker in the finals. The Redmen went 3 for 3 in the finals and finished with 208.5 team points to win the overall and Lake Division titles, breaking Perkins' three-year hold on the division. The SBC welcomed 20 teams to Norwalk for its final tournament under the current mega-league configuration. Next year, 10 of the conference's larger schools will break away to create the Northern Ohio Conference. "It definitely meant a lot more knowing it was the last one," Atkins said. "I think the last time we won it was 2021. We've been right there since then but always felt short, so it definitely felt good to win it this time. It was maybe one of the most competitive finishes in awhile." Woodmore, which won the River, was second overall with 203 points. Landon Rich, the champion at 175 pounds, was the Most Outstanding Wrestler in the River Division. Clyde finished second in the Lake at 195. Bellevue clinched the title when Noah Green recorded a pin at 190 pounds in the fifth-place match. "We've had a good three weeks — the qualifier for the state duals and we did well at the state duals," Atkins said. "Did well here. It's a good start to the end of the season." Edison had two champions and finished with 174.5 points to wrestle the Bay away from Port Clinton, which won it last year and finished second Saturday with 126.5 points. The Chargers had Cohen Reer (106) and Xander Gfell-King (132) at the top of the podium. Gfell-King had four first-period pins in the tournament to earn MOW honors in the Bay. "Xander's been a rock all year," Edison coach Jude Michel said. "He works hard in the room and we're hoping to see everything come to fruition for him at the end of the season. He deserves everything he gets." Gfell-King, a senior who was a SBC runner-up last year, pinned St. Mary Central Catholic's Benny Byington in 1:12 in the finals. His four matches lasted a total of 5:12. "I had some pressure going in, but I was pretty confident," Gfell-King said. "I had to be ready to go and do my thing." Reer, a nationally ranked freshman who is ranked No. 1 in the state at his weight in Division III, recorded two quick pins before winning a 16-0 technical fall against Willard's Jose Figueroa in the finals. "He wrestled a really good kid in the final and dominated 16-0," Michel said. "He's just really good in all positions. Really good on his feet. He takes guys down and just turns them every which way. It's impressive to see." Edison won the Bay without Mason Hermes, a two-time SBC champion who is one of the top-ranked wrestlers in the state. Hermes was not with the team and Michel said he did not know Hermes' status for next week's sectional tournament. Clyde matched Bellevue with three individual champions. The Fliers' won back-to-back titles with Heath Norris at 120 and Hunter Pollock at 126. Norris shut out Northwood's Joseph Springer 7-0 before Pollock pinned Woodmore's Aiden Cordy in 2:55. At 144, Michael Gessner scored a 21-5 technical fall over Columbian's Drew Aigler. The Fliers' Mason Holden made the finals at 157 as a 6 seed. His run ended when he was pinned by Vermilion's Aiden Kyser, who matched Gfell-King with four pins in the tournament. Perkins had a pair of champions: Law Davlin (165) and DeShawn Harper (215). Davlin pinned Norwalk's Gavin Lepley in the third period in the finals. "He goes down (to start) the third and I've been working my top all season," Davlin said. "I'm starting to really get comfortable there. Got into a weird scramble, ended up getting a bar, somehow ended up in a turk and got it done." Davlin, a sophomore, was a runner-up as a freshman at 150. "I think I'm wrestling the best I ever have," he said. "I'm starting to peak at the right time and my coaches are doing all the right things with me. I'm ready to go; I feel confident." Harper's escape against Columbian's Mason Garno tied his finals match at 1-1 early in the third period. Harper won a 4-2 decision with a late takedown. PC's Pinkelton, who has been highly ranked all season, had three pins to advance to the finals. He scored a takedown in the final minute and earned a 4-2 decision against Woodmore's Michael Seeger. Pinkelton reached 150 career wins in the semifinals. Norwalk heavyweight Cooper Gee finished the tournament with an 8-1 decision against Margaretta's Fernando Gonzales. It was Gee's 100th career win. SBC Wrestling Championships Lake Division 1. Bellevue 208.5, 2. Clyde 195, 3. Perkins 175.5, 4. Norwalk 92.5, 5. Columbian 54.5, 6. Sandusky 46.5 Bay Division 1. Edison 174.5, 2. Port Clinton 126.5, 3. Vermilion 65.5, 4. Margaretta 58.5, 5. Huron 50, 6. Willard 43.5 River Division 1. Woodmore 203, 2. St. Mary CC 54.5, 3. Calvert 42, 4. Northwood 28.5, 5. Gibsonburg 19, 6. Lakota 13.5, 7. Hopewell-Loudon 11, 8. Fremont SJCC 3 Championship matches106: Cohen Reer (Edison) tech. fall Jose Figueroa (Willard) 16-0113: Thomas Reesman (Bellevue) maj. dec. Brayden Barker (Edison) 10-2120: Heath Norris (Clyde) dec. Joseph Springer (Northwood) 7-0126: Hunter Pollock (Clyde) pin Aiden Cordy (Woodmore) 2:55132: Xander Gfell-King (Edison) pin Benny Byington (St. Mary CC) 1:12138: Owen Sterritt (Bellevue) maj. dec. Luke Slone (Willard) 10-0144: Michael Gessner (Clyde) tech. fall Drew Aigler (Columbian) 21-5150: Ben Jacobs (Bellevue) dec. Ben James (St. Mary CC) 8-6157: Aiden Kyser (Vermilion) pin Mason Holden (Clyde) 1:59165: Law Davlin (Perkins) pin Gavin Lepley (Norwalk) 5:35175: Landon Rich (Woodmore) dec. Nico Helton (Norwalk) 11-4190: Malakii Pinkleton (Port Clinton) dec. Michael Seeger (Woodmore) 4-2215: DeShawn Harper (Perkins) dec. Mason Garno (Columbian) 4-2285: Cooper Gee (Norwalk) dec. Fernando Gonzales (Margaretta) 8-1 Third Place 106: Jordan Conway (Sandusky) tech. fall Rosco Neff (Port Clinton) 17-1113: Blake Andres (Clyde) maj. dec. Bryce Ruch (Woodmore) 12-1120: A.J. Crabtree (Edison) pin Rajon Randleman (Perkins) 4:07126: Landen Lewis (Bellevue) tech. fall Traemori Watson (Sandusky) 16-0132: Colton Roy (Woodmore) pin Wyatt Keegan (Clyde) 0:55138: Jaycion Everett (Perkins) dec. Wyatt Thieroff (Woodmore) 7-3144: Lucas Caldwell (Woodmore) pin Nolan Hartman (Bellevue) 2:55150: Braxden Martin (Perkins) def. Gavin Cornell (Port Clinton) Default157: Josiah Walbom (Edison) pin Gavin Herrig (Woodmore) 0:41165: Sam Cox (Huron) dec. Peyton Franks (Clyde) 6-5175: Gavin Saleski (Bellevue) def. Caleb Spencer (Port Clinton) Default190: Boden Ballinger (Perkins) dec. Bentley Illuzzi (Edison) 4-3215: Bailey Jendrzejak (Woodmore) pin Maxwell Muise (Huron) 1:43285: Joel Smith (Edison) pin Julian Curry (Port Clinton) 4:00 Fifth Place 106: Hunter Schwerer (Perkins) dec. Andrew Miller (Bellevue) 9-2113: Solon Ott (Huron) dec. Dante Fabrizio (Calvert) 6-5120: Cole Bishop (Port Clinton) dec. Phelan Jacobus (Calvert) 9-7126: Chase Gowitzka (Margaretta) dec. Aaron Bunts (Perkins) 11-4 OT132: Carson Quaintance (Lakota) dec. Quincy Taylor (Perkins) 5-0138: Aidan Greenslade (Clyde) pin Vincenzo Busdeker (Columbian) 4:36144: Elliot Laird (Port Clinton) dec. James Henkel (Vermilion) 7-6150: D.J. Orcelletto (Woodmore) dec. Cohen Dawson (Edison) 11-7157: Treyviaun Harvey (Perkins) dec. Jace Cornell (Port Clinton) 5-2 OT165: Bill Sberna (Bellevue) pin Ty Henry (Port Clinton) 4:54175: Ramieron Raldon (Perkins) pin Marco Scally (Huron) 2:01190: Isaac Kyser (Vermilion) pin Cash Lee (Calvert) 1:30215: Noah Green (Bellevue) pin Haydin Brown (Gibsonburg) 3:22285: Deacon Nunez (Bellevue) pin Kam Bigler (Clyde) 3:32