James, Reer and Stork are state champions

COLUMBUS — Three area wrestlers won state championships Sunday night at the Schottenstein Center, taking very different routes to the top of the podium. St. Mary Central Catholic junior Ben James grinded out a 1-0 decision in the 150-pound title bout in Division III. Edison star freshman Cohen Reer started out the night with a dominating 19-4 technical fall at 106 pounds in Division III. Port Clinton Michaela Stork, a senior in just her second season wrestling, pinned her opponent in the first period to win the girls 190-pound title. James and Delphos St. John's Edward Kessen finished the first period 0-0. Kessen, starting on top in the second, gave a point to James — and it held up. James led 1-0 to start third. He was on top and stayed there, riding out Kessen for two minutes to win an emotional state title. "I told myself I'm holding this guy down; he's not getting out," James said. "I executed that perfectly. He was not going to get out from under me no matter what." There were two blood stoppages in the third period due to James' bloody finger. The last one came with 10 seconds left in the match. Kessen nearly scored points in the final seconds, but James hung on. "I knew once he stood up, just grab onto a leg and don't let go," James said. There were plenty of hugs after James won. He hugged big brother Luke James — a two-time state champ for Edison — and bear-hugged his coaches. "It takes a lot of grit and toughness and Ben's got it all. He was determined," SMCC coach Michael Baxter said. "We were calm and cool back in the warmup room and I wasn't sure if I should be nervous or relaxed. He was smooth, calm, collected the whole time. He knew he was going to win. "Doing it that way, that's a gritty way. That's the James family and Ben doing it with grit and toughness." James rode Kessen out of bounds several times in the decisive two-minute third period as the clock melted away. "I had to be tough there. I had to keep returning him," James said. "I found myself out of bounds and it's a good place to restart. If he gets in a good position I can go out of bounds and restart." Baxter said James could win in any phase. "Ben takes a lot of pride in his mat wrestling," Baxter said. "He's a monster on bottom and he's gritty on top. "Sometimes it takes you there (out of bounds). They come to their feet, you mat return, you use out of bounds to your advantage. Ben did a great job, super proud of him." James won a 14-3 major decision in the first round Friday. He won a 5-1 decision in the quarterfinals and won 4-1 in overtime in the semifinals, getting a takedown with 16 seconds on the clock. The state champ, who finished his season with a 43-3 record, had his older brother to lean on all week. "He would come into the room every day after school and roll with me for about an hour," Ben said. "We'd work on things that I needed to improve. It was amazing having him there and knowing that he has my back no matter what. "Words can't describe how thankful I am for my family, my coaches, my friends, my teammates, just coming out here to support me." Reer dominates Edison's streak of individual state champions reached six straight years when one of the best freshmen in the nation took care of business in the finals. Reer scored five takedowns to earn a dominating 19-4 technical fall over Eastwood's Gabe Brough in one of the night's first matches. "Best moment of my life," Reer said. "I was nervous at first, but this was where I wanted to be, so I got less nervous as the night went on. It was cool." Reer had three takedowns in the first period and finished the match in the second. The Chargers' star had reason to be confident heading into the match. He dominated Brough 21-6 in a district tournament semifinal eight days earlier in Rossford. "I wrestled him last week and took him down like six times," Reer said. "I couldn't turn him that match, so I was going all neutral — takedown, takedown, takedown. When I was bottom I had to be careful of the cradle. Get out, get my one, get more takedowns. "Almost all of them were single legs or snap downs. My single and snap work good together." Edison coach Jude Michel liked what he saw. He's seen it all season. "He's really good on top," Michel said. "We knew (Brough) was not gonna let us get him turned. (Reer) made the decision to let him up so he could keep getting takedowns. He's really good once he gets to the legs. He's super long, and he can score. He kept getting to that single leg and kept scoring." Reer, who finished the season with a 49-2 record — with the losses coming to wrestlers from California and Indiana in the Ironman and Brecksville finals — enjoys working in the Edison room. "To be in that room is awesome. Great room, great coaching," he said. "Shoutout to all my partners — Brayden Barker, Mason Hermes and Xander Gfell-King. All the guys in the room were great to me. It was a fun year." Reer breezed through the 106-pound bracket. He opened Friday night with a pin in 1:06 and pinned his quarterfinals opponent in 52 seconds. A 12-1 major decision got Reer into the finals under the bright lights. Like he does on the mat, Reer was quick with an answer when asked how he would celebrate his state title. "I'll probably get some junk food — ice cream or Oreos," he said. "I love chocolate." Stork's pin Stork was pinned last year by Carrollton's Riley Alborn, her opponent in the final girls bout of the night. The PC two-sport standout turned the tables on Alborn, pinning her with six seconds remaining in the first period. "I don't usually get beat twice," Stork said. "She got really close and upright on me and I kinda pushed her over, for lack of a better word. It's my second year, I don't have the best technique. I kinda just capitalize on being able to push girls over." Stork, a state discus champion last year, was called for a full Nelson, which stopped the match momentarily. "I still had control and was on top," she said. "I'm really good at my forward pressure and I'm a lot top heavier because I have really big shoulders. I was able to push her down, keep her down and flip her over real quick. Once you get the girls on your back you kinda gotta lay there and hope they don't squirm out of it, which she almost did." Stork (39-4) didn't give up a point before her pin. "It's all been throw defense for me," she said. "Last year I was really easy to throw; I would walk right into them every the time." After the official raised her arm, Stork jumped into the arms of coach Kevin Scarpino, who was wearing a pink tie to compliment Stork's pink and white singlet. "I have a wonderful coach. I'm so grateful for everything he does," she said. "Even in the offseason he'll check in on my other sports. If I'm having a rough day I can always come talk to him. He's so sweet and cares so much for all the female athletes. Even though he's here to train us, you can definitely tell he's learned a thing or two about emotions and girl things." Scarpino was all smiles afterward. "I was here three years ago with Cadence Wallace and she lost a heartbreaker in overtime in the state championship so it's bittersweet," he said. "Cadence is in attendance here somewhere. "But this is history. She's the first-ever Port Clinton champion, boys or girls." Patchen 2nd In the 132-pound final in Division III, Monroeville's Owen Patchen dropped a 19-4 technical fall to Legacy Christian's Nathan Attisano. "I didn't do the best of my abilities," Patchen said. "I let him get to my legs too easy, didn't get my legs back. I didn't give up when I was losing and was always looking for a way to score. I wasn't backing up; I was trying to push the pace." Patchen (21-3) got to the finals with a late takedown in his semifinal Saturday night with less than a minute remaining. Patchen thought he had a takedown earlier, but didn't get it. Unfazed, he got a takedown with 23 seconds and went on to win 7-1 over Elgin's Cooper Schlaegel. "I knew I could come back," Patchen said. "I always push the pace so I get the next takedown. It was just a matter of time before I got into his legs and got a takedown. "It's natural instinct, I guess. He stopped moving, which I noticed, and I got the cradle and put him on his back. It feels amazing to win that match, especially in the last couple seconds when I knew he was stalling."