Bulldogs fall to Redskins

CELINA - It was déjà vu all over again for the Celina wrestling team on Thursday.

Just over a week after having lost a close match to Wapakoneta in the state duals tournament, the Bulldogs had to face the Redskins again in a Western Buckeye League dual with Celina holding on to sole possession of first place in the league at 6-0.

Celina jumped out to a 24-3 lead early before Wapak's heavier weights narrowed the gap. The Redskins picked up enough wins in the lower weights to edge Celina 37-36 at a packed Celina High School gymnasium.

"The big thing is this was a beautiful night. It was back and forth," Celina coach James Miracle said. "We had it mapped out to finish 37-36. I thought if Nick (Garwood) could win it would be 40-33. We had a couple matches where last week we pinned them at 170 and 182 and couldn't get (pins) tonight."

Starting at 138 pounds, Logan Keiser gave Celina the early lead with a pin on Brennin Cooper. Wapak voided out at 145 to make it 12-0 as Garwood faced off against Brad Beemer at 152. Beemer scored two early takedowns while Garwood managed just four escape points as Beemer won 9-4.

A big win for Celina came at 160 pounds as Logan Muhlenkamp dropped down from his usual weight class of 170 to face Elyjah Roa. Roa led 10-9 going to the third period and chose the down position for the final two minutes. Logan Muhlenkamp managed to put Roa on his back and pick up the pin with 35 seconds remaining in the match.

At 170, Tim Ferrell, who also dropped down a weight class, managed to put Koleman Brown on his back for three near-fall points in the third period, but could not get him pinned, settling for an 8-1 decision to put Celina in front 21-3.

Luke Muhlenkamp, who dropped from 195 to 182, won a 5-1 decision over Conner Barnett to make it 24-3 before Wapakoneta started its charge back.

Zach Miller started the run with a pin of Cory Fortkamp at 195 in 2:38. Evan Kaeck followed with a pin of Cayden Thompson in 3:12 at 220 pounds and Brenen Knueve worked over Seth Huston for a 19-3 technical fall that cut Wapakoneta's deficit to 24-20 heading to the lighter weights.

At 106, Bryce Knapke made short work of Celina's Gage Oakley, pinning him in 49 seconds to give the Redskins the lead. Celina picked up six points at 113 pounds with Wapak not filling the weight and took the lead at 30-26. At 120, Keaton Elling quickly took down Nathan Wilson for a pin in 30 seconds to put Wapakoneta in front to stay, and then Luke Beach recorded a 23-8 technical fall victory over Jakob Poor to clinch the match for the Redskins. Sam Warner gave Celina fans a positive finish with a pin of Bradley Hicks in 3:27 to get Celina to within a point at the end.

"You have to give our kids credit," Miracle said. "Logan dropped to (160). Tim dropped from 182 to 170 and Luke dropped from 195 to 182. We moved our lineup down because we knew we couldn't beat them at 195 or 220. I thought at heavy (285) we'd have a shot. We didn't score enough points.

"One point. There's so many things that could go either way."

Celina will look to rebound next Thursday when the Bulldogs travel to St. Marys for the annual rivalry matchup with the Roughriders.