Family ties abound for area wrestlers

This year in the Grand Lake area, wrestling is truly a multi-generational sport.

Fathers that competed in their high school days passed down the thrill of the sport to their sons and daughters as the generations go along.

The 2022 state wrestling tournament for Celina and St. Marys takes that family bond to a new level as brothers and cousins will compete with their fathers likely to be matside coaching at the Schottenstein Center when action begins Friday afternoon.

For Celina, first cousins Landon Engle and Jaden King will be competing in the Division II tournament while their fathers Jason King and Seth Engle, both veteran assistant coaches for the Bulldogs, will get the chance to coach their sons on the biggest day of their careers.

Then there's St. Marys, where assistant Tim Hisey will see three sons compete for state titles as freshman Tate Hisey is joined by his older brothers, twins Trevor and Tyler Hisey.

And just down the road from St. Marys in Wapakoneta, Redskins heavyweight Cael Rostorfer, with dad Jason the head coach of Wapak, will get a chance to compete.

Joining the Hiseys at state for the Roughriders is senior Garrett Donovan, a first-time state qualifier.

Coldwater will be represented at state in the Division III tournament by Grant Heuing and Will Fox, as the Cavaliers have multiple wrestlers competing for the first time since 2019.

Action begins at 3 p.m. with Division III action followed by Division II and Division I.

DIVISION II

Celina

Engle became the first Bulldog wrestler to qualify for two state tournaments after his third-place finish at 132 pounds at Norwalk. Engle went to state at 126 pounds last year, when the tournament was held at Marengo Highland High School due to the pandemic, going 1-2 during his run.

Entering state with a stellar 44-1 record, Engle is very familiar with his opening round opponent, Licking Valley's Alijah Stevens (37-4), as the two faced off in the opening round last season. Stevens earned a 12-5 decision over Engle in the 126-pound weight class. Stevens went on to finish second overall, losing to Graham's Nolan Gessler in the title match. Gessler has moved up to 144 pounds this season.

King makes his first appearance at state as a fourth-place showing at 157 at Norwalk sets him up against the Wilmington district champion in Gunner Cramblett of perennial powerhouse Graham. Cramblett (37-3) finished seventh last year at 160 pounds.

St. Marys

Tyler Hisey became St. Marys' first state placer in years as he finished third at 106 pounds at Highland, a year after he and Trevor qualified for state but could not compete due to the pandemic-induced cancelation of the state tournament.

This year, Tyler has been unbeatable, heading into this weekend with a 44-0 record to go with three WBL titles and a dominating showing at 113 pounds in winning the Norwalk district.

Tyler's drive to close out his high school career with another trip to podium - and possibly wrestling for a state title - begins with a match against Fairfield Union sophomore James Worthington (36-9).

The field is loaded with state placers from a year ago, with several moving up from 106 like Tyler did.

For Trevor Hisey, making it to state this year allows him the chance denied him in 2020 due to COVID-19.

Trevor, a four-time WBL champion, is 45-1 after winning the Norwalk 120-pound title and will look to join his brother as a podium finisher.

First up for Trevor is Graham junior Colt Ryan (34-11), who finished fourth at Wilmington.

Tate Hisey has had the chance to watch his older brothers compete at the high level, and so far the little brother is doing just fine at 106 pounds, holding a 42-2 record as a freshman after finishing third in his weight class at Norwalk.

First up for Tate is Johnny Green from Aurora, another freshman who's 30-6 after finishing second at Perry in northeast Ohio. If Tate wins, he could face defending champion Beric Jordan of Graham in the quarterfinals. Jordan defeated Tyler Hisey in the semifinals last season.

Donovan makes his state debut after finishing third at 165 at Norwalk. Donovan (38-7) takes on Fairless' Max Kirby in the opening round. Kirby (31-4) finished sixth at 152 pounds last season and was the runner-up at Perry.

DIVISION III

Coldwater

Heuing missed out on a state trip last season after finishing sixth in districts.

This year, the Cavalier senior reached state with a fourth-place finish at 165 at Troy, but faces a tough challenge in his opening bout. Heuing (42-10) takes on 2021 160-pound runner-up Shadrick Slone of Willard in the first round. Slone won the Rossford title and enters with a 48-1 record.

At 285 pounds, Will Fox (38-13) takes on Nick Burns of Chesapeake in the opening round of the tournament. Burns is 37-7. The winner of that match would likely face Delta's Austin Kohlhofer (38-1), last season's state champ at 220, in the quarterfinals.

The Midwest Athletic Conference has three other representatives as Versailles' Taran Tyo, the Troy district champion at 285, will compete along with Carson Bey, who was runner-up at Troy at 165 and was fifth last season at 160. Delphos St. John's Mason Vonderwell is competing at 175 pounds.