An even dozen high school wrestlers ended the season with a spot on the awards stand after the state wrestling tournament, which concluded Sunday. 

Two reached the finals before finishing second. 

Claymont sophomore Kamden Stout reached the finals at 165 pounds in the Division II boys’ brackets, while Carrollton junior Riley Alborn was second in the girls’ 190-pound division. 

Stout, an eighth-place finisher last year, earned his way to the finals with a 19-3 technical fall in the first round and a pin in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, he won a 7-4 decision over Law Davlin of Perkins in sudden victory. 

“That’s the way I saw it happening,” Stout said after the semifinal win. 

He was the first Claymont wrestler to reach the finals since Ashton Eyler in 2018. 

“Kamden is where he belongs,” said Claymont coach Kyle Warner. “He just needs to remain confident in himself.” 

In the finals against Columbus DeSales junior Joel Welch, Stout hurt his right knee and was unable to complete the first period. He was carried off the mat on the back of a coach and finished second. 

In the girls’ competition, Alborn won a pair of decisions to reach the semifinal, where she faced off against New Philadelphia’s Isabelle Ramirez. Alborn won a 16-0 technical fall to advance to the finals, where she faced Port Clinton senior Michaela Stork. 

Stork won the match with a first-period fall, leaving Alborn second after finishing third last year. 

Ramirez, who was eighth last year, won her consolation semifinal in overtime, but lost her last match to finish fourth. 

In other Division II consolation matches, West Holmes senior Louden Dixon finished third at 157 pounds, winning a pair of consolation matches on Sunday. 

Indian Valley’s Bronko Braun finished fourth at 120 pounds. He won a 12-6 decision in the semifinals, but lost a wild 13-10 decision in the finals. He finished sixth last year. 

Meanwhile, a pair of Claymont wrestlers won their only match of the day to finish seventh. 

DreVonn Searcy (138) and Nile Abbuhl (144) both picked up victories. Searcy had a second-period pin and Abbuhl won a 4-2 decision.

Teammate Laiken Warner lost her final match and finished eighth at 105 pounds in the girls’ division. A freshman, she was the school’s first female state qualifier and first state placer. 

In Division III action, the Pirates had a school record four state placers. 

Bryce Books (106) and Matt Frey (175) both finished fourth and Braylon Books (144) was sixth. 

Sophomore Thomas Grimm finished seventh at 215 pounds by setting a unique school mark. He became the first Garaway wrestler to win his final match at the state tournament. 

“We’d never won a last match,” explained Pirate coach Greg Miller. “We’d finished second, fourth, sixth and eighth. 

“This is something to be proud of … these guys fought their way through. They battled their way through the consolation rounds. They had to win some matches and that takes guts.”