Fairless senior Collin Sullivan had a long day, but he made the most of it.
After qualifying for the state finals Saturday evening, Sullivan had to wait for the final matches Sunday night to get his shot at a state title.
He didn’t waste it.
Sullivan won the first state wrestling title in school history, claiming the Division III individual 285-pound title with a 7-3 win over Christopher Timms of Indian Lake.
Sullivan wrapped up the season with a 47-4 record.
The Fairless senior agreed it was a long day, but …
“We had the time change, so that helped,” he laughed, while talking in the hallway outside Value City Arena.
Sullivan dominated the match from the start. He scored a takedown halfway through the first period and added an escape and a second takedown in the second period to stretch his lead to 7-0.
“My strategy was to push the pace, I knew he couldn’t hang with me."
Timms scored a one-point escape late in the second period and was awarded a pair of penalty points late in the contest.
“My strategy was to push the pace, I knew he couldn’t hang with me,” Sullivan said. “I knew he was one of the best-moving heavyweights, so I just had to move the whole time and push the pace. That was my whole goal.
“This has been my goal for the past two years. This is a real relief.”
Sullivan was the fifth Fairless wrestler to reach the state finals and the first since Max Kirbby in 2022.
WEST HOLMES
West Holmes junior Louden Dixon also brought home a state title, scoring a 7-3 win over James Lindsay of Watterson in the Division II, 150-pound weight class.
Dixon scored an escape and a takedown in the second period in building a 4-2 lead. Lindsay closed to within a point with a third-period escape, but Dixon added a takedown in the third period to wrap up his scoring.
He won the school’s fifth state title and the first since Tyler Hawkins in 2008.
“I was only up by a point and that’s not a big lead,” said the West Holmes junior, who wrapped up his season with a record of 52-5. “I just wanted to get that last takedown to ice the match.
“This feels amazing. It’s been my goal for a while, so it feels great to get it done.”
INDIAN VALLEY
Indian Valley finished the day with three placers. Senior Jaxon Burcher finished third, freshman Brodie Raymond was fifth and sophomore Bronko Braun was sixth.
Burcher beat Napoleon junior Georrge Eggers 6-0 in the consolation semifinals and then pinned Perkins senior Haiden Bollini in 2:44 to earn his second state medal. He finished fourth last year.
“It feels great to wrap it up with a win,” Burcher said. “I fell a little short, but I wrestled my hardest and gave it my all, so I can’t complain.”
Burcher finished the season at 49-4.
Raymond lost his consolation semifinal match against Buckeye Local’s Justuce Fisher, but won a 7-4 decision against Granville’s Anthony Bergeron to finish fifth.
“It’s definitely a grind to wrestle all three days and I’m a little sore, but it’s nice to get a win in my last match,” Raymond said. “It just feels great to have this moving forward.”
Braun reached the championship semifinals Saturday and wrapped up the tournament at sixth. His final match of the tournament was a loss to Carrollton’s Cael Lowdermilk, who finished fifth as a sophomore.
Braun’s season ended with a 40-6 record.
MALVERN
Malvern now has six state place medals and Tyson Clear has three of those spots.
Clear pinned Delta’s Lane Lopez in 1:45 in the consolation semifinals and then beat Graham’s Kyler Crooks 5-3 in the 165-pound finals. It was the second meeting of the tournament between the two.
Clear was fourth the last two years, but wrapped up the No. 3 spot in his final attempt.
“You don’t wrestle for third place, but it is what it is,” said Clear, who finished the season at 42-5.
HARRISON CENTRAL
Harrison Central’s Knox McKibben finished fifth at 215 pounds in Division III. He dropped a 13-3 major decision in the semifinals, but came back to pin Keystone senior Jordan Fulmer in the finals. McKibben, a freshman, finished at 48-5.
TUSKY VALLEY
Tusky Valley heavyweight Ben Congdon finished sixth, losing his final two matches of the tournament. The Tusky Valley junior finished with a record of 32-10.
CARROLLTON
Carrollton sophomore Riley Alborn finished third in the girls’ division. She pinned Chippewa senior Isabella Adams in 1:58 and then won a wild 14-13 decision over East senior Sydney Hall in the finals. Alborn finished the season at 47-2.
NEW PHILADELPHIA
In the same 190-pound weight class, Isabelle Ramirez became New Philadelphia’s first state placer in the girls’ division and the Quaker’s first state placer overall since 2022. She finished the season at 26-10.
“She’s been a joy to coach,” said New Philadelphia coach Cory Swinderman. “She works Hard and we’re looking forward to having her back next year.”
CLAYMONT
Freshman Kamden Stout became Clayont’s 96th state placer, taking eighth at 150 pounds. He won a pair of consolation matches to get to the medal stand and finished with a record of 45-10.
GARAWAY
Garaway’s Mitchell Tetreault and Matt Frey both finished eighth in the Division III field. Tetreault, a 144-pound sophomore, finished at 43-10.
Frey, a 165-pound sophomore, finished at 35-15.
WEST HOLMES
West Holmes junior Peyton Martin dropped his only match Sunday, losing a 4-1 decision in overtime.
