Three area grapplers win titles at Van Buren

WRESTLINGVAN BUREN INVITEVAN BUREN – Three area wrestlers won weight division titles and five others made the championship match of the Van Buren Wrestling Invitational held Friday and Saturday.Elmwood's Peyton Schafer and Carey's Jordan Hertel won back-to-back titles at 144 and 150 respectively. Riverdale freshman Grady Phelps topped the field at 132.Schafer claimed his spot atop the podium with a 4-2 decision over Gibsonburg's Antonio Salazar in that championship final. Hertel scored a 14-3 major decision over Tinora's Dillon Welling, and Phelps earned a 10-1 major decision over Mohawk's Owen Patrizi.Tinora won the 31-team tournament, scoring 167 points to beat out Tinora (162.5) and Swanton (160.5) for the title. Bluffton was fourth (148), Elmwood sixth (130), Columbus Grove ninth (110), Carey 11th (95), Liberty-Benton 12th (89), Cory-Rawson 14th (79), Upper Sandusky 15th (60.5), Arcadia 17th (50.5), Fostoria 19th (43), Van Buren 20th (42.5), Riverdale 21st (41), McComb 22nd (35.5) and Ottawa-Glandorf 23rd (33). Hopewell-Loudon, Pandora-Gilboa and North Baltimore also had wrestlers compete in the event.Three second place finishes helped power Bluffton to its fourth-place standing in the team totals. Ronald Kaufman was the tournament runner-up at 106, Evan Grothause was second at 190 and Mason Shank placed second at 285. Alex Nance (113) was third and Jett Blackburn (150) and Branden Cross (120) were fourth.Upper Sandusky's Ethan Lewis was the tournament runner-up at 165. Braylon Shepard was third at 106, beating Cory-Rawson's Hayden Walters 9-6 in that consolation final. Abraham Baldwin was third at 120 after an 18-3 technical fall over Bluffton's Cross.Arcadia's Kelan Derck placed second at 126, and Kaleb Price (150) beat Bluffton's Blackburn in the consolation match for third.Liberty-Benton's Will Pask scored a 14-2 major decision over Elmwood's Zach Schafer in the consolation final for third and fourth place at 132. L-B's Colin Bates was third at 175 with a 17-1 tech fall over Woodmore's Landon Rich. Alex Coldren (106) was sixth for L-B.Connor Sterling (165) was third, Chris Clark (285) fourth and McCoy Morlock (120) fifth for Elmwood.Several Columbus Grove wrestlers placed, with Gavin Schroeder (190) fourth, Jacob Plate (113) and Layton Blankemeyer (165) fifth, and Alex Meyer (132), Grant Eversole (175) and Ty Meyer (215) sixth.Reid Blankenmeyer (190) was fifth and Mason Rickle (165) sixth for Carey, Brooks Hill (138) fifth and Ben Heitkamp (157) sixth for Van Buren, and Zyven Smith (113) and Wesley Thomas (126) sixth for Cory-Rawson.Hopewell-Loudon's Isaiah Hook (157) was third, and McComb's Brody Gallagher (132) was fifth. MAUMEE BAY CLASSICMAUMEE – Findlay's Kaliber Brubaker went 2-2 in his four matches in the 120-pound division of the Maumee Bays Wrestling Classic on Saturday.Will Jolliff (126), Madison Smith (132) and Kellan Bruni (138) all went 1-2 in the 52-team event. Landon Echelberry, who usually wrestles in the 215-pound weight class, dropped to 190 for the Maumee Bay Classic, but was 0-2. GYMNASTICS NOAH'S NINJA'S MEETPERRYSBURG – Josey Weihrauch placed fourth in the balance beam competition with a score of 8.85 to lead Findlay High's gymnastics team in the 6th annual Noah's Ninja's All-Around meet held at the Perrysburg YMCA on Monday.Renee Metzger place sixth on the uneven bars (8.25) and tenth in floor exercises (8.80) for the Trojans, who were fifth among 16 schools in the final team standings. Perrysburg won the event with 138.55 points, with Anthony Wayne (135.00), Maumee (130.90), Springfield (130.45) and Findlay (125.65) rounding out the top five.Findlay will be back in action on Saturday when the Trojans, in conjunction with the FHS wrestling team, hold their annual Beauty and the Beast event. (14-sub head)Game changeThe Findlay High School girls' basketball contest against Mansfield Senior has been postponed from today to Tuesday, Jan. 28 at Findlay High School. The contest will be varsity only and start at 6:30 p.m. (14-sub head)Hall of FameKENTON – The Hardin County Sports Hall of Fame has released its list of inductees for 2025.Among the selections are Sue Fetzer, a teacher and coach at Hardin Northern who helped out with the volleyball, basketball and track programs all 28 of her years as a teacher; Hardin Northern track and cross country standout Jeff Hastings; and former track and cross country coach and official Charles Renner.Also being inducted will be Darren Gilbert, a basketball standout at Kenton and Ashland University; former Ohio Northern University women's basketball and softball coach Gayle Lauth; and Kenton High School and Ohio University multi-sport athlete Jim West.The Hardin County Sports Hall of Fame will also recognize the 1975-75 Ada boys basketball team that went 10-0 in Northwest Conference play, 21-2 overall and reached the Class A regional finals. (14-sub head)Wilt, Burman namedADA – Ohio Northern University athletes Selby Wilt, a Findlay High graduate, and Liberty-Benton alum Izzy Burman have been named the athletes of the week in their respective sports by the Ohio Athletic Association.Wilt figured in six wins (50-yard breaststroke, 50 butterfly, 50 freestyle, 200 free relay (twice) and 200 medley relay) in ONU wins over Bluffton and Baldwin Wallace.Burman was the OAC's athlete of the week in women's track after winning the weight throw at the Rob and Patty Lydic Invitational hosted by ONU. Burman is ranked first in the OAC and 10th nationally in that event. HOCKEY COLUMBUS – Findlay's hockey team competed in the Pioneer Classic in Columbus this past weekend, going 1-3. In their first game, on Friday, The Trojans fell to Canton-Akron, 5-1. Colin Somerville scored the only goal for FHS, with Draven Wilson notching an assist. On Saturday, the Trojans fell to Olentangy, 3-0. Jude Brasfield made 23 saves in goal for Findlay. Later that day, Findlay picked up its lone win of the season, 3-2 over the Miami Junior RedHawks. Sam Swisher won the game with a goal in a shootout, while Wilson scored twice, with Ryan Maas and Swisher assisting on Wilson's first goal. Brett Flanagan made 22 saves in the win. In FHS' final game of the tournament, Perrysburg knocked off the Trojans 4-1. Somerville scored Findlay's lone goal, with Simon Tanner and Swisher each adding an assist. Brasfield made 23 saves in the loss. The Trojans stand at 9-16-1 this season, and will host St. Francis Desales at The Cube Friday. The puck for that game is scheduled to drop at 7 p.m. FOOTBALL The Flag City Phantoms prevailed in the 2025 Orange Blossom Bowl 2A National Championship game, shutting out the West Virginia Leviathan, 27-0. SCHEDULE Tuesday's Events BOYS BASKETBALLFindlay at Sylvania Northview (NLL)Liberty-Benton at Columbus GroveVan Buren at Lima PerryMarion Elgin at VanlueFostoria at Oak Harbor (NBC)Bluffton at Elmwood GIRLS BASKETBALLMansfield Senior at FindlayArlington at Leipsic (BVC)Kenton at CareyGenoa at Van BurenHardin Northern at McCombCory-Rawson at Pandora-Gilboa PREP SWIMMINGFindlay at Lexington