The top freshmen who could make some noise at the 2024 OHSAA State Wrestling Tournament
- Grey Brunett (Perrysburg)
- Kane Shawger (St. Xavier)
- Blaze Van Gundy (Dublin Coffman)
- Zachary Aquila (Brecksville)
- Josiah Puller (Wilmington)
- Spencer Shore (Miami East)
- Michael Boyle (Watterson)
- Brandon Bickerton (Medina Highland)
- Austin Bickerton (Medina Highland)
- Jordan Neal (Allen East)
Stay up-to-date with all of the action this weekend at the State Tournament Hub
Grey Burnett (Perrysburg)
Burnett is probably the most talented freshman and is currently ranked #2 at 113-pounds in D1. He spent much of the year at #1, but took a loss to returning champ Timar of St. Ed’s in the district finals. It was a match in which Burnett controlled the pace and was ultimately decided by a penalty point.
Grey took 4th at the Ironman and has wins over D2 #1 Bartos and D3 #1 Mattin. He has the horsepower to take home the title this weekend, but is competing in one of the toughest brackets in the state. He will have to go through a talented Seibert of Massillon Perry in the semifinals before meeting up with #1 Timar or #5 Seacrist in the finals.
Kane Shawger (St Xavier)
Shawger, the 2x Junior High State Champ, has wins this year over D1 #2 Morency, D3 #1 Hinton, and D2 #2 King. He fell to Morency in the finals of Districts by a score of 6-4, a week after he pinned Morency in the Sectional finals.
His loss actually benefited him in his bracket position as he is on the opposite half of the bracket as Marcus Blaze and is the favorite to make the finals.
Blaze Van Gundy (Dublin Coffman)
Van Gundy is currently ranked #4 at 120-pounds in division 1. However, he fell into what has to be the toughest draw in the entire state tournament. He’ll face off with #3 Weisner in the first round with the winner taking on #2 Rohr in the quarterfinals. The winner of that match will be a semifinal favorite to meet up with #1 Brown in the finals.
Zachary Aquila (Brecksville)
Aside from D2 #1 Saccoccia, Aquila is the only Ohioan to hold Jaxon Joy to a regular decision this season. He’s ranked #5 at 150-pounds in division 1. If he wins his first round match, he’ll see 2x state champion Ty Wilson in the quarters. Look for Aquila to make a deep run on the back side of the bracket.
Josiah Puller (Wilmington)
Puller burst on the scene last weekend when he knocked off the returning state champion, Joe Curry, in the district finals. He’s now ranked #2 at 126-pounds in division 2. Keep an eye on Puller as he has the talent to make the state finals, possibly setting up a re-match with Curry.
Spencer Shore (Miami East)
Shore may be the most talented of all the Shore brothers. He is currently #2 in D3 – 113-pounds, behind returning champion Mattin of Delta. He 41-1 on the season with his lone loss coming to D2 #1 Bartos of Buckeye. Shore will likely meet up with #1 Mattin in the semifinals Saturday night.
Michael Boyle (Watterson)
Boyle jumped to #3 in the 165-pound D2 rankings after winning his District and taking out previous #2 Kohler of Graham along the way. He has a nice draw to make the state finals as he fell into the opposite side of the bracket as #1 McKinney, #2 Bunting, #4 Kohler, and #6 Kroninger.
Brandon Bickerton (Medina Highland)
Bickerton has the talent to win a state title at 106-pounds in D1. He already has wins over D1 #1 Dodd, D1 #4 Rohr, and D1 #5 Bauer. We should see Brandon in the semifinals Saturday night against #2 Mazur of St. Ed’s in a re-match of the Perrysburg district semifinals, where Mazur won a tight 4-3 decision.
Austin Bickerton (Medina Highland)
Brandon’s twin brother, Austin is ranked #4 at 113-pounds in D1. He will get his opportunity to make some noise in the quarterfinals when he faces off against #3 Seibert of Massillon Perry. The winner takes on previously mentioned Burnett of Perrysburg for a spot in the finals.
Jordan Neal (Allen East)
Neal is a special talent and is always looking for the pin. He currently ranked #3 at 144-pounds in D3 and sits in the same half-bracket as 3x state placer Brock Durbin of Mapleton. The two will likely face off in the semifinals for a chance to wrestle Brodie Dominique in the finals.
10 More Freshmen to Keep an Eye On
- 175: D1 #5 – Caige Horak (Perry (Massillon))
- 157: D2 #5 – Joel Welch (St Francis (Columbus))
- 132: D2 #5 – Tyson Spicer (New Lexington)
- 113: D1 #6 – Jack Bratton (Springboro)
- 106: D1 #4 – Lincoln Rohr (Perry (Massillon))
- 144: D3 #5 – Ben James (St Mary CC)
- 150: D1 #8 – Eli Esguerra (Dublin Coffman)
- 157: D3 #4 – Brody Perzanowski (Union Local)
- 120: D1 #8 – Tyton Kostoff (Colerain)
- 113: D3 #3 – Bronson Begley (Archbishop Alter)