2024 Ohio High School Wrestling Preview – Division 1 Edition
Ohio High School Wrestling Rankings – Division 1 – Division 2 – Division 3
It’s the most wonderful time of the year.
Christmas is just weeks away, the college football playoffs will be set in a matter of days AND the high school wrestling season starts this week! It doesn’t get much better than this.
Division 1 in particular is loaded with talent, and it’s shaping up to be an exciting season.
St. Ed’s may break their own scoring record, we have 4 wrestlers going for their third state title, and we should see some amazing matchups throughout the year.
In this article, we will cover the following topics to examine the landscape of Division 1 wrestling for the 2024 season:
- State Tournament Team Projections
- Dual Meet Rankings
- Returning Champions and Potential 3-timers
- Top 25 Returning Wrestlers in D1
State Tournament Team Projections
- St. Edward (250)
- Massillon Perry (135)
- Dublin Coffman (125)
- Perrysburg (95)
- Brecksville (90)
- LaSalle (85)
- Olentangy Liberty (65)
- Mentor (60)
- Wadsworth (55)
- Springboro (50)
St. Edward is the runaway favorite to win their 37th team championship. Not only that, but they have a good chance of breaking their own state tournament scoring record of 229 which they set in 2007.
Massillon Perry and Coffman are the early favorites to capture the runner-up spot as they both return a load of talent and add a few freshmen to help out their causes.
Perrysburg has a young team but you can’t count out Coach Burnett and the Yellow Jackets in March – they will once again be in contention for a team trophy.
Let’s take an in-depth look at the preseason top 5.
#1 St. Edward
Returning Qualifiers
- Ethan Timar (1st)
- Karson Brown (1st)
- Kade Brown (2nd)
- Ryan Bennett (2nd)
- Bradley Eaton (2nd)
- Jarrel Miller (2nd)
- Tyrel Miller (3rd)
- Adam Butler (5th)
- Lukan O’Brien (5th)
- Jonny Slaper (5th)
- Aiden Peterson (Q)
- Behlen Waugh (Q)
- Nathan Gregory (Q)
Notable Wrestlers
- Khimari Manns
- Timothy Mazur
- Jared Goldberg
- Bobby Hopkins
- Cooper Driscoll
St. Edward returns their entire lineup from last year sans state placer Sanderfer who transferred to DeSales.
This team could push 7-9 wrestlers in the state finals with 3-6 champions.
With much of their lineup moving up in weight, one of their returning state qualifiers or placers will likely not be in the starting lineup this season.
We may see the electric Manns, or sophomore Mazur slide into the lineup. Goldberg and Hopkins are both state caliber wrestlers who could also contribute depending on where the weights shake out. The phenomenal freshman Driscoll is also waiting in the wings.
In any case, St. Ed’s will have a potential state placer in every weight class and should cruise to their 37th state championship. There is a real possibility they hit 250 team points and break their own scoring record of 229 set in 2007.
#2 Massillon Perry
Returning Qualifiers
- Aidan Fockler (1st)
- Mason Rohr (3rd)
- Emeric McBurney (3rd)
- Charles Curtis (5th)
- Marshall Geckler (8th)
- Liston Seibert (Q)
Notable Wrestlers
- Lincoln Rohr
- Caige Horak
- Brennan Warwick
- Landon Johnson
- Ryder Hartshorn
- Cameron Plotts
- Mike Millin
- Van Riordan
- Liam Montgomery
The battle in division 1 will be for the runner-up trophy, and Perry is the early favorite to take the spot.
They lost two senior placers in A. McBurney (3rd), and Glitz (5th), but return a slew of talent, and have added a couple freshmen who should score points at the state tournament.
The Panthers will be lead by returning champ, Fockler and state placers M. Rohr, E. McBurney, Curtis, and Geckler.
Seibert should also contend for a top 3 placement as he slides into a more natural weight class.
Warwick, Johnson, Hartshorn, Plotts, and Millin could all qualify and score points in Columbus.
Throw in two talented freshmen, L. Rohr and Horak, and Perry will have 9-12 state placers.
#3 Dublin Coffman
Returning Qualifiers
- Ethan Birden (1st)
- Omar Ayoub (1st)
- Joseph Baumann (4th)
- Grayson Woodcock (7th)
- Storm Beane (Q)
- Charlie Mitchell (Q)
Notable Wrestlers
- Adam Makour
- Sammy Moloney
- Nick Lawrensen
- Eli Esguerra
- Blaze Van Gundy
Coffman returns every wrestler who scored points at the state tournament last year and will be a real challenge to Perry for the runner-up spot.
The Rocks returning champions, Birden and Ayoub, will be favorites to repeat. State placers Woodcock (who was a freestyle national finalist) and Baumann will look to improve on their finishes from last year and could score big points in Columbus.
Bean, Mitchell, Moloney ,and Lawrensen are all potential state placers who would help Coffman’s chances by making a run in March.
Freshmen Esguerra and Van Gundy both have the talent to end the season standing on the podium as well.
#4 Perrysburg
Returning Qualifiers
- Marcus Blaze (1st)
- Ayden Dodd (5th)
- Jake Wood (7th)
- Cole Evans (Q – 2021 champ)
- Diego Chavez (Q)
Notable Wrestlers
- Grey Burnett
- Alex Denkins
- Chris Carpenter
- Josh Takats
- Shane Saito
- Beckett Walters
- Ben Sawaya
- Brody Bauman
- Caiden Nichols
Returning runner-up Perrysburg lost three state champions (Avalos, J. Blaze, Takats), and two placers (Denkins, Parish) to graduation. Even so, this young team will improve throughout the year and be in contention for a team trophy come March.
They return the best high school wrestler in the country, world champion Marcus Blaze, who recently took out returning NCAA finalist Matt Ramos of Purdue at the Clarion Open (Ramos is the wrestler who pinned Spencer Lee last year in the NCAA semifinals).
[check out Blaze vs. Ramos here]
They also add freshman Burnett to the lineup, a Cadet National Champion, who will be a favorite at 106 or 113.
Returning placer Dodd will be tough to beat at 106 if Burnett chooses to go 113.
2022 champ Evans should be in a more natural weight class this year and will be a contender to win a second state title.
Wood is a returning placer who will look to increase his position on the podium this year.
Chavez, Denkins, Takats, Saito, and possibly Carpenter all have the talent to contribute at the state tournament.
#5 Brecksville
Returning Qualifiers
- Rylan Seacrist (2nd)
- Evan Rizzo (5th)
- Brett Stanley (7th)
- David Zambounis (8th)
- Jace Jett (Q)
- Riley McPherson (Q)
Notable Wrestlers
- Harrison Haffner
- Cayden Pluhar
- E.J. German
- Aidan Butler
- Zachary Aquila
Like Perrysburg, Brecksville lost a big senior class. Herman (champ), Max Vanadia (2nd), Luke Vanadia (3rd), Kaden Jett (5th), and Chase Pluhar (Q) are all gone.
Even still, the Bees are a young and talented team who will be nipping at the heels of Perry, Coffman, and Perrysburg by the end of the season.
They return state runner-up Seacrist, and placers Rizzo, Stanley, and Zambounis.
Jett, Haffner, McPherson, Pluhar, German should all contend for state placement as well.
Freshman Aquila (Jr. High state champ) is a hammer who will compete in one of the loaded middle-weights. Even so, he has the talent to be standing on the podium come March.
Dual Meet Rankings
- St. Edward
- Massillon Perry
- Dublin Coffman
- Brecksville
- Perrysburg
- LaSalle
- Wadsworth
- Olentangy Liberty
- Moeller
- Springboro
Stat Dual Meet Tournament Outlook
#1 St. Edward will cruise to the dual meet state championship this year. #5 Perrysburg is the clear number two out of the Northwest Perrysburg district. Findlay and Toledo St. John look to be best of the rest here.
Out of the Hoover district, #2 Perry will be the favorite, with #4 Brecksville and #7 Wadsworth in contention.
#3 Coffman should have little trouble in the Darby district with #8 Liberty and Mount Vernon competing for the second spot.
#6 LaSalle, #9 Moeller, and #10 Springboro will slug it out to represent the Fairmont district. Elder could also make a run at it.
Returning Champions
Returning Champions
- Ethan Timar (St. Edward)
- Karson Brown (St. Edward)
- Marcus Blaze (Perrysburg)
- Jaxon Joy (Wadsworth)
- Omar Ayoub (Coffman)
- Eugene Harney (Sycamore)
- Ethan Birden (Coffman)
- Aidan Fockler (Perry)
Previous Champions
- Ryan Bennett (St. Edward)
- Ty Wilson (Dublin Scioto)
- Cole Evans (Perrysburg)
8 out of 14 individuals champions return this year as well as 3 wrestlers who won titles in previous years.
Potential 3-Timers
Marcus Blaze, Jaxon Joy, Omar Ayoub, and Ty Wilson will all be vying for their third state title, with Blaze still on track to become a four-timer.
We may see a super matchup if two of Joy, Ayoub and Wilson elect to compete at the same weight, likely 144 or 150.
Previous champ Ryan Bennett and two-time finalist Jeremy Ginter will also be around these two weights which should make for an exciting semifinal round at the Schott.
Top 25 Returning Wrestlers
- Marcus Blaze (Perrysburg)
- Jaxon Joy (Wadsworth)
- Omar Ayoub (Coffman)
- Ty Wilson (Dublin Scioto)
- Ethan Birden (Coffman)
- Aidan Fockler (Perry)
- Ryan Bennett (St. Eds)
- Karson Brown (St. Eds)
- Eugene Harney (Sycamore)
- Ethan Timar (St. Eds)
- Jarrel Miller (St. Eds)
- Jeremy Ginter (Whitmer)
- Bradley Eaton (St. Eds)
- Kade Brown (St. Eds)
- Aaron Ries (Wadsworth)
- Carson Thomas (LaSalle)
- Phoenix Contos (Waite)
- Nick Blackburn (Mentor)
- Rylan Seacrist (Brecksville)
- Tyrel Miller (St. Eds)
- Mason Rohr (Perry)
- Aiden Allen (LaSalle)
- Israel Petite (Nordonia)
- Alex Taylor (Mt. Vernon)
- Emeric McBurney (Perry)
You may also be interested in:
- Division 3 and Division 2 preseason previews.
- Division 1 Rankings based on DubStat’s Elo Rating system (2024 rankings will be released near the first of the year)
- Ohio Wrestling Firsts – a compilation of trailblazers who were the first to accomplish amazing feats in the sport of wrestling
tags: 2024 Ohio High School Wrestling Preview – Division 1, OHSAA Wrestling, Ohio Wrestling Rankings