COLUMBUS — Dylan Wilson’s smile was as wide as his shoulders are broad.
Danville’s 285-pounder made a sensational state tournament debut Thursday at Ohio State’s Schottenstein Center, pinning Ashtabula St. John’s Ryan Elrod in the first period of their opening-round match.
“It feels great,” the gregarious Wilson said through an ear-to-ear grin from the floor of Value City Arena. “I knew this was going to be tough tournament, but I felt pretty confident coming in.”
A senior, Wilson missed half the season with a shoulder injury. He improved to 19-3 and will wrestle Fremont St. Joseph’s Noah Price in the championship quarterfinals Friday morning. Price (46-0) needed just 16 seconds to dispatch Arcanum’s Jayden Heltsley in their first-round match.
“I feel fresher because I didn’t wrestle as many matches as a lot of the guys here,” Wilson said. “During the matches my shoulder hurts, which can put me at a disadvantage, but I manage.”
One more win would guarantee Wilson a spot on the podium.
“That’s my goal,” Wilson said. “I want to be standing on the podium at the end of the weekend.”
Wilson was one of three Knox County wrestlers in action Thursday, joining Mount Vernon 132-pounder Triston Bowens and 170-pounder Max VanFossen.
VanFossen opened with pin of Harrison’s Simon Shirley to move into the championship quarterfinals. The senior improved to 48-6 and will wrestle unbeaten Najee Lockett of Shaker Heights. Lockett improved to 39-0 with a 16-5 major decision over North Olmsted’s Dalton Diaz.
A senior, VanFossen qualified for state last year but was 0-2 on opening day. Despite the early exit, last year’s experience has served him well.
“I went two-and-out last year. I was just happy to make it,” VanFossen said. “This year I came with confidence and confidence is the biggest factor.
“When you walk out for the first time and see all those people, you kind of go into shock. It’s a lot easier to block that out because I’ve experienced it.”
VanFossen and Lockett met in the first round at 160 pounds last year. Lockett, who wrestled for St. Ignatius last year, won 10-6 and will be favored Friday morning.
That’s fine with VanFossen. He was the underdog in Thursday’s opener against Shirley after falling to him early in the season.
“Technically I was supposed to lose the (opening-round) match,” said VanFossen, a two-time Ohio Cardinal Conference champ. “If I wrestle like I did today tomorrow, then I maybe can pull a couple more upsets.
“This is the best by far I’ve wrestled in my entire life.”
Bowens bowed out of state tournament action with a pair of losses on Thursday. The junior finished the season with a 36-15 record.
