COLUMBUS — The scariest part of the day for Madison’s Hunter Hutcheson turned out to be the drive to Value City Arena.
Once inside, the junior 190-pounder took care of business on the opening day of the 85th state wrestling tournament.
Hutcheson cruised into the championship quarterfinals with a third-period pin of Tri-Valley’s Ethan Palodino in the opening round. He will wrestle Louisville’s Blake Schaffer in the quarterfinals Saturday morning.
Hutcheson and the Madison coaching staff were southbound Friday morning on Interstate 71 just north of the Gemini Place exit when the school van they were traveling in was struck by a bullet at the scene of an officer-involved shooting incident. Miraculously, the bullet glanced off the windshield and none of the four occupants inside the vehicle was injured.
“It was divine intervention. Someone was looking out for us,” coach Bryan Mosier said. “(The suspect) aimed the gun at us and pulled the trigger. Somehow the bullet ricocheted off the windshield.”
The Madison contingent had to stay at the scene while authorities conducted their investigation. Eventually they were allowed to continue on to the tournament.
The incident didn’t faze Hutcheson, who opened a big lead in his only match of the day before pinning Palodino.
“I was able to focus,” Hutcheson said. “Once you get into the match, everything shrinks up.”
Hutcheson’s drill partner, Mansfield Senior 215-pounder Mekhi Bradley, had his hands full in his opener before securing a 3-2 ultimate tie-breaker victory over London’s Antonio Burns. The match was tied 2-2 after regulation and overtime. Bradley was able to escape during the 30-second ultimate tie-breaker period to move into the championship quarterfinals.
“He did a good job of keeping it close,” Bradley said. “He tried to tie me up in ways to slow me down. He tried to snap-and-shoot and I’m not used to that. Not very many people do that.
“I still could have done a better job of working my offense.”
Bradley and Hutcheson have been practicing together in preparation for the state tournament.
“It’s kind of odd when you hear Madison and Mansfield Senior are working together, but I love what (Mansfield Senior coach) Jesse Palser is doing over there,” Mosier said. “It goes back to my dad (former Madison coach Doug Mosier) and (former Senior High coach) Billy Stevens. They had a nice camaraderie between the two and it has continued.”
Three of Ashland’s four state-qualifying wrestlers survived opening day, but only 175-pounder Brady Welch is still in championship contention. The senior coasted to an 18-2 tech fall victory over Chardon Notre Dame Cathedral Latin’s Bryce Wheatley.
“I’m not happy with the way I wrestled, honestly,” Welch said. “This was my first match and I’ve never wrestled this guy before. I was just trying to get some nerves out. I wasn’t as offensive as I would have liked to be.”
Ashland 120-pounder Roman Parobek dropped his opener to Columbus Bishop Hartley’s Aiden King, but rebounded with a 9-6 win over Minerva’s Andrew Strader in his consolation bracket match. Likewise, Ashland’s Jon Metzger dropped his opener at 157 pounds to Highland’s Cody Matthews before earning a 3-1 win over Perry’s Ryan Brubaker.
Both of Ontario’s qualifiers are still alive. Jacob Ohl cruised to a 13-1 win over Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary’s Christian Osborne to advance to the championship quarterfinals. Ohl slightly tweaked his hip in the closing moments of the match, but said he would be ready to go Saturday morning.
“It was just like a little pinch in my hip, but I’ll be fine. I’ve just got to ice it,” Ohl said. “I could have done way better, but it’s the first match of the tournament. Getting the first one out of the way helps me relax a little bit.”
Ohl’s teammate, 120-pounder Riley Kleshinski, dropped a 10-2 decision to Taylor’s Jimmy Lalezas but rebounded with a 4-1 win over Salem’s Cyle Burt in the consolation bracket.
Both of Galion’s state qualifiers also survived opening day. Landon Campbell cruised to a 9-3 win over Steubenville’s Brandon Kinney in his opening match at 190 pounds. Alex Griffith fell 3-2 to Washington Court House’s Mason Mustain before bouncing back with a 5-4 win over Trotwood-Madison’s Wellington Lowe.
Ashland’s Cayden Spotts dropped both of his matches Friday. The 215-pounder fell to St. Paris Graham’s Carter Neves in his opener before dropping a 7-4 decision to River View’s Cruz Mobley in the consolation round.
