GALION — Centerburg brought home a fourth-place finish in the KMAC wrestling tournament on Saturday, but that finish included an MVP and three top-three finishers.
Cory “The Future” Climer placed first in his weight class (126 pounds) and was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Wrestler.
Where does “The Future” moniker originate?
With a smile that brightened the gym, Climer said, “My core is the future; I never stop. It is always a privilege to keep going. You’re never stuck, just be the future, keep going.
“I’ve been struggling with my attacks, not being confident. My coaches have been helping me with my attack. It worked really well and paid off today.”
“Just be the future. Keep going.”
Centerburg’s Corey Climer, KMAC Most Valuable Wrestler
Northmor edged Elgin 270 to 266 on the Golden Knights’ home mats. Cardington-Lincoln placed third with 136 points, followed by Centerburg’s 90.5. Mount Gilead, with 86.5 points, rounded out the top five.
Loudonville, Fredericktown, Danville, Lucas, and East Knox completed the field. East Knox’s sole competitor, Brent Link, wrestling at 138 pounds and traveling with the Danville squad, scored 4 points for the Bulldogs.
Continuing to improve
Trojan coach Paul Pack looked at the bright side of the tournament results.
“We did about as expected. We had a champion (Climer) and a second and a third place, and all of the kids that weren’t that successful got better,” he said. “They’re all improving.”
As for Climer, he said, “Yeah, Cory’s a piece of work, a very cool personality.”
Centerburg’s second-place finisher was 132-pound Noah Matthews, who lost to Northmor’s Brady Carr in the final match. Cole Evans, at 215 pounds, finished third in his weight class.
Danville coach Joshua Wittle said that he saw improvement in his team over last year’s finish.
“This year, we have our heavyweight (Carter Wittle) placing second. Definitely an improvement from last year, but still room for improvement,” he said.
As the facility cleared after nearly six hours of wrestling, Fredericktown assistant coach Joe Stotts stood in the cafeteria.
“We had a seventh-place finish. This past week, we addressed different things, mainly focusing on the top and bottom stuff, trying to get ready. We did a little conditioning,” Stotts said.
“We knew what we were coming up against, so we focused on what we knew we had to get done today.”
As for bright spots on the Freddies’ roster, Stotts said his two standout wrestlers are Owen Garver and junior Aidden Ebersole. Both had fourth-place finishes on Saturday, Garver in the 138-pound class and Ebersole in the 157-pound class.
“These are two guys that could really stand out, helping the team in the weight room, and obviously when it comes to competition as well,” Stotts said.
Final results
TEAM SCORES
1. Northmor 270.0
2. Elgin 266.5
3. Cardington-Lincoln 136.0
4. Centerburg 90.5
5. Mount Gilead 86.5
6. Loudonville 86.0
7. Fredericktown 76.0
8. Danville 32.5
9. Lucas 12.0
10. East Knox 4.0
