MANSFIELD — Chris Marshall found what he was looking for inside Pete Henry Gym.
Centerburg’s state-ranked 150-pounder, Marshall pinned his way into the semifinals at the 62nd J.C. Gorman Invitational at Mansfield Senior.
“We were looking for better competition and something to drive our team and this is the tournament,” said Marshall, last year’s Division III state runner-up at 138 pounds. “This is only our third tournament, but we want to see where we stand.”
Marshall stood tall Friday. He pinned all three of his opponents in the first period, including Galion’s Lachlyn Butcher in the quarterfinals. He will wrestle Sandusky Perkins freshman Law Davlin in the semifinals Saturday. Davlin is ranked 15th in Division II, while Marshall is ranked eighth in Division III.
Marshall wasn’t the only Trojan to enjoy success on Day 1 of the two-day, 36-team tournament. Cory Climer won his two first matches at 113 pounds Friday before falling Northmor’s Carter Thomas in the quarterfinals. Climer is ranked 20th in Division III, while Thomas is 19th.
Noah Matthews was 2-2 at 120 pounds, while Jonah Gribben was 1-2 at 144.
As for Marshall, he’ll get the chance to measure himself against some of the top 150-pounders in north central Ohio. If he gets past Davlin, he could run into Ontario’s Mason Turnbaugh in the finals. Turnbaugh is ranked third in Division II and won a Gorman title at 144 last year.
“There’s a lot of good competition at this tournament,” Marshall said. “It would be a big deal to win here.”