By CHUCK MARTINEZ

martinez@crescent-news.com

VAN WERT -- Saturday at the Western Buckeye League wrestling tournament the Defiance High School wrestling team had six placers including a pair of champions and one runner-up in placing sixth as a team.

"In this close of a field every point makes the difference," pointed out DHS mentor Josh Neilson. "With six guys placing those points they got us were key."

In the team race, regular-season champion Celina took it on the chin and entered the finals in fourth place while Van Wert, Elida and Wapakoneta filled spots one through three. In the end, Elida (148) claimed the tourney title while Van Wert (138) claimed the runner-up nod.

Celina finished third Saturday, forcing them to share the overall crown with Van Wert.

Early on, it was clear that Saturday was going to belong to the DHS lightweights.

At 112, sophomore B.J. Miller kept his perfect record intact thanks to his own personal pinfest. Miller, who now holds a 35-0 record, came out strong and backed Kenton's Corey Minter, who Miller beat by a decision last week, in a mere 29 seconds.

Lima Bath's Tommy Mault didn't fare much better but did make it until the 1:40 mark before being shown the consolation bracket.

In the finals Wapakoneta's Jake Beemer thought he had the perfect counter, but became just another victim. Miller jumped out to a 5-0 lead and turned Beemer again and looked for his patented finish, but Beemer countered the leg scissors for a reversal. However, Miller kept on rolling and took Beemer back to his back and finished him at the 1:53 mark of the first period.

"Having seen these guys before helped me a lot," recalled Miller. "I was ready for it (when Beemer got the reversal). I was ready to re-roll him and I wasn't going to panic. It feels good to win a second WBL title. I really want to be the only person in Defiance High School with four."

The victory is the second league crown for Miller, who isn't looking for glory anyplace other than Columbus.

At 119, junior Jordan Gonzales also grabbed his second title in as many years. Gonzales picked up a pin in the first round before recording a 5-0 decision over St. Marys' Zach Hedrick to earn a spot in the finals.

In the finals, there was a familiar face awaiting Gonzales. During the regular season, Elida's Shawn Brunk lost a triple overtime decision to Gonzales and on Saturday he was looking for redemption.

"I really didn't want it to get to that point," said Gonzales about not wanting to go back into overtime with Brunk. "I just was trying to get it done in regulation. But that last match helped me a lot. I sort of knew his game plan, so I just wanted to go out and wrestle a good match."

Midway through the first period Brunk got the match's first takedown for a 2-0 advantage. Gonzales didn't wait for Brunk to make another move as Gonzales got the switch to tie the bout at the end of the first period, 2-2.

In the next 120 seconds, Gonzales picked up another two-point reversal before kicking Brunk out and returning him to the mat for a 6-3 edge. In the third, Gonzales was given a penalty for stalling, but it was too late for Brunk as Gonzales earned the decision and title number two.

"Back-to-back titles is very special," added Gonzales, who improved his record to 29-4. "I look up at the wall (in the practice room) and there are guys that have done it twice, but very few that have done it three times, so to be up there is something very special."

Terry Wagenhauser was the third Bulldog going for gold after a pin and a decision put him in the 145-pound championship match. Unfortunately for Wagenhauser, Celina's Alex Dues was on fire. Dues, who was 20-4 overall and 6-0 in league bouts before Saturday, picked up a pin in the opener and a decision before backing Wagenhauser in the first period.

DHS 125- and 135-pounders Cory Carnahan and Cody Manon (18-19) also fell victim in their third-place matches.

Carnahan won his opener before falling into the consolation bracket. In the consolation bracket, it was Ottawa-Glandorf's Zac Klausing that handed Carnahan (16-17) his second loss of the day with an 11-5 decision.

At 135, Manon fell to the bottom half of the bracket early on, but then picked up a pair of pins and a decision to make the third-place match. Once there, however, Manon dropped a close 6-3 decision to the number-two seed Cody Doner of Celina.

"Terry getting to the finals was big for us," pointed out Neilson. "Carnahan, Manon and (Zach) Hurst all came up big in the consi semifinals to make it to the match for third and fourth. We really needed those matches to stay up with some of these other guys (in the team standings)."

The final Bulldog to hit the finals was senior Zach Hurst. Hurst, who won the 103-pound WBL title as a sophomore and finished second at 112 last year, made his way to the 130-pound semifinals before falling to top-seeded Jordan Price of St. Marys.

In the consolation semifinals, Hurst (28-6) got back on track with a 2-0 decision over Kenton's Tyler Taylor before knocking off Elida's Nate Painter 3-0 for third place.

"It feels pretty good," admitted Hurst. "I had to bump up quite a few weight classes so I was sort of unsure what to expect. The key was just wrestling three full periods. All my matches were close, I didn't have any blowout matches, so I just took it one match at a time."

In the heavier weights, junior 160-pounder Desmond Yarnell (23-11) was one win shy of placement. Yarnell lost his first championship round match, but battled back for a pair of wins in the consolations before having his weekend end.

At 275, Nolan Bachellor (11-20) also fell victim in the opener, but rebounded with a pair of pins before losing for a second time in the consolation semifinals.

Team finishes

Elida 148, Van Wert 138, Celina 119.5, Wapakoneta 114, Bath 112, Defiance 106, Shawnee 104.5, St. Marys 96, Kenton 55.5, Ottawa-Glandorf 41.5

Championship matches

103 - Jason Hunlock (E) dec. Curtis Doner ( C), 6-3; 112 - B.J. Miller (D) pinned Jake Beemer (W), 1:53; 119 - Jordan Gonzales (D) dec. Shawn Brunk (E), 6-5; 125 - Shane Troyer (E) dec. Josh Beemer (B), 2-1; 130 - Jordan Price (SM) dec. Caden Mauk (W), 5-4 OT; 135 - Matt Hefner (B) major dec. Gyer Blackmore (V), 17-4; 140 - Wally McGinnis (B) dec. Lucas Poppe (W), 7-4; 145 - Alex Dues ( C) pinned Terry Wagenhauser (D), 1:21; 152 - Kyler Washam (S) major dec. Justin Ryan (B), 15-6; 160 - Cody Green (E) pinned Kenneth Long (W), 3:19; 171 - Paul Lauth (SM) dec. Matt Noggle (V), 4-1; 189 - Cody Wittkamp (E) dec. Steven Stoker ( C), 2-1; 215 - Logan Erb (W) dec. Adam Custer (V), 4-2 OT; 285 - Derek Geiger (S) dec. Marcus Neal (SM), 4-2.

Third-place matches

103 - Christopher Arnold (K) tech fall Dillon Foust (V), 20-5; 112 - R.J. Basket ( C) dec. Kevin Falasco (SM), 9-2; 119 - Zach Hedrick (SM) dec. Andy Smith (V), 5-0; 125 - Zac Klausing (O-G) dec. Cory Carnahan (D), 11-5; 130 - Zach Hurst (D) dec. Nate Painter (E), 3-0; 135 - Cody Doner ( C) dec. Cody Manon (D), 6-3; 140 - Andrew Leis (E) dec. Chris Heath (V), 5-3; 145 - Kirtis Calvelage (V) major dec. Ryan Rider (S), 16-3; 152 - Craig Thomas (V) major dec. Tyler Temple ( C), 11-3; 160 - Jake Recker (O-G) tech fall Jeremy Chandler (B), 20-5; 171 - Spencer Ladd (E) dec. Tyler Shipp (W), 8-2; 189 - Isaiah Irons (S) pinned Dimetri Myers (K), 4:23; 215 - Nathan Brown (SM) dec. Mitch Miracle (C), 7-1; 285 - Chris Overmyer (V) dec. Lucas King (K), 3-1.