By CHUCK MARTINEZ

martinez@crescent-news.com

WAUSEON -- The inaugural Division II sectional at Wauseon High School was an overwhelming success on Saturday. And with the success of the tournament itself, the four area D-II schools that participated also found success with 22 six-county area representatives qualifying for the district tournament next weekend at Fostoria.

In the team race, it was Eastwood running away with the crown with 208.5 points, while Toledo Central Catholic (194) and Maumee (145.5) rounded out the top three.

Bryan led the area contingent with a pair of champs, 134 team points and a fourth-place finishm while Napoleon was fifth with 133 points and one champ. Defiance also had one title winner and finished sixth (111) as a team while Wauseon was seventh (107) while also crowning one champ.

The Defiance High School mat 'Dogs had their best sectional showing in quite a few years with six individuals advancing through to round two of the postseason.

Sophomore 112-pounder B.J. Miller led the way for the Bulldogs by turning in another dominating performance.

A week ago, Miller pinned his way through the WBL tournament and Saturday, Miller duplicated the feat.

No opponent made it out of the second period against Miller with his fastest stick coming in the opener when he backed Rossford's Daniel Jewell in a mere 42 seconds.

The three victories that Miller compiled on Saturday improved his flawless mark this season and extended his school record to 38-0.

Miller will be joined in Fostoria by fellow lightweights Jordan Gonzales (119) and Zach Hurst (125).

Hurst, who wrestled at 130 last weekend for the Bulldogs, hit the mats at 125 this weekend. He got out of the gates quick with a 6-2 decision over Wauseon sophomore Lorenzo Mendez before falling to eventual champion Justin Flores of Eastwood.

In the consolation bracket, Hurst rebounded with another victory before finishing in fourth place.

"I was pretty nervous coming in, but I'm pretty excited to make it out," said a happy Hurst about his first trip to the district tourney. "I hadn't seen any of the 125-pounders here before, but I still think wrestling heavier (at 130) helped out today."

At 119, Gonzales stayed in the winners' bracket until the championship match where he met up with Wauseon state qualifier Michael Perez.

Perez had topped Gonzales in their only meeting earlier this season, 16-0 and did so again on Saturday.

Both Perez and Gonzales recorded technical falls in their openers to move to the semifinals where Perez pinned and Gonzales won via decision to set up the rematch. In the finals, it was Perez winning by major decision to earn his second trip to districts.

For Gonzales, the district ticket is his third, while Napoleon junior Josh Lynch also moved on in the 119-pound bracket with a third-place finish.

"I just needed to stay solid and don't panic," explained Perez about his keys to victory. "I just needed to do that and keep doing what I've been doing all year."

Rounding out the list of district-qualifying Bulldogs is junior 145-pounder Terry Wagenhauser, senior 152-pounder Pat Millen and junior 160-pounder Desmond Yarnell.

Each member of the trio picked up a victory in their opener while Wagenhauser made it two in a row to advance to the 145-pound semifinals.

After a loss in the semis, Wagenhauser rebounded for back-to-back wins and trip to districts.

Yarnell and Millen also rebounded once bounced to the bottom half of their brackets and after earning their tickets, Millen gave Yarnell all the kudos.

"I'm just so excited right now, I don't even know how to really put it into words," admitted Millen. "Once I dropped down (into the consolation bracket) I just knew I had to battle my way back. I'd been working out with Desmond (Yarnell) all week and we pushed each other a lot and that really helped."

After sending 10 grapplers to the district tourney a year ago, Napoleon responded Saturday by sending seven more.

Leading the way was top-seeded heavyweight Robert Sanchez.

Sanchez claimed the Wildcats' only sectional crown thanks to a trio of pins and an overtime decision in the finals.

But heading into the weekend, Sanchez hadn't thought about records or seeds, just doing his best at sectionals.

"It feels really good," admitted Sanchez. "It seems like every year here (at sectionals) I mess up and lose in the semis, so it was really good to make it to the finals. I didn't know until this morning that I was the number-one seed, but it just makes you work out harder."

Fellow NHS seniors Derek Vocke (145) and Tim Norden (140) also didn't let their high school careers end on Saturday.

Vocke battled is way to the championship bout thanks to a 6-2 decision over top-seeded Seth Hoffman of Eastwood, but lost a nail-biter in the finals, 8-6.

"It definitely feels good," said Vocke. "Since it was my senior year I really wanted to qualify for districts. Coming into the year I wanted to win the GBC (Greater Buckeye Conference) and make it to state. I didn't win the GBC, but I can still make it to state."

Norden made his way to the semifinals before falling to a familiar foe in Bryan senior Broc Combs.

After falling to Combs, Norden responded with a win before finishing fourth.

Meanwhile, Combs, the Bryan record-holder for career wins, finished strong by backing Maumee's Mikkal Johnson with four seconds left of their match to claim a sectional crown.

Also earning a sectional crown for the Golden Bears was junior lightweight Donny Ramos.

Ramos, the number-one seed, tore through the 103-pound bracket and finished off his weekend with a 10-5 decision over second-seeded Dalton Straub of Maumee in the championship match.

Combs' brother Shayne also earned a ticket to Fostoria.

After a sub-par weekend at the NWOAL tournament a week ago, Shayne Combs responded with a runner-up finish in Saturday's 135-pound action.

"It's phenomenal," said Shayne a junior with the Bears. "This is my first year making it to districts so I'm really excited to make it out (of sectionals)."

Also at 135, Wauseon sophomore Brandon Volkman advanced with a third-place finish while fellow Indian Carson Frey heads to Fostoria after taking second at 130.

Wauseon senior Jordan Weber rounded out the list of Indians that will move on. Weber entered the 171-pound bracket as the fourth seed and finished fourth after losing a narrow 3-2 decision to Napoleon's Ryan Pahl in their consolation finals match.

At 160, defending state champ Eric Cubberly was on hand and battled his way to another crown, but not before facing Napoleon's Jason Brown in the finals.

Brown picked up a pin and a major decision en route to his runner-up finish while teammate Cody Bloom finished third at 189.

Round out the list of area qualifiers is the Golden Bear duo Dylan Zedaker (130) and Dan Nowakoski (285).

Zedaker and Nowakoski each punched their tickets by finishing fourth.

Team Scores

Eastwood 208.5, Central Catholic 194, Maumee 145.5, Bryan 134, Napoleon 133, Defiance 111, Wauseon 107, Rossford 63.5, Libbey 42, Woodward 35

First-place matches

103 - Donny Ramos (B) dec. Dalton Straub (M), 10-5; 112 - B.J. Miller (D) pinned Tyler Hackworth (E), 2:18; 119 - Michael Perez (W) dec. Jordan Gonzales (D), 12-5; 125 - Justin Flores (E) maj. dec. Aarron Cook (CC), 14-4; 130 - Jordan Duckett (CC) dec. Carson Frey (W), 8-5; 135 - Jordan Wray (R) dec. Shayne Combs (B), 14-7; 140 - Broc Combs (B) pinned Mikkal Johnson (N), 8-6; 145 - Michael Graves (M) dec. Derek Vocke (N), 8-6; 152 - Brad Mossing (CC) pinned Alex Depew (E), 3:32; 160 - Eric Cubber (E) tech. fall Jason Brown (N), 16-1; 171 - Evan Roth (E) dec. Mike Nino (CC), 3-2; 189 - Jeremy Foster (E) dec. Jake Henderson (CC), 7-2; 215 - Dave Pickerel (CC) pinned Trey Lampkin (L), 4:44; 285 - Robert Sanchez (N) dec. Darnell Williams-Green (W), 4-3 OT.

Third-place matches

103 - Zach Sullivan (CC) dec. William Maddox (L), 12-10; 112 - Dan Cook (CC) tech. fall Daniel Jewell (R), 15-0; 119 - Josh Lynch (N) dec. Michael Warren (M), 3-0; 125 - Shawn Bryant (R) dec. Zach Hurst (D), 4-2 OT; 130 - David Eaton (E) dec. Dylan Zedaker (B), 6-2; 135 - Brandon Volkman (W) dec. Zach Lopez (E), 2-1 OT; 140 - Andrew Long (E) dec. Tim Norden (N), 3-1; 145 - Terry Wagenhauser (D) over Seth Hoffman (E), default; 152 - Jamie Brower (M) pinned Pat Millen (D), 2:20; 160 - Desmond Yarnell (D) pinned D.J. Recknagel (R), 3:47; 171 - Ryan Pahl (N) dec. Jordan Weber (W), 3-2; 189 - Cody Bloom (N) maj. dec. Corbin Ortiz (M), 10-0; 215 - Ashton Brown (E) dec. Justin Rippke (M), 7-2; 285 - James Reynolds (L) pinned Dan Nowakowski (B), 2:03.

Fifth-place matches

103 - Zach Jiminez (D) dec. Zach Walker (N), 7-2; 112 - Corey Apple (B) maj. dec. Dale Hancock (N), 11-2; 119 - Jake Wawrzyniak (CC) dec. Brett Carlin (B), 10-4; 125 - Lorenzo Mendez (W) dec. Austin Weigle (B), 5-4; 130 - Shawn Trevino (M) pinned Nathan Reiter (R), 1:47; 135 - Justin Nickey (M) over Cody Manon (D), default; 140 - D.J. Beauch (CC) pinned Luke Tanier (W), 5:55; 145 - Mark Schuette (W) dec. Tony Martin (CC), 5-4; 152 - Levi Sidle (B) pinned Javar Thomas (W), 3:51; 160 - Vincenzo Cardone (CC) pinned Cameron Hych (W), 2:36; 171 - Wade Weaver (M) pinned Devon Peery (W), :28; 189 - Nick McCall (W) maj. dec. Chad Snow (B), 14-4; 215 - Jeremy Robinson (B) dec. Corey Norris (W), 3-1; 285 - Grant Hale (E) pinned Nick Miller (M), 1:40.