by Jon Hardman TVHS Head Wrestling Coach
The Tri-Valley wrestling team wrapped up a regular season competition with the MVL tournament on Saturday, Feb.18 at New Lexington High School. The Dawgs finished with 8 MVL placers, but only filled 9 of the 14 weight classes for the competition. Placing at the conference tournament were:
106 – Karson Cronin (10) – Runner-up
120 – Haidin Shoop (9) – Runner-up
132 – Slade Armstrong (10) – Champion
138 – Landen Schuhart (10) – 5th
144 – Hayden Stevens (9) – 4th
157 – Jason Patterson (12) – 4th
165 – Dylan Pierce (11) – 3rd
175 – Logan McClellan (9) – 4th
MVL Placers
Pictured above are the eight TVHS wrestlers who placed at the MVL Meet: Front Row: Slade Armstrong (MVL Champion), Logan McClellan, Dylan Pierce, and Jason Patterson. Back Row: Haidin Shoop, Karson Cronin, Landen Schuhart, and Hayden Stevens. Gregg Meadows photo
The conference tournament doesn’t paint the whole picture for the TV wrestling team. Two of those vacant weight classes will return for postseason action this Saturday at Steubenville High School for the Division 2 Eastern Sectional Tournament. Kandice Spry will compete the following weekend at the Olentangy Orange Girls Regional Tournament for a chance to qualify for State. The team will look to be at full strength for the final stretch.
Regular Season Recap
This season was tough for the TV wrestling team in terms of wins and losses. At full strength, the team still gave up 3-4 forfeits to every team in the dual competition. The bright side is that 11 of the 17 wrestlers are freshmen or sophomores this season. They have had quite a bit of varsity experience that many freshmen do not get in this sport. This young group has shown a great deal of perseverance and fortitude this season. This mindset is starting to yield results at the right time of the year, as 6 underclassmen found their way to the podium at the conference tournament. Here is a rundown of each weight class heading into the Sectional tournament:
106 – Karson Cronin, sophomore, 4-10 on the season. Karson got a late start to competing this season and faced some great competition when he returned. He’s a tireless worker with a great attitude and has started to find his footing. Karson had an impressive MVL tournament, where he fought his way to the finals, where he lost a close decision to an opponent from John Glenn. Karson has the athletic ability to compete at a high level, he will look to prove that Saturday.
113 – Kandice Spry, Freshman, 31-4 on the season. Kandice competes mainly in girl’s events, where she has been a dominant force this season. In the past month, Kandice defeated the defending 3X HS state champion at her weight, as well as multiple state placers from last year. She’ll have this week off, as girls only have a regional tournament to qualify for state. Currently ranked #2 in the state at her weight, Kandice will continue working with the week off, as she prepares to fight for her first HS state championship.
120 – Haidin Shoop, Freshman, 24-18 on the season. Haidin has worked extremely hard at improving over the course of his freshman campaign. He has grown each week and, like Cronin, Shoop showed that this past weekend. Shoop made it to the finals of the MVL tournament. In doing so, he had a rematch against a familiar foe from Sheridan. Shoop lost a close match in January but dismantled his opponent this time around. In the finals, Shoop fell to a senior from Crooksville. The day showed that Haidin’s hard work is paying dividends and he should be at his best this weekend.
126 – Andrew Tackett, Junior, 24-7 on the season. Ranked #22 in the state on the Borofan state rankings, Tackett has enjoyed a successful junior campaign. He sat out of the MVL tournament due to a knee injury but should be close to 100% this weekend. This past month, Tackett found his way to the finals of the Canal Winchester Cameron Cross Memorial Tournament, before bowing out due to injury. Since then, he has worked hard to stay in shape and heal up for postseason success.
132 – Slade Armstrong, Sophomore, 21-5 on the season. Armstrong (ranked #24 in the state) has been in and out of the lineup early this season, but the returning district placer seems to be healthy and ready for the postseason. Slade was Tri-Valley’s lone MVL champion Saturday, as he too looks to be peaking at the right time of year. Armstrong fell a few points short of the state tournament last season and that will serve as motivation as he makes his run this year. Freshman, Boston Smith (18-19 on the season), also competed at 132 this season. A 2nd-year wrestler, Smith showed a great deal of improvement over the course of the season. He’s a very good athlete and this serves him well in his high-paced style. While many of his losses came to older, more experienced varsity wrestlers, Boston dedicated himself to improving and was able to compete well with the older athletes. He has a bright future in this sport.
138 – Landen Schuhart, Sophomore, 22-16 on the season. Schuhart dealt with some unfortunate illnesses over the course of the season. Because of this, it was a difficult task to stay in competition shape. Some of his early losses were due to the aftereffects of illnesses. Landen has finally kicked the illness bug and is returning to form. He had a difficult weight class at the MVL tournament but managed to finish with a 5th place finish. Schuhart looks primed to be at his best this weekend.
144 – Hayden Stevens, Freshman, 23-21 on the season. Stevens has amazed over the course of the season. He is very new to the sport but was pushed into a lot of varsity competition out of necessity. He has responded with impressive grit and willpower which is rarely seen in this sport. Stevens has had a successful varsity campaign as a first-year freshman. While he continues to learn, his tenacity keeps him in close matches with more experienced competitors. It should be a fun post-season at 144!
157 – Jason Patterson, Senior, 36-11 on the season. Patterson ranked #27 in the state, is the lone returning state qualifier for 2022. Patterson reached his 100th career win this past month and committed to continue wrestling at Otterbein University in the fall. This past weekend, he was dealing with a respiratory illness that kept him from competing at the level he is used to. Despite the frustration, he managed to go 3-2 and finish 4th in the MVL. While this was a speed bump in his senior season, Patterson has consistently faced some of the best competition in the state and will look to get healthy for his run at a state title.
 165 – Dylan Pierce, Junior, 13-23 on the season. Pierce was one of the highlights of the MVL tournament. A capable competitor, Pierce struggled early in the season while he was dealing with nagging injuries and illnesses. He has stayed healthy over the past month and it showed this past Saturday. Pierce made it to the semifinals before losing a close decision. He battled back, finishing 3rd. This was a great day for him and should serve as a confidence booster heading into postseason action.
175 – Logan McClellan, Freshman, 31-13 on the season. McClellan (ranked #34 in the state) started off the season at 190. The competition he faced at 190, yielded some strong seniors early on. McClellan struggled to adapt to the size at first, but has since dropped to 175 and is thriving. This past month, Logan was the champion at Dublin Freshman All-State, where he earned the Most Outstanding Wrestler award for his tournament performance. He went on to finish 4th in a tough MVL bracket and will look to continue his run into sectionals. Logan works tirelessly in the room and his hard work will be apparent next weekend! Jackson Henry, Junior, (17-14 on the season) also competed in the 175 weight class this season. Henry had worked hard and was having a successful junior campaign before a rib injury sidelined him for the remainder of the season. Jackson showed quite a bit of improvement during the season and it’s always tough to see a wrestler miss out on the postseason due to injury. Jackson will look to get healthy and return for his senior campaign next season. Logan Durst, Freshman, (16-22 on the season) competed here and at 190 this season. Logan is one of the harder workers in the room and improved a great deal over the course of the season. The experience he got on varsity will pay dividends in his development and Durst should be a mainstay in the lineup for years to come.
190 – Nathan Welsh, Junior, 19-11 on the season. Welsh returned to wrestling after a 2-year hiatus from the sport. He suffered some early-season losses while he acclimated. As the season went on, Welsh dropped from 215 to 190. The lower weight class, coupled with Nathan’s work ethic, has yielded positive results. He sat out of the MVL tournament to rest and injured shoulder. Nathan should be ready to compete this weekend at Steubenville and show that he’s a force at 190.
215 – Gavin Pranoto, Junior, 8-27 on the year. Pranoto manned the 215 spot for much of the season. He was the only competitor that could bump up to heavyweight for duals, so Gavin gave up some weight at times this year. He has worked hard to make his first full season one that he can gain from. Gavin has a great attitude and is a coachable athlete. Alberto Marin-Duran (Freshman, 0-15 on the season) and Marques West (Freshman, 2-9 on the season) also wrestled the 215 division this season. West and Berto are in a weight class where they do not get to wrestle many freshmen over the course of the year. This past month, both competed at Dublin Freshman All-State, where they had the chance to wrestle athletes their age. West went 1-2, losing 2 close matches and Marin-Duran went 0-2, losing two close decisions. Both improved over the year and both will achieve more success in years to come.
The season has been filled with a lot of ups and downs and growing pains. This young group of TV wrestlers are very competitive and works hard to achieve their goals. The group seems to all be ready for the final challenge of the season and is reaching their potential at the right time of the season.
Headed to the Sectional!
Featured Image is the TVHS wrestlers who will be competing at this weekend’s East District OHSAA D-II Sectional wrestling tournament, held at Steubenville High School. Front Row: Jason Patterson, Slade Armstrong, Logan McClellan, Dylan Pierce, Gavin Pranoto, and Nathan Welsh. Back Row: Karson Cronin, Andrew Tackett, Landen Schuhart, Hayden Stevens, and Haidin Shoop. Gregg Meadows photo
