COLUMBUS — Lakota junior Braxton Quaintance made it to the state wrestling championship for the first time in his prep career, but his hopes were dashed when he was disqualified for an illegal move.
Quaintance (47-4) had an illegal takedown in the second period of his match with Milan Edison senior Kohen Horvath (57-2), but the Lakota wrestler finished as the Division III 165-pound state runner-up and Horvath was declared state champion.
“He had a great tournament,” Lakota coach Aaron Bomer said. “It was an unfortunate event there in the finals, but he had an awesome year.
“He is the third guy in Lakota history to ever wrestle in the state championship match. Obviously we are disappointed in how it ended — we wanted to wrestle the whole match.
“It’s the third time we’ve wrestled him and he’s beat us twice. I can’t say enough about how great Braxton’s year has been.”
Quaintance got to the championship with a 12-2 major decision over Westfall senior Gage Bolt in the opening round, the Lakota wrestler pinned Miami East senior Hunter Randall in 1:09 of the quarterfinals, and then defeated Malvern junior Tyson Clear, 3-1, in the semifinals.
Bomer is eager to see how Quaintance can respond his senior year.
“(We want) the same results — to be here in the state finals and to win a state championship,” Bomer said. “He’s great on his feet and he’s a complete wrestler all the way around.”
Lakota had four state qualifiers, all of them winning at least one match. Three are juniors so coach Bomer says “the future is looking bright for us.” Lakota junior Lane Thacker (46-7) finished eighth at 132 pounds.
Thacker opened with a 10-4 win over Rootstown junior Nick Malek (38-10), but lost in the quarterfinals to Galion Northmor junior Cowin Becker (52-3), 1-0.
In the consolations, Thacker pinned Garaway freshman Braylon Books in 2:41, but was pinned by Waynedale junior Caden Schmeltzer (44-5) in 1:40. In the seventh place match, he lost to Covington senior Michael Hagan (50-9) after pulling out because of a shoulder injury.
At 157, Lakota junior Grant Bomer (38-10) was pinned by Northmor sophomore Carson Campbell (48-9) in 1:55, but he got a forfeit win over Kettering Alter sophomore Luke Snyder (34-13). Bomer’s tournament ended when he was pinned by Dalton senior Bram McCourt (29-15) in 2:04.
At 175, Lakota senior Gabe Garlick (40-11) was pinned by Salineville Southern senior Gabe Blissenbach (40-3) in 2:22, but won a 9-0 major decision against Reedsville Eastern junior Gavan Smith (48-10). Garlick lost his next consolation round match to Garfield Heights Trinity senior Brandon Bruce-Bey (41-7), 7-4.
