Ashton Smith, Dylan Fishback help Aurora go 6-1 in first round of 2022 OHSAA Division II state wrestling tournament

Dylan Fishback, of Aurora, pins Griffin Halenar, of Hartley, in the 190 pound class during the preliminary round of the Division II state wrestling championships.

Todd Allen, of Buckeye, pins Noah Tristano, of Dover, in the 285 pound class during the preliminary round of the Division II state wrestling championships.

Tristin Greene, of Keystone, wrestles Jacob Dolan, of Benedictine, in the 138 pound class during the preliminary round of the Division II state wrestling championships.

(Top) Sam Partain, of Chagrin Falls, wrestles his way to a win over Riley Gould, of Heath, in the 150 pound class during the preliminary round of the Division II state wrestling championships.

Alistair Larson, of Woodridge, pins Wellington Lowe, of Trotwood-Madison, in the 285 pound class during the preliminary round of the Division II state wrestling championships.

(White) Steven Duffy, of Woodridge, wrestles Trevor Badiu, of Buckeye, in the 165 pound class during the preliminary round of the Division II state wrestling championships.

(Top) Sam Partain, of Chagrin Falls, wrestles his way to a win over Riley Gould, of Heath, in the 150 pound class during the preliminary round of the Division II state wrestling championships.

Brendan McCrone, of Lake Catholic, pins Andrew Strader, of Minerva, in the 120 pound class during the preliminary round of the Division II state wrestling championships.

(Left) Rubyn Semedo, of Cleveland Central Catholic, wrestles Colton Smitley, of Maysville, in the 126 pound class during the preliminary round of the Division II state wrestling championships.

(Left) Logan Cravatas, of Medina Buckeye, wrestles his way to a victory over Caleb Wetzel, of Highland, in the 132 pound class during the preliminary round of the Division II state wrestling championships.

Logan Cravatas, of Medina Buckeye, wrestles his way to a victory over Caleb Wetzel, of Highland, in the 132 pound class during the preliminary round of the Division II state wrestling championships.

(Left) Rubyn Semedo, of Cleveland Central Catholic, wrestles Colton Smitley, of Maysville, in the 126 pound class during the preliminary round of the Division II state wrestling championships.

(Green) Joey Romano, of Mentor Lake Catholic, wrestles to a win over Brady Fisher, of London, in the 113 pound class during the preliminary round of the Division II state wrestling championships.

(Bottom) Johnny Green, of Aurora, wrestles his way to a victory over Tate Hisey, of St. Marys Memorial, in the 106 pound class during the preliminary round of the Division II state wrestling championships.

(Left) Colyn Limbert, of Medina Buckeye, wrestles to a win over Lacy Harvey, of Louisville, in the 106 pound class during the preliminary round of the Division II state wrestling championships.

(Top) Colyn Limbert, of Medina Buckeye, wrestles to a win over Lacy Harvey, of Louisville, in the 106 pound class during the preliminary round of the Division II state wrestling championships.

(Left) Christian Osborne, of Akron SVSM, wrestles Jacob Ohl, of Ontario, in the 106 pound class during the preliminary round of the Division II state wrestling championships.

(Green) Joey Romano, of Mentor Lake Catholic, wrestles to a win over Brady Fisher, of London, in the 113 pound class during the preliminary round of the Division II state wrestling championships.

Wrestling during the preliminary round of the Division II state wrestling championships.

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COLUMBUS, Ohio — Aurora had a strong weekend the last time the OHSAA Division II state wrestling tournament was held at the Schottenstein Center. The Greenmen had two state finalists and were the runner-up to St. Paris Graham in 2019.

Three years later, Aurora is off to a strong start in the 2022 state tournament as six of its seven wrestlers won their opening matches. Kyle Bizjak (138 pounds) came one second away from making it 7-0 before he lost, 5-4, on a last-second takedown to Bret Minnick of Tiffin Columbian. Bizjak was the fourth seed from his district and Minnick was the projected state runner-up according to InterMat’s Josh Lowe.

Among the winners was returning state champion Dylan Fishback (190), who pinned Columbus Bishop Hartley’s Griffin Halenar in 37 seconds. Fishback was the only Aurora wrestler who competed at state in 2019. A freshman that year, he played the role of veteran mentor this time around.

“I did tell them that first round … the arena didn’t seem that big when it was empty, but when you walk out of the tunnel, it hits you right away,” Fishback said. “So I just said, ‘Don’t get intimidated by it. Walk out. Look up for a few seconds, and then just reset and get ready for your match.’”

Ashton Smith (157) was one of the Greenmen who wrestled in his first match when he beat Zavier Campsey of Athens by major decision, 14-2. Smith had a 2-1 lead after the first period. But he pushed it out to 7-2 after a nearfall and takedown, and then added seven more points in the third.

“In the early portions, I was just trying to feel him out. Getting used to the crowd was a big part,” Smith said. “There’s so many eyes on you. Once I got used to that, I kind of just blocked it out, focused on my match. You could see me start to pick up more and more.”

Codie Cuerbo (113), Nic Willingham (150) and Tyler Lillard (165) all won by tech falls. Johnny Green (106) won with a 6-0 decision vs. Tate Hisey of St. Marys Memorial.

“We’re always looking to get bonus points, and that’s big in a team score,” Fishback said. “Five of the six wins were bonus points. That’s huge when it comes down to the end team score.”

How they stand

Aurora is in second place behind St. Paris Graham in the team standings. Graham has 31.5 points, and Aurora has 19.5. Louisville is third with 19 and has seven wrestlers in the quarterfinals compared to Aurora’s six.

Buckeye is the only other local school in the top 10, ninth with 10 points.

See the full results from Division II here.

Check out the updated brackets for Division II.

Match of the day

Woodridge’s Steven Duffy faced a 5-0 deficit in his 165 bout against Buckeye’s Trevor Badiu after two periods. But in the third period, Duffy got an escape, a takedown and two nearfall points to tie the match at 5-5 and force overtime.

Duffy completed the comeback with a takedown 45 seconds into the overtime period for the 7-5 win in sudden victory.

Who stood out

Cuerbo, Aurora (113): The runner-up at 106 a year ago, Cuerbo started his 2022 tournament strong with a 16-1 win by tech fall vs. A.J. Kimble of Newark Licking Valley. He secured the 15-point margin of victory with 36 seconds left in the third period after getting two nearfall points. He will face Wauseon’s Collin Twigg in the quarterfinals on Saturday.

TeAndre Allen, Orange (126): The Perry District champion won his opening match, 6-0, against Cooper Rathburn of Columbus Bishop Hartley. Allen won without getting a single takedown. His scoring came off two sets of three nearfall points.

Allen placed seventh last year at 126.

Tristin Greene, Keystone (138): Greene was strong in his first state tournament match when he defeated Benedictine’s Jacob Dolan by tech fall, 17-2. After being taken down 16 seconds into the match, Greene rattled off the final 17 points in a row, closing it out with a takedown 28 seconds into the third period.

Todd Allen, Buckeye (285): Allen, the reigning state champion in his weight class, pinned Dover’s Noah Tristano in 1:49. He took Tristano down with 14 seconds left in the period and got the pin just three seconds later.

Quarterfinals to watch

Colyn Lambert, Buckeye vs. Brady Smith, West Holmes (106): Lambert and Smith each reached Saturday’s quarterfinals with major decisions. Lambert beat Lacy Harvey of Louisville, 16-4. Smith shut out Jordan Miller of Hamilton Ross, 10-0.

Cade Cass, Cloverleaf vs. Nolan Gessler, St. Paris Graham (144): Coming off a district title win in Perry, Cass won his first-round match vs. James Simms of Fostoria, 4-1. Gessler beat Tucker Kaufman of Millersburg West Holmes, 6-3, and won the state title at 126 last year.

Nicholas Abounader, Benedictine vs. Oliver Byerly, Plain City Jonathan Alder (150): Abounader advanced to Saturday’s quarterfinals with an 18-1 win by tech fall vs. Savier Faulks of Steubenville. The only point Abounader allowed was an escape in the first period.

“(It was) definitely a good boost of confidence, get that experience, get that tech the first match,” Abounader said. “(I was) keeping a lot of pressure on him. He couldn’t keep up with me. So I was just moving, faking, snapping, trying to find angles.”

Byerly pinned Chardon’s Will Vucetic, who was one of two alternates who wrestled at 150, in 3:30.

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