5 central Ohio boys win OHSAA wrestling titles; Watterson repeats as champ

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5 central Ohio boys win OHSAA wrestling titles; Watterson repeats as champ

Frank DiRenna, Columbus Dispatch · The Columbus Dispatch

Mon, Mar 16, 2026 ·

4 min read

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The high school boys wrestling season came to a close March 15 at the Schottenstein Center with one central Ohio team repeating as state champion and five area competitors capturing titles.

Watterson went back-to-back in Division II, scoring 110.5 points to finish ahead of CCL rival DeSales (94.5) for the second year in a row in the three-day event.

Micheal Boyle (215 pounds) and James Lindsay (150) won titles to lead Watterson.

DeSales' Joel Welch (165) and Licking Valley's Joe Curry (126) also won titles in Division II, while Dublin Coffman's Oliver Lester (120) won a Division I championship.

Mackenzie Carder of Olentangy Orange defeated Cami Leng of Marysville in the girls state wrestling tournament to win the championship title, March 15, 2026.
(Jessica Phelps/Columbus Dispatch)

Michael Boyle of Watterson defeats George Eggers of Napoleon in the Division II state wrestling tournament to win the championship title, March 15, 2026.
(Jessica Phelps/Columbus Dispatch)

Oliver Lester (Dublin Coffman) defeated Bradley Bauman (Lakewood St. Edward) in the Division I state wrestling tournament to win the championship title for the 120 weight class, March 15, 2026.
(Jessica Phelps, Jessica Phelps-The Columbus Dispatch)

Ashlynn Brokaw (Mount Vernon) beat Emma Gorrell (Warren) in the girls state wrestling tournament to win the championship title for the 110 weight class, March 15, 2026.
(Jessica Phelps, Jessica Phelps-The Columbus Dispatch)

Joe Curry (Licking Valley) defeats Carter Trukovich (Galion) in the Division II state wrestling tournament to win the championship title for the 126 weight class, March 15, 2026.
(Jessica Phelps, Jessica Phelps-The Columbus Dispatch)

James Lindsay (Watterson) defeats Beau Nezbeth (Beloit West Branch) in the Division II state wrestling tournament to win the championship title for the 150 weight class, March 15, 2026.
(Jessica Phelps, Jessica Phelps-The Columbus Dispatch)

James Lindsay (Watterson) vs. Beau Nezbeth (Beloit West Branch) in the Division II state wrestling tournament to win the championship title for the 150 weight class, March 15, 2026.
(Jessica Phelps, Jessica Phelps-The Columbus Dispatch)

Nora Johnson (Bishop Hartley) lost to Emma Shephard (Massillon Perry) in the girls state wrestling tournament in the weight class, March 15, 2026.
(Jessica Phelps, Jessica Phelps-The Columbus Dispatch)

Tommy Rowlands (Watterson) lost to Jake Hughes (Lisbon Beaver Local) in the Division II state wrestling tournament in the 157 weight class, March 15, 2026.
(Jessica Phelps, Jessica Phelps-The Columbus Dispatch)

Reese Thomas (Jonathan Alder) defeats Naomi Gearheart (Ashland Crestview) in the girls state wrestling tournament to win the championship title for the 145 weight class, March 15, 2026.
(Jessica Phelps, Jessica Phelps-The Columbus Dispatch)

KyLee Tibbs (Gahanna Lincoln) defeats Vivienne Legato (Archbold) in the girls state wrestling tournament to win the championship title for the 155 weight class, March 15, 2026.
(Jessica Phelps, Jessica Phelps-The Columbus Dispatch)

Watterson earns state championship repeat

The Eagles' title came in the first season for coach Kevin Petrella, who previously guided CCL rival Hartley for 15 years.

Finishing ahead of DeSales also reversed a trend from earlier this season. DeSales beat Watterson 42-27 for the Division II state duals title , and then won sectional and district titles ahead of the Eagles.

"It is a great feeling," Petrella said. "Obviously, you'd like to run the table. To beat them in the state duals would have been great, but this is the pinnacle of the season, the individual team title. We never flinched. We kept coming back. We kept working hard."

Watterson's Michael Boyle captured his third state championship, defeating Napoleon's George Eggers in the 215-pound final in Division II. — Michael Boyle of Watterson defeats George Eggers of Napoleon in the Division II state wrestling tournament to win the championship title, March 15, 2026.

Boyle (38-0) won his third consecutive state title, overpowering Napoleon's George Eggers by technical fall (21-5) in the final. The Ohio State wrestling commit also has helped Watterson's football team win two consecutive Division III state championships .

"It's just the norm now," said Boyle, a junior. "That's what we do at Watterson, regardless of the sport."

A four-time state qualifier, Lindsay (35-6) captured his first state title by defeating Beloit West Branch's Beau Nezbeth 9-3.

"It was just amazing," Lindsay said. "Being in the state finals three times, losing twice, and finally getting [the title] my senior year, it just means everything to me."

Sophomore Tommy Rowlands (44-2) had his second state runner-up finish, falling to Lisbon Beaver's Jake Hughes 2-1 in overtime in the 157 final.

Watterson's James Lindsay celebrates his Division II state championship at 150 pounds.

DeSales' Welch wins first state title

After finishing second last season at 165, Welch (47-3) climbed to the top of the podium, winning by injury default against Uhrichsville Claymont's Kamden Stout. Welch was leading 3-0 in the first period when Stout was forced to stop with a knee injury.

"If [the injury] would have happened or not, I'm not sure if it would have changed the outcome of the match," Welch said. "It doesn't take away from the state title. It's part of wrestling."

Dublin Coffman's Oliver Lester, right, battles Lakewood St. Edward's Bradley Bauman for the Division I state title at 120 pounds. Lester won 9-2.

Sophomores fuel Dublin Coffman

Led by sophomores Lester and Tommy Wurster, the Shamrocks tied Massillon Perry for third (127.5) in the big-school division behind Perrysburg (173.5) and Lakewood St. Edward (168.5).

In Lester's title match, he and St. Edward's Bradley Bauman were tied at 1 after regulation, the 1-minute overtime and the first 30-second extra session before Lester (35-6) took control in the second 30-second extra session and pulled away for a 9-2 win.

"[Lester] believed this weekend, that's all that really matters," Coffman coach Chance Van Gundy said. "A month ago, he wasn't on track to be a state champ, but in the last month he's turned things around."

Wurster (45-5) had his second runner-up finish, losing 4-1 to Perrysburg's Grey Burnett in the 126 final.

Licking Valley's Joe Curry, back, battles Galion's Carter Trukovich for the Division II state title at 126. Curry won 7-1.

Licking Valley's Curry earns second state title

A four-time state qualifier, Curry (47-4) capped his prep career by beating Galion's Carter Trukovich 7-1 for a second Division II title.

Curry won at 120 as a freshman at Watterson before placing fifth as a sophomore and third last season for Licking Valley, both times at 126.

"I really opened up my offense a lot more this year," Curry said. "I was doing better positioning and just looking for more attacks."

High school sports reporter Frank DiRenna can be reached at fdirenna@dispatch.com and at @DispatchFrank on X.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Watterson, 5 central Ohio boys win OHSAA wrestling championships

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