Orrville Wrestling Update

I didn't mention the Orrville wrestling team in my winter sports update yesterday. Not intended as a slight, just had nothing to mention. Haven't been able to follow their progress at all this season.

Thankfully, I got a message from assistant football coach (and former OHS wrestler and former middle school wrestling coach) Brent Steiner who shared that several Orrville wrestlers were mentioned in the recently released Brakeman Report.

Brian Brakeman publishes what is widely considered the bible of Ohio High School Wrestling. He predicts state champions for every weight class in each of Ohio's three divisions, and publishes a 100+ page report with more detail than most anyone could ever ask for.  It's truly outstanding work and was the recent focus of a Daily Record article.  Here's the Brakeman Report in it's entirety.

He correctly predicted Orrville's Dennis Raber as the Division III 160 lb. champion last season, and has probably correctly predicted hundreds of champions over his 40 years of publishing, so his predictions have more than a little merit.

So what does he say about any Orrville wrestler's chances in the 2011 state tournament?

He ranks senior Gage Wyant 11th in the 215 lb. weight class, fellow senior Sam Ruesser 10th in the heavyweight (285 lb.) class, and he also calls sophomore Alex Tschiegg a "long shot" in the 103 lb. weight class. Orrville will once again compete in Division III this season.

Not bad.  Two or three guys to state would be quite the accomplishment, and continue Orrville wrestling's strong state tournament tradition.

Thanks again to Coach Steiner for being a reader of the site, and for sending along the information.

Good luck the rest of the way!