The Oak Harbor wrestling team capped a tough weekend of wrestling by taking home the overall team championship in the Division II district tournament at Marion Harding High School. 
When all the dust had settled, the team had won by 28.5 points over familiar foe Lexington.
Three wrestlers won individual district titles, setting them up for next week’s state tournament. Drew Stone won his second straight district title by defeating an opponent from Padua 3-1. Ian Miller won his second straight district title as well by defeating a Van Wert foe by a fall in 1:27. Konner Witt would follow Ian’s lead and take an individual title for himself at the 152 pound weight class with a 7-1 victory.
Adding to their sectional championship the previous week, the team is hot heading in to the state tournament next weekend.  Drew Stone, Ian Miller, and Konner Witt all finished as champions in their respective weight classes at districts while Mike Mallernee, Zach Sandwisch, Jake Cramer and Tyler Hackworth also earned state bids. Jake Cramer punched his ticket to state by defeating a Wauseon wrestler in the third place match 10-0. Zach Bergman and Alex Bergman both earned alternate spots at the state wrestling meet by finishing fifth at districts.
The boys will travel to the Schottenstein Center on the campus of The Ohio State University on Thursday, March 4, to compete at state. Wrestling begins at 3 p.m. and the state finals are slated to begin at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 6. 
Junior Tyler Hackworth will take his 31-7 record into the 119 competition; senior Drew Stone is 36-3 heading into the 125 competition; junior Jake Cramer is 40-7 heading into the 140 competition; junior Ian Miller is 37-1 heading into the 145 competition; junior Konner Witt is 45-3 heading into the 152 competition; senior Mike Mallernee is 36-9 heading into the 171 competition; and senior Zach Sandwisch is 30-10 heading into the 285 competition.
Experts say St. Paris Graham, ranked as the nation’s best team, have a sure fire shot at winning at D-II state championship. Graham returns four defending state champions and five other state placers. Last year, they obliterated a number of team records, scoring 282 points (breaking the old record by an unheard of 53 points) and crowning seven individual state champions, eclipsing a record that had stood for 58 years.
But there is fragmentation after that, putting squads with three or more outstanding wrestlers into a solid placement for a high placement. To on the list is Oak Harbor, says expert Brian Brakeman in a story for the OHSAA Web site, because it qualified seven out of the Marion district, including top contenders Stone, Miller, and Witt. Other top teams include Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit, Lewis Center Olentangy, Lexington and Toledo Central Catholic.
Brakeman says there are some exceptional match-up opportunities in Division II. We may see a rematch at 125 pounds, Brakeman says, where defending state champion Johnni DiJulius (Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit) could well meet his finals opponent from last year, Rocket grappler Drew Stone. That ended with a one-point DiJulius victory last year and this year’s final could be just as close, Brakeman said.
There is an oddity Oak Harbor could be up against at the D-II tournament. Over the years, Ohio has produced some fine female wrestlers, but none that were able to compete at the state meet. However, this year the very talented Paige Nemec qualified in fourth place at a difficult district that featured at least six state-caliber wrestlers, Brakeman said. Nemec, who began wrestling at age 5, is a strong four-year performer at Mantua Crestwood and has earned more than 100 varsity wins. This year alone, she took first in five important tournaments while amassing 33 victories.
Her first round opponent in the state meet — returning state placer Trevor Fiorucci (Lewis Center Olentangy) — will be a tough opening match-up, but Nemec has proven to be a solid competitor over her varsity career, Brakeman added. She wrestles at 103, so no Rocket will have to take her on, but Crestwood sent five wrestlers to state in all, which could be a challenge for the Rockets’ hopes of at least a runner-up finish.

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