Dalton’s Tate Geiser places 3rd at state wrestling tournament

Dalton’s Tate Geiser

Dalton’s Austin  Ryder

Dalton coaches at the state tournament

DGKN staff report

Dalton’s wrestling team completed their season at the state level and came away from the year with school records.

“It was a great weekend in Columbus,” said Head Coach Kenton Lemon. “First of all, I was extremely excited to be back at the Schottenstein Center for the state tournament. Our kids truly deserve a show for the state tournament and they do a great job of putting on a show and celebrating the kids’ successes throughout the year. While the weekend didn’t exactly end the way we wanted it to, we brought three guys to the state tournament which is a great accomplishment for our team.”

Senior Tate Geiser brought home a third-place finish in the Division III State Wrestling Championship. He became the school’s first three-time state qualifier and two-time state placer. Senior Austin Ryder and sophomore Greyson Siders both won their first round match on Friday.

“Going into the quarterfinals we knew they both had good matchups,” Lemon wrote in an email. “Unfortunately they both lost in the second round. Austin had a great career at Dalton as a two time state qualifier and 7th place finisher as a junior. Greyson is a two time state qualifier as a sophomore.”

Geiser lost a tough semis match to the eventual state champ at 157 pounds, Lemon said. Geiser plans to continue his wresting career next year at Cleveland State University.

“I couldn’t be happier with our entire team’s effort this year,” Lemon wrote. “Each wrestler played an important role in our season and a lot of guys accomplished many of their goals. I think we truly learned how hard work and dedication impact the end of the season and that’s not just a wrestling lesson, it’s a life lesson. This is a great team and I’m very proud to have had the opportunity to coach such a hardworking group of student-athletes.”