High school wrestlers statebound
ARCHIVE PHOTO
Greyson Siders, left, and Kaden Russell, will travel to Columbus to represent the Bulldogs at the state wrestling tournament. Russell earned his firs trip to the state tournamnet with a 4th place finish at the district tournament.
After coming up short last year at the district wrestling tournament, Dalton’s Kaden Russell set a goal for himself. He was going to make it to the state tournament this year, Dalton Head Coach Kenton Lemon said.
Russell put in the extra work this season and thanks to what Lemon called “great mentality” and a “laser focus” – mission accomplished.
Dalton’s Kaden Russell joins other area wrestlers on high school wrestling’s biggest stage this weekend. Russell, a 144-pound Dalton sophomore, earned his first trip to the state tournament on Saturday with a 4th place finish at the District Tournament, Lemon said.
Greyson Siders will also be traveling to Columbus on Friday as an alternate at 165 pounds. The State Wrestling Tournament will be at the Schottenstein Center Friday-Sunday, March 10-12.
Waynedale Bears finished the weekend as District Runner-Up. Stephen Patterson and Caden Schmeltzer both finished third and punched their ticket to the state tournament in Columbus. Lance Kearney, Collin Kearney, and Robert McCrork all finished fifth and will be state alternates. Ashton Kauf and Cole Lewis both finished sixth, according to Waynedale Athletics on Facebook.
All six Dalton wrestlers finished the first day at the district tournament with each earning at least one victory, Lemon said in an email.
“Sam Ediger, Kaden Russell, Bram McCourt, Greyson Siders, Seth Ryder, Cohen Riggenbach each get to put their stamp on Dalton Wrestling History as being the first group that had everyone still wrestling on Day 2 of the District tournament,” Lemon said. “We knew going into the weekend that there were going to be some really tough matches, but overall we knew that each match was within reach. I was really happy to see our kids go and compete at a high level with a lot of really good kids.”
Siders went 2-0 on Friday, which earned him a spot in the semifinals on Saturday.
“While the other five really had to dig deep and understand that while we try to eliminate “pressure” as much as possible, the next matches that they would wrestle would determine whether or not their season continued,” Lemon said.
The next day, five wrestlers were in Consolation Round 2.
“We went 5 for 5 in that round with everyone getting a win,” Lemon said. “I think that is a true testament to our kids and their mindset. They knew that those were all big matches and they wrestled extremely well. Sam, Bram, Seth and Cohen were each one match from placing at the district tournament and another match from advancing to the State Tournament. Words cannot begin to describe how proud I am of those four guys and the grit and determination that they showed. Fortunately for us, they are all coming back next year. Now they have a district tournament under their belt and they have an idea of what to expect and what they need to do to get to where they want to be next year.”
Read the complete story in the March 8, 2023 edition.
