Article written by Jacob Merideth & Dave Horning for The Circleville Herald. Published in The Circleville Herald on March 16, 2026.
COLUMBUS — Wrestlers from Teays Valley, Circleville, and Westfall highlighted the local presence at the Ohio High School Athletic Association state wrestling tournament over the weekend at the Schottenstein Center.
Westfall produced two state placers during the tournament.
Eli Wright earned a seventh-place finish in Division II at 190 pounds. Wright went 3-2 during the tournament and secured his podium spot with a win in the seventh-place match, finishing the season with a 32-10 record.
Wright lost his first match, but came back to win his next match in the wrestle-backs. The match started slow, but Wright quickly shifted into a higher gear.
“My adrenaline started pumping, and I let the dogs out,” explained Wright, who won that second match by pinning his opponent.
Westfall’s Savannah Holderby placed sixth in the girls' 145-pound weight class. Holderby went 2-4 during the tournament to close out her season with a 10-6 record.
Westfall’s Savanah Holderby won her first round match in an uncommon manner when she was injured by her opponent, who grabbed her ankle and twisted the knee sideways.
“You’re allowed to move it in the normal range of motion, but she pulled it sideways. It was an illegal move, so we won by injury default,” said Westfall Coach Tim Geiger. “And the Greeneview wrestler already had one penalty on her for an illegal move.”
Teays Valley sent three wrestlers to the Division I state tournament. Trevor Bridges competed at 113 pounds while Josh Zimmer at 126 pounds. Both wrestlers won their first round match and advanced to Saturday competition, but were defeated in the wrestle-backs. Peter Graham also qualified at 190 pounds.
Circleville’s Kevin Downing represented the Tigers in Division II at 106 pounds, but ran into tough opponents in his first two rounds. However, Downing was always the aggressor, initiating the first takedown moves in each match. “They call him the flying squirrel,” said Circleville Assistant Coach David Morgan. “There’s not a person in this world he’s going to back down from. He’s not scared of nobody!”
Other area wrestlers also competed in the state tournament.
Bloom-Carroll’s Elias Kline qualified in Division II at 126 pounds and finished 1-2 during the tournament.
Liberty Union sent two wrestlers to the Division III tournament, with Parker Frakes competing at 106 pounds and Jimmy Landis at 138 pounds. Landis finished 1-2 while Frakes went 0-2.