3 third-place finishes highlight locals at state tournament

COLUMBUS – Sunday was all about battling back from a loss earlier in the tournament.The No. 1 goal of every wrestler is to get down to Columbus and win a state title. When that doesn't happen, how does a wrestler react? Can they bounce back and finish on Sunday?Locally, seven grapplers finished on the podium Sunday as three placed third – Mohawk senior Owen Patrizi, junior Kaden Bish and Seneca East junior Kiera Depinet.All three had to battle back from a tough defeat Saturday, and that's exactly what each did.In Division III, the Warrior pair of Bish and Patrizi return to Sycamore with two third-place finishes.After a 12-3 loss in the semifinals, Patrizi (144 pounds) took down Williamsburg's Ryan Hager 16-7 and then fell behind Barnesville's Colt Carpenter 1-0 after two periods. He then found an opening and executed to finish with a 7-3 victory."Been in that position before, it sucks losing last night, but to wrestle back for third is just a testament of how much work goes into it," the Heidelberg commit Patrizi said. "It shows a lot to come back and win those two matches and to take the highest possible place that isn't first. It wasn't first, but I'm pretty happy with how I finished my season."Bish (175 pounds) suffered a 15-0 loss Saturday night against St. Paris Graham's Kyler Crooks. He then bounced back with a 3-0 victory over Barnesville's Hines Ford and then finished with a flurry with a dominant 18-1 tech fall victory over Garaway's Matt Frey in the third-place bout."Obviously, not the result I wanted, but was able to bounce back and get third, so I'm thankful for the opportunity to compete," Bish said. "The game plan was to get to my offense (vs. Frey) and I always say my offense is my best defense, so as long as I'm shooting, that's the best thing that can happen. "I just have to get back to it in the offseason and get better so I can end on the No. 1 spot next year."Regardless of the finishes for both, to come down to the Schottenstein Center with two wrestlers and both place third, it's a big result for Mohawk."After the tough losses last night – yeah the main goal is to win the tournament – but there was nothing they could do about that at that point, so just getting refocused and establishing new goals to get the job done was something we've been working on all year," Warriors coach Brad Rice said. "We were very fortunate that those two have been in those types of matches before, so that really helped. It helps you get through it."No matter who has been the coach at Mohawk we all had the same goals which were to be league champs, sectional champs and we're sending kids to state. That's just our expectation in the room. It's something that the kids grasp onto very quickly. Sending three down here last year, just sending two this year, but to have those finishes today you can't be more happy as a coaching staff. I'm very proud of them."Depinet, a junior, placed higher this season, as she fought her way back through the consolation rounds to finish third. She placed fourth as a freshman, and fifth as a sophomore.Depinet battled in the morning against Youstina Hanna from Columbia Station. Depinet won on a 10-5 decision."I wanted to get my comeback match," Depinet said. "My bracket had really good girls in it. I knew if I was at my full potential, I could have won but it's something we will never know."The final match for Depinet was against a familiar opponent, Brooklyn Whited from Logan. The two have battled before and there is now a 2-2 record between them. Depinet won on a forfeit as Whited couldn't continue to wrestle.Depinet has been battling a knee injury and came back to wrestling in sectionals."She was able to bounce back last night in a really tight match," Tigers coach Travis Salyer said. "I think that match last night to keep her hope alive for a spot on the podium really woke her up. She has been a little hesitant but she is starting to bring up her confidence and it's the best I have seen her wrestle all season in the last few weeks." Clyde sophomore Mimi Greenslade also had to respond after a tough loss Saturday and Sunday morning."I didn't wrestle like myself in the first match," Greenslade said. "I had to let it go so I could get back."Greenslade lost her first match of the morning on a tech fall 17-1 against freshman McKinzee Mills from Chillicothe Huntington."After this morning's match, I don't think she was quite ready. Maybe a little too overconfident in her positions," Fliers head coach Adam Greenslade said. "It didn't go how she wanted it to go. I told her, title first. If you can't get that, then third, and if you can't get that, fifth place it is. She didn't like that answer."Mimi went up against senior Emilie Conley from Elyria, and in the first period, led 7-0. In the second period, her opponent got four points, and that's where it stayed as she pinned Conley in the third period. "I knew she was broken," Mimi said. "I knew I couldn't break. I just kept going and that I would get it." She is now a two-time state qualifier for Clyde, placing fifth this season, and is continuing to write the history at Clyde for girls wrestling. "When she ended up on her back, I was a little worried," coach Greenslade said. "Especially since consolation rounds are one minute. She is tough as nails though and even with her shoulder in a precarious position, she didn't flinch. She fought back and got on top and I knew that she would win."Other placers Sunday included Upper Sandusky's senior 157-pounder Ethan Lewis who placed seventh. He handled Vermilion's Aiden Kyser 14-4. Elsewhere in D-II, Bellevue senior Ben Jacobs (150 pounds) edged Cambridge's Marshall Laishley 4-3 to earn fifth place and Clyde junior Heath Norris (120) blanked Granville's Nash Finley 4-0 to take seventh place.Angela Hill contributed to this article.