High school wrestling: Black River beats Oberlin in season's final dual meet

SULLIVAN TWP. — The Black River wrestling team's place in the Lorain County League standings was all but assured before it stepped onto the mat, but that didn't change its approach. The Pirates went out and secured four of the five matches contested against shorthanded Oberlin, winning their final league dual 62-11 Thursday to clinch a share of the dual meet championship heading into the league tournament. Black River and Columbia, which defeated Brookside on Thursday, finished at 6-1, with the Pirates winning head-to-head on Jan. 23. It's the first time teams tied for first since the LCL was formed in 2019-20, as each of the five previous champions went undefeated. Clearview (5-2) defeated Firelands (3-4) in the other dual 53-21. "I'm beyond excited," Black River coach Blake Owen said. "It's been a long time since we've had a team large enough to put together a run at the championship for dual meets. This year has been unbelievably exciting. Last week's double win against Columbia and Firelands was just off the charts. That was probably the best dual meet I've ever been to as a coach or a fan. I'm really excited for our team. "I definitely think we're peaking. I really feel like we can make a run at the championship next week in the tournament. I think we have champions in multiple weight classes. These guys are feeling confident from these wins in the dual meets and are fired up for the postseason." Oberlin (0-7) only had six wrestlers, so it would have needed to win each match by pin and hope the Pirates had at least three double forfeits to pull the upset. Black River left no doubt, as Kohl Henry opened the evening with a 21-3 technical fall against Rose Boyer at 106 pounds and Brayten Durell pinned Lillian McFarland at 113. Maddox Mitchell had to go deep into the third period to pin Oberlin's Tommy Boyer at 132, building a 9-1 lead after two and then rolling Boyer in the final seconds before pinning him at 5:34. "Honestly, my match took longer than I expected," Mitchell said. "First period I was kind of trying to cowboy him, but it wasn't going so I just worked more takedowns and eventually worked for a pin in the last period. "It's pretty cool and very exciting to win the dual championship." Collin Boardmen came close to securing another win for Oberlin, but Black River's Jack Vancooney (175) held off for a 9-7 decision. Boardmen led 3-1 after a takedown and escape in the first period, but Vancooney scored a near fall in the second to retake the lead at 5-3. He opened the third with an escape and secured a takedown to give himself an 8-3 buffer, but Boardmen escaped, got a takedown, then let Vancooney up with 23 seconds left in an effort to get the match clinching pin. Vancooney played strong defense to seal the win. "It was tough," Vancooney said. "You've just got to power through that and be mentally strong. You're tired, so just don't make mistakes and keep your hands in fronter to make sure he doesn't get a win. "It feels great. This program hasn't had an accomplishment like this in a while. I'm proud to be part of it." Contact Chris Sweeney at 329-7135 or sports@medina-gazette.com. Follow him @CSweeney1686 on X. Black River 62, Oberlin 11 106 — Kohl Henry (B) t.f. Rose Boyer, 21-3. 113 — Brayten Durell (B) p. Lillian McFarland, 1:36. 120 — Lincoln Szojka (B) ff. 126 — Isaiah Belmont (O) ff. 132 — Maddox Mitchell (B) p. Tommy Boyer, 5:34. 138 — Colbey Wnoroski (O) t.f. Jonathan Schramm, 15-0. 144 — Xavier Hnanicek (B) ff. 150 — Samuel Dilley (B) ff. 157 — Taylor Owen (B) ff. 165 — Double ff. 175 — Jack Vancooney (B) d. Collin Boardmen, 9-7. 190 — Jaxson Brewer (B) ff. 215 — Jeremiah Otto (B) ff. 285 — Colton Moskal (B) ff.