Wrestling: Dublin Scioto Irish’s Ty Wilson earns second state title

Dublin Scioto sophomore wrestler Ty Wilson continues to reach new heights. 

Wilson became the Irish’s first two-time state champion, earning his latest title by beating Toledo Whitmer sophomore Jeremy Ginter 9-7 in the Division I final at 132 pounds March 13 at Ohio State.

“Ty trains his body and his mind to expect these accomplishments,” coach Adam Huddle said. “He’s still hungry for the next best. He’s only halfway through his career and still has a ton of goals and obstacles in front of him with a Scioto singlet.” 

Last season, Wilson beat Dublin Coffman’s Omar Ayoub 3-0 in the final at 113. Ayoub, also a sophomore, won the state title this season at 126. 

Wilson was not fazed by the move from 113 to 132. 

“I’m stronger than ever, lifted all summer and I keep a good diet, making sure my body is healthy,” said Wilson, who finished the season 53-4.

Moments after winning his second title, Wilson looked ahead to possibly earning four state championships. 

“I definitely want to do this four times and then go on and wrestle in college,” he said. 

He began his quest for a third title the following day, returning to training. 

“Ty was excited to win his second, but Monday morning he was working on his third,” Huddle said. “He was working out at 4:30 a.m.” 

Wilson celebrated his second championship by jumping into the arms of his father, Ronald, who served as an assistant coach. 

“We keep the summer workouts going. That’s what we’ve been training for,” Ronald said of his son’s goal to win four state titles. “His dream is to be an Olympic gold medalist and he’s right on track for it.” 

Wilson was joined at state by senior Matthew Howard, who finished fifth at 215. 

Howard missed most of last year with a shoulder injury, but returned this season after surgery and was determined to close his career on a positive note. 

“At one point, I thought I’d never make it back because I was out for such a long time,” he said. “I only had three to six months to train for state and I was worried, so I kept training and training, doing whatever it took, rehab, anything.” 

Howard lost 3-2 in a quarterfinal to Brecksville-Broadview Heights’ Max Vanadia, but rebounded to finish fifth — capped by a 9-0 win over Vanadia. Howard went 37-6 this season. 

“This means a lot to me,” he said. “I wish I would have placed higher, but I underestimated the guy I wrestled (for fifth) a little bit too much in my second match. I said I have to go after it this time, (because) this is my final match.” 

Howard won a district title March 5 at Hilliard Darby, beating Olentangy Liberty junior Dylan Russo 8-3 in the final. Russo went on to win his second state title. 

“We always believed in (Howard),” Huddle said. “Everybody asks me, ‘Where did this kid come from?’ This kid has been with us through middle school at Davis and we had him through high school. We knew how talented he was. He’s always had some nicks and injuries and things that held him out, so for it to all come together his senior year, there were only a few people who weren’t surprised and that was us.” 

Wilson and Howard combined to account for the Irish’s 38.5 points as they finished 12th behind champion Lakewood St. Edward (176), which won its seventh state title in eight seasons and 35th overall. 

Huddle hopes the success Wilson and Howard enjoyed this season will help generate interest to convince others to join the program. 

“We have to get our numbers up, so hopefully this will help,” Huddle said.  

fdirenna@thisweeknews.com

@ThisWeekFrank

SCIOTO WRESTLING

•OCC-Capital standings: Westerville North (7-0), Delaware (6-1), Big Walnut (5-2), Scioto (4-3), Canal Winchester (3-4), Westerville South (2-5), Franklin Heights (1-6), Worthington Kilbourne (0-7)

•Seniors lost: Ibrahim Habli, Matthew Howard, Tahah Jawad, Sam Mullett, Mahdi Numan and Colin Sink 

•Key returnee: Ty Wilson 

•Postseason: Fifth (112) at sectional behind champion Olentangy Berlin (225.5), ninth (69.5) at district behind champion Coffman (247), 12th (38.5) at state behind champion Lakewood St. Edward (176)