Three Central Catholic League (CCL) teams showed the strength of their wrestling programs that has been building for the past few years with noteworthy efforts in the 2023 Ohio high school state championship meet.

Columbus St. Francis DeSales, Bishop Watterson and Bishop Hartley finished among the top six in the Division II team standings, and five wrestlers from those schools won individual titles on Sunday, March 12 in the Schottenstein Center at Ohio State University.

“It was awesome to see,” DeSales coach Collin Palmer said. “A lot of these kids have been training together for quite some time now and they’ve spread out to different high schools in the CCL, but it’s cool seeing them all at the top of the podium at the end of the year.”

Led by 215-pound champion Max Shulaw, DeSales took second, its highest finish since 1985, in the Division II team standings with 120.5 points, trailing only powerhouse St. Paris Graham, which won its 22nd consecutive state title, with 157 points.

“We’re pretty excited,” said Palmer, the state Division II coach of the year. “We had a program of four kids four years ago and turned it into what it is today with seven state placers and a team runner-up finish. So we’re definitely moving in the right direction.”

Watterson, paced by two individual champions, took fourth with 81.5 points, and Hartley, with one state champ, wound up sixth with 65.5 points.

Those three teams accounted for 25% of the finalists in the Division II championship matches.

“I think this is the beginning of Watterson’s dynasty and also the beginning of a CCL dynasty,” Watterson coach Felix Catheline said.

Shulaw was as dominant as any wrestler in the entire meet with four pins to cap an undefeated season with a 51-0 record. The junior’s falls came in 37 seconds, 3:01 and 1:03 before he pinned Elijah Llewellyn of Indian Creek in 3:41 in the final.

“He’s just a complete phenom as an athlete as far as work ethic,” Palmer said. “He’s just completely in a different category when it comes to how hard he works. And he’s a true leader in every aspect of life – great grades, an ambassador for the school, great football player, obviously unbelievable wrestler. Just a kid that is few and far between.”

Teammate David McClelland (44-6), a senior, won his second consecutive title, defeating St. Paris Graham’s Hayden Hughes 5-0 in the final at 138 pounds. McClelland won a championship at 132 pounds last year.

Shulaw’s younger brother, Lincoln, reached the final at 175 pounds before losing to Hartley’s Dylan Newsome 6-3 in a hard-fought, all-CCL final. Newsome, who will wrestle at Oklahoma next season, reached the top of the podium after finishing second at 170 in 2021 and third at 615 last year.

“The difference between being a state champ and not being a state champ is just so small,” Hartley coach Kevin Petrella said. “He could have been a multiple-time champion and finally getting it done was just really exciting for him.”

DeSales’ other place-winners among its seven qualifiers were Owen Eagan (31-8), fourth at 157; Aiden Rush (39-12), fifth at 144; Zack Lopez (34-8), fifth at 150; and Andrew Barford (39-10), fifth at 165.  

Watterson’s four wrestlers came away with two state championships.

“It was a fantastic weekend,” Catheline said. “We were really, really happy with the outcome and especially the way the guys wrestled.

“Our guys had a phenomenal year, and what’s even more exciting is that it’s just the beginning. I think this is going to be something that stretches over potentially the next eight to 10 years, and we’re pretty pumped about it.”

Sophomore Mitchell Younger (29-2) won his second state title in a row, beating Lance Overmyer of Clyde 11-6 in the 144-pound final, and freshman Joe Curry (34-2) won his first with a 4-2 decision over Noah Moreland of Vandalia Butler in the 120-pound title match.

“Mitchell’s an amazing kid and amazing wrestler, and I think he’s a special talent,” Catheline said. “Going into the season, we knew there’d be some people that were targeting him because he’s the defending state champion.”

Curry gave an indication of what lay ahead when he won a district title leading up to the state meet, where he decisioned top-ranked Colt Ryan of St. Paris Graham in the semifinals before winning a rematch in the championship match with Moreland, his opponent in a district final.

“So, we felt good throughout the season and what he was building toward, and it was kind of a exclamation point for us for him,” Catheline said. 

The Eagles’ other two qualifiers placed in the top four in their weight classes.

Sophomore Neal Krysty (35-3) edged Blake Bartos of Medina Buckeye 4-3 in the third-place match at 106 after losing to Bartos by the same score in a quarterfinal bout. Freshman James Lindsay (29-5) battled back from a loss in his opening match to claim fourth at 132 pounds.

Three of Hartley’s five qualifiers placed in the top three.

In addition to the title for Newsome (43-3) at 175 pounds, sophomore Aiden King (22-1) claimed second place at 126 pounds, losing by fall in the final to Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary’s Bryce Skinner, a defending state champion, after pinning his first three opponents.

Junior Cooper Rathburn (32-7) came back from a quarterfinal loss to DeSales’ McClelland to win four matches in a row for third place at 138 pounds. 

“It was a little disappointing for Cooper because he wanted to beat him,” Petrella said, “but I was really proud of him. Sometimes it’s really hard, especially when you have your eyes on trying to wrestle in the state finals or win a state championship, to take a loss earlier in the tournament and wrestle back and take third.”

King had suffered a broken leg several months before the season but returned to go undefeated until the state final, and Rathburn and Newsome both battled knee injuries.

“Maybe it’s a little disappointing for Aiden and Cooper because they wanted to do a little bit better,” Petrella said, “but when you step away for a second and just look back, every year we keep doing a little bit better than we had previously.

“We had a lot of firsts this year with five state qualifiers, three state placers in the same year, first-time state champ, first time top 10.”

Hartley 285-pounder Isaac Asiedu won a first-round match and 190-pound teammate Eyan Jackson was one of the Hawks’ five qualifiers.

In Division III, Newark Catholic tied for 31st with 19 points.

The Green Wave’s three qualifiers finished in the top eight in their weight classes in Division III.

Heavyweight Griffin Halenar (39-8) reached the semifinal round before losing and ultimately placed sixth. Teammate Brian Luft (22-5) won three of his five matches to take seventh at 132 and Brendan Sheehan (46-5) rebounded from an opening loss to wind up eighth at 165.

DeSales junior Max Shulaw celebrates after pinning his way to a Division II state championship at 215 pounds at Ohio State's Schottenstein Center. Photos courtesy John Hulkenberg
DeSales 138-pound senior David McClelland shows his emotion after winning his second consecutive state title.
Watterson 138-pound sophomore Mitchell Younger has now won back-to-back state titles. 
Watterson freshman Joe Curry is all smiles after winning the Division II final at 120 pounds.
Hartley senior Dylan Newsome gets a hug after claiming a coveted state championship at 175 pounds, beating DeSales’ Lincoln Shulaw in the final.
State runner-up Aiden King of Hartley prepares for his match in the Division II final at 126 pounds. 
DeSales coach Collin Palmer celebrates Max Shulaw’s win by fall in a Division II state championship match at 215 pounds.