Two wrestlers from Columbus diocesan high schools came away from the Jerome Schottenstein Center at Ohio State University with state wrestling titles, and one team claimed a top-five finish in the three-day tournament that ended Sunday, March 13.

Bishop Watterson freshman Mitchell Younger was crowned an individual champion at 144 pounds in his first state meet, and St. Francis DeSales junior David McClelland also captured a title at 132 pounds while helping the Stallions to a fifth-place finish in Division II with 73.5 points.

DeSales sophomore Max Shulaw made it to the final at 215 pounds before dropping a 7-2 decision to Carter Neves of state champion St. Paris Graham. 

The Stallions received additional points from Owen Eagan (third at 144) and Lincoln Shulaw (seventh at 165). 

Bishop Hartley’s Dylan Newsome took third at 165 pounds to help carry the Hawks to a 14th-place finish in the team standings with 30 points. Teammate Aiden King was seventh at 120.

Coach Collin Palmer has quickly restored a DeSales program that struggled in recent years. The Stallions’ last individual champion came in 2005.

“Our team goal was to be top five in the state,” Palmer said. “We started two years ago with four guys on the team. So we had to set some goals to make the progress we needed. We’re moving in the right direction.”

Junior David McClelland of DeSales defeated senior Pablo Castro of Louisville 8-3 to win the Division II state championship at 132 pounds on Sunday, March 13.   Photo courtesy John Hulkenberg)

McClelland’s closest match in his first state tournament appearance came in the final at 132, an 8-3 decision over Pablo Castro of Louisville. In the earlier rounds, his wins included a pin and a technical fall. He ended the season with a 43-5 record.

“He’s really turned the corner,” Palmer said. “We’ve always known that he was good. All the guys on the team look up to him, and he had to set the example.

“He and Max did a great job this year of leading by example, of not just talking the talk but doing exactly what we needed.”

Max Shulaw improved on his fourth-place finish in 2021 at 195 pounds as this year’s runner-up at 215. 

“We’re trying to just look at all the positives at the moment,” Palmer said of Shulaw. “He lost to somebody who wasn’t a slouch. So yeah, exactly. We had a game plan going into that match, and we didn’t really stick to it. And that ended up costing us. He’s still young.”

Eagan lost to eventual runner-up Nolan Gessler of St. Paris Graham by a major decision in the semifinals and then was pinned in 2:37 by Maddox Simcoe of Tiffin Columbian in the third-place match. Shulaw’s younger brother, Lincoln Shulaw, battled back from a quarterfinal loss to claim seventh at 165.

“Lincoln did a great job this year in the 165-pound weight class that’s filled with juniors and seniors,” Palmer said. “And so next year with more mat time the expectations are going to go through the roof for him.

“And I called Owen the sleeper of the tournament. He’s a super strong, athletic kid, and things all started coming together this season.”

Freshman Mitchell Younger of Watterson defeated Graham Local senior Nolan Gessler 4-3 to win the Division II state championship at 144 pounds.   Photo courtesy John Hulkenberg

Watterson ended up 22nd with 22 points on the strength of Younger’s impressive performance.

The freshman won two matches by three points and one by four to reach the final against Gessler in a rematch of a district final a week earlier  that Younger won 5-2.

In the state final, a wrestling miracle allowed Younger to pull out a 4-3 victory.

The Watterson wrestler (24-0) trailed 3-0 midway through the third period. With the clock winding down at the end of the match, Younger closed to 3-2 after a series of stalling calls were whistled against his opponent. With three seconds to go, when the referee blew his whistle to restart the match for the final time, Gessler immediately moved backward to avoid Younger.

The clock hit 0:00, and Gessler appeared to be the winner, but Watterson coach Felix Catheline pointed out to the officials that the rules stipulate a wrestler moving directly backward is a stalling infraction. After the officials huddled to discuss the rule, the final stalling call (the fourth in the match against Gessler) was awarded, resulting in two points and giving Younger the victory.

“I had lost track of the points, and we believed we were going to get the call and go to overtime,” Catheline said. “I was yelling at Mitchell, trying to pump him up, saying, ‘One-minute overtime, alright, here we go. You can take him down.’

“And then there was this awkward pause, and the match is over. It’s definitely a weird way to win, but I’m really happy for him.”

Younger’s resilience, maturity and ability to handle more experienced wrestlers at the state meet impressed his coach.

“He definitely took their best shot,” Catheline said. “So it’s awesome. It’s great that he won a title as a freshman, but it’s even more enjoyable for me just because of the character of the young man and his family.”

Newsome, a junior who finished second a year ago at 170, was bidding for his first state title but was edged 3-2 by Max Kirby of Fairless in the semifinals before coming back to win his third-place match by a 19-6 major decision over Thad Stuckey of Wilmington.

King won two matches in the meet and reached the medal stand as an eighth-place finisher.

Watterson freshman Mitchell Younger (right) gains the upper hand.    Photo courtesy John Hulkenberg