VERSAILLES – Versailles High School hosted and competed in the 2023 OHSWCA State Duals Division III wrestling tournament.
“It takes a lot of work but fortunately we have a very supportive community with wrestling so we get a lot of people that want to help with this and that helps out,” said Versailles athletic director, Scott Broerman. “Our coaches do a great job as well. This couldn’t be done without help from our coaches as well as our community with all the help.”
Former Versailles wrestling coach, Bill Roll was very instrumental in establishing the state duals wrestling tournament.
“We worked real hard to get it started and it’s grown every year,” Roll stated. “We have a big crowd here today. All these teams, we have good competition and I think it is important for wrestling to emphasize that ‘team’. Some teams have hammers but the best team is going to win here and that is what this is all about. The average kid becomes very important in this tournament.”
The Versailles Tigers, under the direction of head coach, AJ Bey came into the day as the seventh seed out of a total of the eight teams making it to the state wrestling finals.
Versailles dropped 45-23 quarterfinal match to No. 2 seed Barnesville with Versailles wins coming from a Trey Huber (113) 7-1 decision; Isaac Brown (120) 8-6 decision; Payton Platfoot (144) pin at 3:34; Kane Epperly (175) pin at 0:30; Ethan Stover (190) 16-1 technical fall.
Versailles won its Consolation Semifinal 40-31 over Perry. Tigers wins came from Sam DeLand (106) by forfeit; Trey Huber (113) pin at 1:19; Payton Platfoot (144) 13-2 major decision; Levi Barga (150) pin at 5:03; Kane Epperly (175) pin at 0:59; Joel Gehret (190) pin at 1:02; Ethan Stover (215) pin at 1:29.
Versailles defeated Liberty Center to earn a fifth place finish in Division III State Duals. Wins in over Liberty Center came from Trey Huber (113) 9-0 major decision; Lane Bergman (132) 7-0 decision; Luke Batty (138) 6-4 decision; Payton Platfoot (144) 11-3 major decision; Levi Barga (150) pin at 3:28; Quentin Grillot (157) pin at 4:06; Michael Osborne (165) forfeit; Joel Gehret (190) pin at 3:07.
Archbold defeated Rootstown 34-33 to claim the State title. Third place went to Barnesville with a 37- 28 win over Legacy Christian.
First Place: Archbold
Second Place: Rootstown
Third Place: Barnesville
Fourth Place: Legacy Christian
Fifth Place: Versailles
Sixth Place: Liberty Center
Seventh Place: Perry
Eighth Place: Martins Ferry
The OHSWCA State Duals Division III wrestling tournament returns to Versailles for 2024 even though it is on the far west side of the state.
“We understand we’re on the west side of the state and it’s not centralized so we try to put on a good event here so people want to keep coming back,” Broerman said. “Fortunately we get to have it next year as well. I think there are a lot of coaches believe as long as its ran well they’re willing to travel and that is what we try to do.”
