5 Mahoning Valley wrestling squads in state tourney

Staff report

Five area wrestling teams look forward to the second round of the inaugural OHSAA dual-match team state tournament on Wednesday. The five — Canfield, West Branch, Howland and Beaver Local in Division II, and Jackson-Milton in Division III —have advanced to the regional semifinals round which requires two victories to advance through.

Canfield and West Branch are seeded third and fourth, respectively, in Region 11-A and will face second-seeded Lake Catholic and top-seeded Perry, respectively, on Wednesday at a site still to be determined. Those matches will be wrestled simultaneously and the winners will square off 20 minutes after the first matches are completed.

That winner advances to the Region 11 final on Feb. 6 with a chance of being one of eight regional champions advancing to the state tournament at St. John Arena in Columbus on Feb. 9.

Howland, top-seeded in Region 11-B, conceivably could meet Canfield or West Branch in the Region 11 final. The Tigers host the 11-B semifinals, facing fourth-seeded Crestwood at 6 p.m., the same time third-seeded Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary and Ravenna clash. The winners meet 20 minutes later for a berth in the Region 11 final.

Beaver Local is seeded third in Region 12-A and faces second-seeded Dresden Tri-Valley on Wednesday at Steubenville. That winner will meet the winner of the match between top-seeded Steubenville and fourth-seeded Cambridge.

Jackson-Milton is seeded sixth in Region 20-A and advanced with an upset victory over third-seeded Akron Manchester. For the semifinals, the Bluejays travel to Massillon Tuslaw and face second-seeded Rootstown. The host team, the top seed, meets Waterloo in the other match there.