There is a rivalry brewing between Elmwood and Arcadia, two small Northwestern Ohio school districts. Separated by just 15 miles, these programs rarely wrestled each other until recently.

Last year they saw each other on three different occasions in the regular season. Elmwood traveled to the Arcadia Invitational for the first time, they met again at the Van Buren Invitational, and finally in a dual meet at Elmwood. Elmwood swept the three meetings with tournament titles at Arcadia and Van Buren, finishing their dual season 18-5. Multiple wrestlers from these teams also met in competition at the district tournament.

Just like last year, the Royals got the upper hand as they won the Arcadia Invitational with 290.5 points to Arcadia’s second place 177.5 points but the part that made this victory more special for Elmwood was the individual victories.

Alex Betts’ win over Arcadia senior and three-time state placer Lee Schumaker was the highlight of the evening. In the 145 pound championship bout, Betts, a junior, came away with a 4-2 victory in an exciting match. Even more impressively, this came after Betts handed Patrick Henry’s highly-touted freshman Xavier Dye his first regular season loss. Last year Dye was 36-0 en route to a junior high state championship. Coming into the match with Betts, he was 8-0 this season. Betts, a two-time district qualifier, deservedly took home the Outstanding Wrestler award.

Two finals bouts went against the Royals however, one of them at the hands of an Arcadia wrestler. The 140 pound match was between freshman sensation Chad Sonnenberg of Van Buren and returning state qualifier Cody Alexander of Elmwood. Sonnenberg, a three-time junior high state placer, finished with a 3-2 victory to start off his high school career with a tournament championship. At 160, there was a battle of state tournament veterans as Mason True of Arcadia got the best of Elmwood’s Mitch Lee in a 5-2 decision. True, a two-time state qualifier, placed seventh in the state last year after finishing fifth in the district, making him an alternate. When Lee - who finished second in the district - could not wrestle because of a skin condition, True wrestled in his spot and made a run all the way to the podium. On this night, True came away with a hard-fought victory, breaking a 2-2 tie with ten seconds left by tilting Lee for three near fall points.

Team Standings
1. Bloomdale Elmwood - 290.5
2. Arcadia - 177.5
3. Hamler Patrick Henry - 158
4. Plymouth - 146.5
5. Mount Blanchard Riverdale - 124.5
6. Bellefontaine - 114
7. Van Buren - 103
8. New Washington Buckeye Central - 100
9. Cory-Rawson - 68
10. North Baltimore - 39

Championship Finals
103: Anthony Elchert (Arcadia) dec. Nick Goebel (Elmwood) 9-4
112: Westley Lee (Elmwood) dec. Lyle Riedlinger (Arcadia) 11-9
119: Alex Lopez (Patrick Henry) pin Zac Campbell (Buckeye Central) 3:32
125: David McDonald (Plymouth) dec. Slayde Wilcoxon (Bellefontaine) 7-0
130: Anthony Almanza (Patrick Henry) md. Cody Cavinder (Riverdale) 22-9
135: Tyler Wisse (Bellefontaine) dec. Myles Rinehart (Plymouth) 7-5
140: Chad Sonnenberg (Van Buren) dec. Cody Alexander (Elmwood) 3-2
145: Alex Betts (Elmwood) dec. Lee Schumaker (Arcadia) 4-2
152: Ryan Falk (Cory-Rawson) dec. Kenny Means (Plymouth) 18-13
160: Mason True (Arcadia) dec. Mitch Lee (Elmwood) 5-2
171: Jordan Ackley (Elmwood) dec. Cody Camper (Riverdale) 6-3
189: Justin Colley (Bellefontaine) md. Travis Tahy (Elmwood) 14-3
215: Jon Aurand (Elmwood) pin Clay Eaton (Van Buren) 3:01
285: Brock Reinhart (Plymouth) pin Michael Wenig (Elmwood) 2:20