Troy’s Nathan Brewster locks up with Maddox Carter of Harrison in a 138-pound match Thursday at the Kettering D-I district tournament at Trent Arena.
Rob Kiser|Miami Valley Today
Piqua’s Max Kaye controls P.J. Murphy of Cincinnati Elder in a 126-pound match Thursday.
Rob Kiser|Miami Valley Today
Troy’s Nolan Fox leaps to avoid a takedown attempt by Bryce Harris of Fairmont in a 113-pound match Thursday.
Rob Kiser|Miami Valley Today
Troy wrestling coach Doug Curnes talks with Nolan Fox during a break in the action Thursday.
Rob Kiser|Miami Valley Today
Piqua wrestling coach Scott Kaye shouts advice to his son Max during one of his matches Thursday night.
Rob Kiser|Miami Valley Today
KETTERING — The bright futures of three young wrestlers were on display at the Kettering D-I district wrestling tournament Thursday at Trent Arena on the opening night of the tournament.
Troy sophomore Nolan Fox (113) and freshman Nathan Brewster (138) and Piqua freshman Max Kaye (126) had solid seasons come to an end.
“To have a freshman and a sophomore down here is pretty good,” Troy wrestling coach Doug Curnes said. “They weren’t wide-eyed at all. And I thought they handled everything (the atmosphere) pretty well.”
Piqua coach Scott Kaye said the same about Kaye.
“A lot of wrestlers never make it down here,” Kaye said. “He jumped the curve to make it down here as a freshman.”
Fox, 13-13, was pinned by Bryan Hertel of West Clermont in 4:45 and lost a 6-1 decision to Fairmont freshman Bryce Harris.
Brewster, 14-15, was pinned by Ray Clayton of Milford in 1:13 and Maddox Carter of Harrison in 3:00.
“You can say Nathan (Brewster) was an alternate, but he was down here wrestling at district as a freshman,” Curnes said. “They both understood what they were up against. They were realistic. But, they didn’t lay down. They both went out there and battled.”
Kaye, 30-8, lost a 9-2 decision to Cincinnati Elder freshman P.J. Murphy and lost a 10-7 decision to Marquis Gamble of Princeton.
Against Gamble, Kaye started the third period with a nearfall to get within 7-6, before Gamble held on.
“He just didn’t wrestle the way he needed to,” Scott Kaye said. “I am sure there were a lot of nerves. He has some things he needs to work on (for next year) and get stronger. He had 30 wins as a freshman. He had a real solid season.”
Piqua’s Isaac Bushnell (152) and Landen Martin (182) were scheduled to wrestle Friday.
Wilmington D-II
The Milton-Union and Tippecanoe wrestlers found the going tough at the Wilmington D-II district Thursday on the opening night.
For Tippecanoe, Oliver Murry (120) went 1-2, recording a pin over Cooper Campbell of Monroe in 2:27, while Noah Schwieterman (106) and Riley Logan (113) both went 0-2.
For Milton-Union, Gavin Deem (106), Andrew Collins (126), Zach Avey (132) and Nicholas Devlin (138) all went 0-2.
Milton-Union’s Colton Jacobe (152), Nathan Barker (160) and Colten Hultgren (195) were all scheduled to wrestle Friday.
