Keaton completes mission for mom
Every single day, Nate Keaton cherishes the memory of his late mother, Angie, and she remains a constant inspiration in his wrestling career.
But Keaton, a Circleville junior, came to this weekend’s state tournament determined to compete mainly for himself, and on Saturday night he walked out of Value City Arena as a state champion.
“I think my mom would be really proud,” Keaton said after grinding out a 1-0 victory over Dominic Carone in a Division II final at 113 pounds. “I always wrestle for her, but I think I put too much pressure on myself last year.”
Keaton entered the 2016 tournament just seven months after Angie’s death at age 48 from breast cancer, determined to win for her. He wrestled well but finished fifth.
This year, he said, he was far more focused on his task at hand, and he cruised to the final. Once there, though, he found a tough nut in Carone, and the two competitors could barely move each other in a defensive match.
Keaton scored the only point on an escape in the second period, then rode out the third period on top, never giving Carone an inch.
“I was very confident this week on top; I was confident all week in all positions, actually,” said Keaton, who became Circleville’s first champion since 1980. “It was a good week.”
Messy but happy
Jared Ball of Hilliard Darby could barely be stopped on his way to finishing third at 182 pounds in Division I. The only thing that slowed him, in fact, was a persistent nosebleed.
Ball’s consolation final against Kaden Russell of Cleveland St. Ignatius was delayed three times while trainers worked to stop the bleeding in Hall’s left nostril. He still won 12- 3.
“I must have gotten hit in my first match,” Ball said of his 16- 0 technical fall over Blake Wilson of Cincinnati LaSalle. “All I know is that it started pouring.”
A little blood, however, was not going to stop Ball, a junior who finished third at 160 pounds a year ago and lost a narrow 6-5 decision in Friday’s semifinals.
“That loss fueled me to come out today and separate myself from the rest of the field,” he said. “I’m going to keep pushing. I’d like to be in the state finals.”
End of the line
Jake Martinez’s statetitle dreams ended with a loss in a Division II semifinal loss Friday at 138 pounds. But he refused to allow his final day of state-meet wrestling to be a bitter one.
Martinez won two matches to finish third, a year after placing second at 138.
“I’m very emotional right now. I can’t believe this is the last match of my high school career,” Martinez said after his 5-3 win over Anthony Rice of Steubenville.
“It’s a hard feeling to describe. It’s a lot of disappointment of not winning (a state championship) but a lot of happiness for finishing how I did. I just can’t believe it’s over.” Scary moment
Marysville coach Shawn Andrews was not happy that the seventh-place match involving his wrestler Tyler Bates was not halted before the junior suffered a dislocated left elbow that led to a pin.
“Hopefully, there is no ligament damage,” Andrews said, before questioning why the assistant referee did not notice Bates had been put in a potentially dangerous situation in his 152pound match against Tristan Brady of Elyria.
“You’ve got to get down and look at it. That’s your job,” Andrews said.
Bates was leading Brady 4-2 with 15 seconds left in the second period when the injury occurred. Brady quickly recorded the pin.