The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Wildcat pair gets podium
Keystone seniors McCullough, Ochletree place at D-II state tourney
The Division II state wrestling tournament didn’t end on the highest of notes for Keystone senior 182-pounder David McCullough.
McCullough (38-8), coming off a fourth-place finish at the Norwalk District, stunned his
way into a berth in March 9’s semifinal round, one win away from a spot in the state championship match at the Schottenstein Center.
McCullough gave projected state runner-up David Heath from Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary all that he could handle in a semifinal, but lost 8-6. He will go for third place on March 10.
But McCullough and senior teammate Justin Ochletree (195) — who overcame a first-round loss with three straight wins — will give the Wildcats two state placers this year.
“In eighth grade, David made it to the middle school state tournament and I didn’t even make it,” Ochletree said. “We wanted to get on the podium together when we got into high school, and finally, we did it this year. It’s just an awesome feeling.
“It shows that Keystone wrestling is getting better. Each year, we have wrestlers getting down
here and placing. It’s going to keep progressing and get better. We’ve got great coaches who know what to do and get the best out of us.”
McCullough defeated St. Paris Graham’s Andrew Shaffer, 8-4, in the morning on March 9 to advance to the semifinal round.
“David came out firing in his first match and beat that undefeated kid (Eliot Clark from Bexley),” Ochletree said. “I did that last week and he did it this week. It’s just awesome to see him get that far. He’s got a tough kid in (SVSM’s David Heath), but I’m just really excited for him.”
Ochletree (47-7) defeated Aurora’s Colin McNamera, 6-4, to punch his ticket onto the podium March 9. He came back with a 5-4 win over Norton’s C.J. Williams to earn his way into the consolation semifinals.
On Thursday, Ochletree pinned Gnadenhutten Indian Valley’s Brodey Parsons in 3:38 to stay alive after dropping his opening match to Cincinnati McNicholas’ Jackson Gear, 13-8.
“It’s awesome,” said Ochletree. “I finally got on that podium. It’s just an awesome feeling. I felt really nervous going into the match. My blood sugar’s been a bit out of whack, so I felt really tired. But I came out really fast like Lightning McQueen.
“I kind of stalled out there at the end, but I did what I needed to do and get the win. It was a good match.”
Ochletree’s older brother, Ben, placed seventh in 2016. He was the last Keystone wrestler to place prior to Justin and McCullough accomplishing the feat.
“Sibling rivalries are always good and it’s fun to compete against your
brother,” Justin Ochletree said. “Me and Ben are really close, but it would be really cool to finish a bit higher than he did.”
Keystone coach Chris Vondruska was pleased with how Ochletree wrestled back into contention.
“The kid that Justin wrestled first is wrestling in the semis (March 9),” Vondruska said. “It was kind of a tough draw, maybe. The kid was taller than Justin. To come back and wrestle a kid from Indian Valley who is just as tall, if not taller than him too, wasn’t easy. Justin’s pretty tall himself, and he’s not used to seeing kids who are just as, if not taller than he is out there on the mat.
“(His match to place) came right down to the wire. Justin showed some serious guts and got it done.”
Vondruska was very proud of his duo this weekend.
“I’m really proud,” Vondruska said. “These guys are our only two seniors. They’ve put in the work to get here. They’ve been leaders all year and set examples for a young team. For all those guys to see our only two seniors reach the podium here at Columbus is really cool.
“They’ve put in the work and it shows. The placement in the state is great. Now the goal is to get both as high as they can. That’s what I want to see.”