State champ Wyatt Miller follows in dad’s footsteps

Oak Harbor senior Wyatt Miller became the newest member of his family to win a state championship. Miller finished the season 48-0 after pinning Westfall senior Starr Kelly (32-3) in two minutes flat in the Division III 195-pound final at Marion Harding High School.

Wyatt follows in the footsteps of his father, Tait Miller, who won the Division II 135-pound title in 1995. Tait was Oak Harbor coach George Bergman’s first state champion. 

“To see Wyatt win it so many years later — that was pretty cool,” said Bergman. 

Today, Bergman is an inductee in the Ohio High School Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Fame, and he can give partial credit to the Miller family. Other family members with state championships next to their name include Ferd Miller, who won back-to-back Class AA titles in 1986-87, Chad Miller, and Wyatt’s cousin Ian Miller.

Next year Wyatt will wrestle for Ian, who coaches at Appalachian State University, moving there from a coaching stint at Oregon State University. Before that happens, Wyatt is this year’s Alan Miller Jewelers All-Press Wrestler of the Year.

First, Wyatt had to handle all the pressure that went with being a projected champion. He won a sectional, district and Sandusky Bay Conference title before taking it all in Marion.

“That was his first time going to state because last year he couldn’t go, so he obviously made the most of it,” Bergman said. “He had two major decisions and two pins, so he was dominant. He was really tough on top. He is the hardest worker in our room and he basically did what he has been doing all year.

“He ended up 48-0 and did not give up an offensive point all year. That was the first kid to do that in our program since (Ohio State standout) J.D. Bergman was a senior. It is hard to say too much about him to be honest — he was just amazing,” Bergman continued.

“You wonder, with a kid who is only 17 or 18, how is he going to do with all that pressure? This is really his first time wrestling at state and he’s been projected to win it, but he handled all that stuff real well. So that is a credit to him.”

To reach the state final, Miller pinned Mechanicsburg junior Adam Waller (18-9) in 1:21, won a 12-0 major decision over Smithville senior Chandler Keener (27-8) in the quarterfinals and a 13-4 major decision over Columbus Grove senior Ezra Jones (42-4) in the semifinals. 

After the title was won, the Oak Harbor pep band held a hallway parade, but Bergman says Wyatt is so humble that he did not want the recognition. He did help Oak Harbor score 33 points at state and finish 11th in D-III. Dayton Legacy Christian won the title, scoring 128 points.

However, Oak Harbor had five other state qualifiers helping Miller put points on the board, including 145-pound junior Cade Peterson (37-11), who finished eighth.

Peterson lost his opening round match to Casstown Miami East junior David Davis (36-6), 10-4, but he fought his way back through the consolation bracket. Peterson defeated Rootstown sophomore Cody Coontz (40-7), 5-1, won a 3-1 sudden victory over Liberty Center senior Dylan Matthews (43-4), but lost to Garfield sophomore Hunter Andel (36-4), 9-3. For seventh place, Peterson lost a 6-5 heartbreaker to Mechanicsburg junior Westyn Moyer (29-5).

The other Oak Harbor state qualifiers were 113-pound junior Michael Judge (45-17), 126-pound senior Tyler Davis (32-7), 132-pound sophomore Owen Miller (37-20) and 152-pound sophomore Hayden Buhro (34-17). Although none placed, they combined to get two wins.

Judge won his first consolation match by a 4-0 decision over Shenandoah senior Alex Overly (33-10). Owen Miller won his first consolation, defeating Sandy Valley junior Brody Marks (21-11), 6-4.