Serving Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky and Wood Counties
It’s hard to say it would be expected that a wrestler could steamroll through the competition and win a state title while making it look easy, but that might be the case with Scotty Fuller.
The Genoa junior, who finished the season 53-3 at 113 pounds in Division III, defeated St. Paris Graham’s Jake Landis in the finals, 9-6, and became the Comets’ 21st state champion.
In the semifinals, Fuller beat the top seed, Trinity’s Xavier Pearson, 5-0, which followed a victory by fall in 1:51 over Columbia’s Tanner Cochrane. Fuller’s first win was over Garrettsville Garfield’s Cam Lewicki by technical fall, 17-2.
It was nearly a repeat for Fuller as he finished as the runner-up at 113 last season. He finished third at 106 as a freshman.
Fuller talked about his strategy heading into the tournament.
“At state, no match is a given. I won the first match by tech fall, then a pin, and in the semifinal match, I beat Xavier Pearson, who on every ranking site was ranked higher than I was. In the finals, I don’t think the score really showed how dominant it was; I had three takedowns, and he had one,” said Fuller. “Dominance is my main goal in every match; I don’t care if the other guy is ranked higher. Leave no regret on the mat.”
Genoa coach Bob Bergman talked about Fuller’s performance.
“He brought out his best. He’s been on fire since Medina (Invitational); been confident the whole way, hasn’t wavered –– I’m super proud of him,” said Bergman. “He was the state runner-up last year, and to cash it in was really special for him and for our program. Ethan Powell is his drill partner. (Fuller) wasn’t supposed to win; his opponent was ranked 20th in the country.”
For Fuller, it was all about taking it all in and enjoying the experience of competing against the finest Ohio has to offer.
“I just really wanted to take it one match at a time, enjoy every second of it because I’m three years deep, and my freshman year at state feels like yesterday,” he said. “It’s a three-day tournament.”
Fuller is the 21st state champion in Genoa wrestling history. Just because a number of Comets have won state titles doesn’t diminish just how difficult it is to reach the top of the mountain.
Fuller had high praise for Bergman and the coaching staff, which is one of the best in Ohio.
“They were there with me through it all. We’ve picked apart matches, the finals, what I needed to do. They’ve been there every day with endless support,” said Fuller. “Ethan Powell is my practice partner. It’s a great community in Genoa.”
Powell, who wrestled at 106, finished seventh. He defeated Buckeye Local’s Nathan Dentz by technical fall, 18-0, then lost, 10-5, to St. Paris Graham’s Baden Root, 10-5.
Powell pinned Willard’s Jose Figueroa in just 46 seconds and lost, 1-0, to Lake Catholic’s Chance Wuhr, 1-0, before recovering to pin Versailles’ Trent Huber, the top seed in the bracket, by fall in 4:46.
“Ethan beat both of the state finalists. He had a tough Saturday morning. We think the world of him and know that he can get it done. I’m proud of the way he battled back to finish seventh,” said Bergman. “We know he can make it to the top of the podium. We want him to keep climbing the ladder.”
Tyler Abbey (150) did not place, but the sophomore gained some valuable experience.
“I’m super proud of (Abbey’s) efforts. For him to get some experience as a sophomore, in his first year in the lineup, it was neat to see him get some mat time,” said Bergman. “He lost to the second- and third-place, and he beat the guy that was fourth (previously).”
As a team, Genoa placed 15th with 36 points, and St. Paris Graham won the championship.
“The kids, the families coming together, buying in and trusting the process, it’s like a slow-cooked barbeque,” said Bergman. “At the league and state levels, all of our kids are competitive, and that’s all you can ask for as a coach is to be the best you can be.”
