Chillicothe and Zane Trace win big in Clay Davis Memorial Tournament

CIRCLEVILLE − Trevor Banks hardly feels fear on the mat.

As Chillicothe's premier threat in the 285-pound weight class, the senior is used to taking on opponents with imposing frames. It's part and parcel of the weight class, and Banks doesn't falter when facing opponents that might waiver any other wrestler in his stead.

So when Banks stared down Circleville's Trentt Fulgham in the championship match for the 285-pound weight class in the Clay Davis Memorial Tournament on Saturday, it wasn't anything new to him. He'd taken care of his first three opponents of the day with swift, precise pinfalls, and he was determined to ensure Fulgham was no different.

"As a heavyweight wrestler that's 5'7", I go through a lot of tall guys," Banks said. "I'm pretty used to it by now. I've been wrestling since second grade, and everyone in heavyweight's always been taller than me, so I've gotten used to it."

The results spoke for themselves. Banks bested Fulgham 10-2 in a major decision victory that earned the Cavaliers their third first-place finish for an individual wrestler on Saturday.

As Banks roared in tandem with his teammates and the flock of spectators crowded around his mat inside the Circleville High School gym, he took a moment to bask in his victory. He flexed, hollered and gave a quick stomp on the mat before rushing off to join the Cavaliers on the sideline.

"You've just got to get excited sometimes," Banks said. "I've been working hard everyday and I've known this match was coming up. I've been preparing for it, and it went exactly how I wanted it to go."

Led by first-place performances from Banks, Jeremyah Teurman (150) and Cannan Smith (113), the Cavaliers burned through many of their weight class brackets and earned 156.5 points to take home fourth place out of a field of 19 teams on Saturday. All but four of the Cavaliers placed third or higher in their weight classes.

Like Banks, Teurman and Smith both dispatched their opponents with ease. Smith pinned all of his opponents within four minutes, and his longest bout of the day didn't come until his final match, during which he pinned his opponent in 3:52 to secure first place in the 113-pound bracket.

Teurman, on the other hand, clawed his way to victory. He knocked out fellow Cavalier Gage Miller with a pinfall in the 150-pound semifinals, and survived a scare in his championship match. After falling into a 12-9 deficit in the third period, Teurman swung around and pinned Lincoln Gilcher of John Glenn to clinch the win.

Four other Cavaliers also secured third place or better in their weight classes. Miller claimed third place in the 150-pound class after pinning Heath's Eli Bridges in 3:16. Oscar Morgan (138), Mike Hicks (144) and Wes Scott (157) each garnered second place after falling in their respective championship matches.

"We came into this tournament and knew we could finish toward the top as a team," Chillicothe coach Mike Peck said. "These guys have been pushed. At these tournaments, these other guys we're going to start seeing at sectionals and districts, our guys are going to be ready for them."

Aside from Chillicothe, Zane Trace also took part in the tournament on Saturday and carved its own path of success. It managed to rack up 91 points and claimed eighth place as a team on the day. Zane Pickerell picked up his team's lone first-place finish on the day after pinning Gahanna Lincoln's Jaylen Sanchez in 2:53. Pickerell won all four of his matches by fall, and he picked up 30 points toward Zane Trace's team score by himself.

Three other Pioneers managed to place fifth or higher in their respective weight classes. Eion Dunaway (120) recovered from a semifinals loss in the consolation bracket and earned a win after Logan's Noah Jennice forfeited the match. Keith Russell (165) won both of his consolation matches by fall and capped off his performance with a win over Carson Gedeon from Logan to secure third place.

Jonathan Jenkins powered his way through the 285-pound bracket. Despite suffering an early loss in the quarterfinals, Jenkins worked through three rounds of the consolation bracket and ended the day with a fourth-place finish to his name.

Pioneers coach Bob Hoselton was pleased with his team's performance on Saturday. With the Scioto Valley Conference championships coming up soon, the Pioneers are beginning to find their stride. Many of his wrestlers have been slowly improving since the season began, and Hoselton believes the Pioneers are ready to make a late-season push.

"Last weekend was our first break out of eight weeks," Hoselton said. "They came back in and wrestled hard today. They're really starting to put everything together, which this is the time of the year they need to. The younger guys are picking it up and improving every day, and that's what you look for. You just try to look for progress week to week."

This article originally appeared on Chillicothe Gazette: Chillicothe and Zane Trace win big in Clay Davis Memorial Tournament