A total of eight Clermont County high school wrestlers qualified for the Ohio State Wrestling Championship Tournament that will take place this weekend at the Jerome Schottenstein Center on the campus of Ohio State University, Columbus.

The top four placers in each weight class in each division qualified for the state classic.

Six of the state qualifiers emerged from the Division I district tournament that took place at Fairfield High School.

Milford was the pacesetter placing sixth among 37 teams. Moeller was the winner with 207 points, Milford had 86, Glen Este was 21st with 25, and Amelia was 26th with 15.5.

Milford sophomore 112-pounder Chris Newberry (27-7 record) earned second place. He was nipped in the championship finals 8-6 by Ryan Fields of Lakota West. On his way to placing, in the district Newberry defeated Kenneth Daly of Lakota East by pin (1-minute, 30-seconds), Ben Ballantine of Northmont 16-0 (4:59), and Dustin McCoy of Elder 2-0. In the state tournament he will begin against Matt Stoll (33-7), a Dublin Coffman sophomore, who was third in the Hillard Darby district.

Milford sophomore 103-pounder Zach Sherman (34-7) earned fourth place. He was edged in the consolation finals 12-11 by Tommy Pretty of Elder. In the district Sherman defeated Brandon Doll of Kettering Fairmount by pin (1:24), Jared Olson of Fairfield 14-3, Alex Freed of Springboro by pin (4:01), and Dee Rollan of Meadowdale 5-4. In the state tournament he will begin against Steve Mitchell (40-3), an Elyria sophomore, who was champion of the Toledo Waite district. Last year Mitchell was seventh in the state at 103.

Amelia senior 119-pounder John Reese (27-8) earned fourth place. He was skimmed in the consolation finals 3-2 by Trevor Campbell of Anderson. In the district Reese defeated Cruz Corbett of Mount Healthy 4-2 and Matt Melink of Moeller 3-2 and he lost to Tyler Adams of Harrison 16-6. In the state tournament he will begin against Tony Jameson (38-0), a Youngstown Austintown-Fitch sophomore, who was champion of the Mentor district. Jameson was state champion last year at 103.

Milford senior 152-pounder Colby Ferguson (36-8) took fourth place. He was nipped in the consolation finals 2-1 by Curt DeJaco of Elder. In the district Ferguson defeated Charles Martin of Mount Heralthy by pin (3:11), James Rivera of Princeton 4-2 in overtime, and Tanner Waid of Troy 6-5. He lost to Angelo Mauro of Centerville 3-2. In the state tournament he will begin against Daniel Holztrager (36-8), a Parma Normandy senior, who was champion of the Mentor district. Last year Holztrager was seventh in Ohio at 160.

Milford senior 171-pounder James Forte (30-10) garnered fourth place. He was pinned in the consolation finals in 31 seconds by Eric Cameron of Moeller. In the district Forte defeated Joey Taylor of Harrison 7-5 in overtime, Kevin Keller of LaSalle by pin (5:01) and Ryan Carr of Fairmount 5-4. He lost to Tony Santos of Hamilton 11-3. In the state tournament he will begin against Dustin Kilgore (35-1), a Berea junior, who was champion of the Mentor district. Last year Kilgore was third in Ohio at 160.

Glen Este senior 215-pounder Phil Spitznagel (21-10) finished fourth. He lost in the consolation finals 12-4 to Cameron Campeau of Fairmount. In the district Spitznagel defeated Klark Klayman of Western Hills by pin (2:47), Jamie Morton of Mason 9-4, and George Emmons of Milford 2-1 in overtime. He lost to Sean Jameson of Elder 5-3. In the state tournament he will begin against Anthony Watson (38-4), a Sandusky senior, who was champion of the Toledo Waite district.

The remaining two state qualifiers are Division II stars.

Graham was the victor of the 46 team tourney with 282 points, New Richmond was 18th with 34.5, Batavia was 24th with 23, Goshen was 28th with 19, Bethel was 33rd with 12, and Clermont Northeastern was 43rd with three.

Batavia senior 130-pounder Jason Robbe (26-5) was runner-up. He was pinned in the championship finals in 2:18 by Coby Boyd of Graham. In the district Robbe defeated Andy Legg of Meigs by pin (1:06), Andrew Scenck of Milton-Union 10-8 in overtime, and Matt Cunningham of Miami Trace 6-4. In the state tournament he will begin against Josh Cintron (35-3), an Alliance senior, who was third in the Akron Firestone district. This was Robbe