Batavia High School freshman Brandon Sauter capped off his first high school wrestling campaign with a spot on the podium in Columbus this past week.
Sauter placed seventh for the Bulldogs in the 106-pound class in the Division II championships, held at the Schottenstein Center.
The effort made him the 13th Bulldog to place at the state tournament, according to the OHSAA’s media notes. Head coach BJ Sauter thought the freshman did a good job keeping in line with the plan heading into the tournament.
“He wrestled very well,” BJ Sauter said. “We had a gameplan coming in, we stuck to our gameplan. We knew we had to win or lose on our feet up here, and that’s pretty much what happened all week long. When we were down there on our feet, we picked up the wins.”
Sauter’s tournament run started with a loss. He dropped his championship round match to Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary’s Kenneth Crosby 7-3, falling to the consolation bracket with the defeat.
In the first round of the consolation matches, Sauter defeated Albany Alexander’s Griffin Chmiel to advance to the next round, leaving him one win shy of clinching a spot on the podium.
He picked up that victory on Friday, March 8, earning a 6-2 win over Bellevue’s Gabe Alda to advance to the consolation quarterfinals.
Later that day, Brandon Sauter squared off against Springfield Shawnee’s Kaleb Ream. Ream defeated Sauter 12-0, sending him to the seventh-place match Saturday morning.
On the final day of the tournament, Sauter finished with a win. He defeated Minerva’s Drake Decker 8-0, capping off a 3-2 tournament and a 41-4 freshman season.
Sauter knew the match against Decker would be tough, but once he took the lead he made sure not to give it back up.
“We knew coming in it was going to be a little bit rough,” Sauter said. “Smart shots. We got in. I went bars, my go-to. I slid right in and just stayed there. There was no need to caution anything, it doesn’t matter if I win by one or if I won by 15. I was up, and I just stayed mellow throughout the match.”
The win capped off a three-day experience unlike anything the freshman had ever participated in before, and he was happy his coaches were able to come along for the ride.
“It was pretty new to me,” Brandon Sauter said. “I’m glad I got to experience it all with my coaches. I stuck with the plan, did what the coaches told me to do, and got here.”
Looking ahead to next season, Sauter plans on continuing to rise up the Division II rankings.
“I’m just hoping to climb up the podium,” Brandon Sauter said. “I’ve seen a lot of good things come from Ohio, and I want to be one of them.”
BJ Sauter thinks the climb up the podium is something in Brandon’s future.
“He’s one of the kids that puts in the work,” BJ Sauter said. “He’s one of the hardest workers in the room. He’s got a good attitude. Like he said, we just want to climb the podium.”