Making it to the OHSAA Individual Wrestling state tournament isn’t easy. Sending multiple wrestlers is a feat in itself. Sending a pair of brothers, both of whom place in their respective classes? That’s quite a weekend.
Goshen High School senior Zach Dunn placed 5th in the Division II 160-pound class on Saturday, March 9, while junior Josh Dunn finished 3rd at 120. Head coach Dan Hill summed up the three-days of wrestling for the duo rather succinctly.
“That was a great weekend for those two,” Hill said. “They wrestled exceptionally.”
Let’s start with the youngest wrestler, Josh Dunn. He won his first two championship matches, earning a spot in the semifinals against Wauseon’s Gavin Ritter. Ritter defeated Dunn 2-0, dropping him to the consolation bracket.
In the consolation rounds, Dunn defeated Oberlin Firelands junior Payton Burgdorf 6-4 to advance to the third-place match, where he drew Millersburg West Holmes’ Tyler Masters.
That match was a low-scoring affair. Neither wrestler picked up a point until just nine seconds remained when Dunn pulled off a reversal to win 2-0.
Josh Dunn said playing the waiting game was part of his strategy early on.
“My conditioning, saving my energy toward the end of the match,” Dunn said. “I went for it at the end, and it worked out.”
Meanwhile, the elder Dunn started his run to the podium with a pin of Tiffin Columbian’s Kaeden Hatlay in 5:35 to advance to the quarterfinals.
His next opponent was Carrollton’s Ben Pasiuk, who entered the tournament with three second-place finishes on his resume in the last three seasons. Pasiuk pinned Zach Dunn in 1:00 in the quarterfinal match, dropping him to the consolation bracket. The Carrollton senior would go on to win the title at 160.
In the consolation rounds, Dunn picked up a pair of decision victories to advance to the consolation semis. He fell in the semifinal to St. Paris Graham’s Isaiah Stickley 3-2, falling to the fifth-place match.
The fifth-place match did not last long. Dunn pinned Steubenville’s Ethan Pappas in 46 seconds to cap off his high school career with a victory. Dunn was aware of the significance of that match heading into the bout, and that played into his desire to end it quickly.
“It’s my last match ever in high school,” Dunn said. “I just wanted to get it over with. I’m kind of injured right now, and I wanted to get in and get out. It was a pretty great feeling.”
Dunn said he injured his collarbone at one point in the tournament, and while he wasn’t exactly sure what was wrong, he was sure about how he felt to finish his career on the podium.
“It feels awesome,” Dunn said. “I loved it.”
Hill said the key to both wrestlers making the podium was that they were able to feed off each other while also getting the job done as an individual.
“Part of it for each of them is realizing that they’re in it together, but they have their own job to do,” Hill said. “They realized what they needed to do to reach those goals.”
Hill added that the duo made sure they got things right mentally on the mat, which helped them perform during the tournament.
“I think that they really focused in on what they needed to do mentally to put themselves in a place to perform their best,” Hill said.
With the tournament signaling the end of Zach Dunn’s wrestling career, Hill summed up his senior’s performance over the season.
“It was an awesome finish for the year,” Hill said. “Wrestling season is always long and hard with lots of ups and downs, and he put himself in a spot where he was going to have an opportunity to peak at the right time.”
Josh Dunn has one more chance with the Warriors, as the junior will be back next season. He already has a goal in mind.
“My goal is first next year,” Josh Dunn said. “Just keep working hard.”
Hill feels like Josh has a shot at a championship, if he continues to work on his craft.
“If you look at it, he’s got the tools and the opportunity to get better,” Hill said. “There’s no reason he can’t put it together if he wants it.”
There are no ifs in the mind of Zach Dunn, who has already made his prediction for his brother’s championship hopes next season.
“He’s going to get it,” Zach Dunn said.
