Three members of the wrestling team travelled to Hilliard Darby High School in Columbus on Saturday, March 13 to compete in the OHSAA Division I State Tournament with senior Aeden Begue, junior Ronald (Ronnie) Dimmerling, and sophomore Brandon Bratson.

Dimmerling wrestled in the 170 lbs. weight group. He was 48-3 prior to attending the tournament. He was in six matches and won three over the course of two days.

“My overall performance I believe was good, but there are many things I have to work on to be number one next season,” Dimmerling said.

Dimmerling has been wrestling for 10 years. Getting to the skill level he’s at currently was not easy.

“The journey had its ups and downs, with some things not going our way, but other than that there’s a reason why it happened and it just makes me stronger, but I’m not done yet,” Dimmerling said. “The next big step right now is to get stronger over the summer and get ready for the next state tournament.”

Dimmerling attributes his accomplishments to the support from his peers.

“My secret to success is to always keep the people who support you and help you in your corner,” Dimmerling said. “Without them pushing me to strive to be great, I wouldn’t be able to do most of the things I can do now.”

Begue, who wrestled in the 285 lbs. weight group, won four out the six matches he participated in at the tournament. He has been wrestling since he was very young.

“I have wrestled for ten years. I wrestled in high school since sophomore year and have grown a lot since then,” Begue said.

Because of his years of experience and dedication, it is no surprise that Begue’s season has been very successful.

“I wrestled 50 matches before state and was 48-2,” Begue said.

Begue’s impressive achievements in high school may help him if he chooses to continue wrestling in college.

“I plan on wrestling at the Division I level in college, but have not committed yet,” Begue said.

When asked about how he has done so well, Begue simply responded with conviction.

“I believe the secret to success is confidence,” Begue said. “If you can believe it, you can do it.”

Batson wrested in the 160 lbs. weight group and was expected to go far in the competition. It was unexpected for a sophomore to go to states.

“From my freshman year to my sophomore year I think I’ve made a big jump and am looking for an even bigger jump my junior year,” Batson said. “I’ve wrestled for ten years.”

Batson had only lost once before going to states. His key to success is continuous practice and studying different techniques.

“I work inside and outside the wrestling room and in the off season,” Batson said “I work on different moves from different situations to be well rounded. You never know when you could use them, especially when you know what your opponent does. It’s good to be able to switch up your style.”