Newark wrestlers McKee, Randolph advance to district

• Newark%27s Levi McKee and Jamye Randolph qualified to the district tournament.
• Licking Heights%27 Josiah Harrell was the area%27s only champion.

NEWARK – The Division I sectional tournament Saturday at Jimmy Allen Gymnasium was a group of death.

The survivors, however, were not all who many expected. Newark's Levi McKee and Licking Heights' Dereck Wilson upset the apple cart in the 170-pound class, each advancing to next weekend's district tournament at Hilliard Darby.

Four of the top 10 teams in central Ohio were represented at Newark, and many of the classes took on a Who's Who of elite wrestlers. McKee forced his name into that conversation with a fourth-place finish, including a 16-4 victory against Olentangy Orange's Hunter Knipp to advance.

"It feels really great. I'm proud of what I did," said McKee, the bracket's No. 8 seed.

Wilson rebounded from a disappointing Licking County League tournament Monday to upset the Nos. 3 and 2 seeds in succession to reach the finals. Wilson pinned Knipp in the third period of the semifinals.

"My mind-set coming into today was to win," Wilson said. "Last year, I came up a little bit short. I got sixth, but this year shows how much I improved."

McKee dropped into the consolation bracket when Olentangy Liberty's Cole Fitzpatrick pinned him in the second round. McKee, however, was undeterred.

His match against Knipp was close midway through, but McKee twice countered Knipp's attempts to put him on his back.

"I'm good on bottom, working out of that position," McKee said.

McKee's teammate Jamye Randolph exorcised some demons at heavyweight. He lost his do-or-die match in 2014, but he cleared the hurdle this time.

Randolph pinned Olentangy Orange's Albert Van to advance and eventually placed fourth. Randolph was forced to win twice after falling 3-1 in the second round.

"I was not going to lose," Randolph said. "I felt comfortable the whole match."

Randolph's previous victory was a pin of Mount Vernon's Tyler Norris.

"During that match, I had beaten him before, so I knew what he was going to do and how he wrestles," Randolph said.

Heights' Josiah Harrell (160) was the area's only champion. Harrell had two pins before edging Mount Vernon's Lane Hinkle 9-7 in overtime.

L.A. Kelly (152) gave the Hornets three qualifiers, winning four consecutive matches to place third after a first-round loss. He avenged that loss, beating Lancaster's Ian Strang 5-0 in the third-place match.

Newark's Henry Pham (132) and Heights' Ty Yeager (138) each placed fifth.

ksnyder@newarkadvocate.com

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Twitter: @newarkurt