By Cort Reynolds
ROSSFORD - Five Bluffton varsity wrestlers competed in the Div. III district meet Saturday and Sunday at Rossford High School, with one advancing to the state tournament.    

Pirate junior Kaden Basil finished second in the 160 lbs. division to qualify for the Div. III state tournament to be hosted by Marion Harding High School March 13-14.

Basil went 2-0 Saturday with a pair of pins in the 160 lbs. class to reach the semifinals.     

Basil then won a 2-0 decision over Bryce Hesselbart of Eastwood in the semis Sunday to advance to the title bout.

In the championship final round, Basil lost by technical fall 17-0 to junior Shadrick Slone of Milan Edison, who grabbed the district crown with a 53-3 season record.

Basil is 38-6 this campaign entering the state meet at Marion next weekend.

Pirate senior Tayton     Kleman and sophomore Thayne Kleman each finished 3-2 and came in fifth in their respective weight brackets.        

Milan Edison captured the district team title with 241 points, while Delta was far behind in second at 157 points. Meanwhile, Bluffton finished a solid 12th at the 51-team event with 49 points.

Bluffton sophomore Thayne Kleman recorded a first-round pin and a decision victory in round two Saturday to advance to the semifinals Sunday.

He then lost consecutive decisions to drop into the fifth-place match, one win from making it to state. Thayne lost to eventual 106 lbs. district champ Max Hermes in the semis, 16-6.

Kleman captured fifth place with a pin of Liberty Center's Drew Matthews to end his season with a fine record of 41-5. 

On Saturday, senior Tayton Kleman won two decisions in the 120 lbs. division to advance to the semifinals.

In the semis Sunday he lost a decision to fall into the consolation semis. He dropped that match to miss state qualification and move into the fifth-place bout.

Kleman beat Hayden Herman of Edgerton by an 11-2 decision to take fifth and improve his final season mark to 44-6.

Pirate junior Trent Howard won his first match by forfeit in the 195 lbs. class. In the quarterfinals, he was pinned by undefeated senior Wyatt Miller of Oak Harbor, who eventually won the district crown.

In the consolation second round Howard lost a 10-0 decision to get knocked out of the double-elimination event. Howard's season record ended up 30-20.

Pirate senior Jeremy Sturgeon went 0-2 on Saturday at the 126 lbs. flight to end his season with a 25-12 record. He was pinned in both matches.

Bluffton individual district results:

Kaden Basil 160 lbs.
1st round
Kaden Basil pin Gabe Garlic (Lakota)    1:30
Quarterfinals
Kaden Basil pin Owen Tong (Tinora) 4:26
Semifinals
Kaden Basil dec. Bryce Hesselbart (Eastwood) 2-0
Finals
Shadrick Slone (Mil. Edison) tech. fall Kaden Basil 17-0

Thayne Kleman 106 lbs.
1st round
Thayne Kleman pin Cameron Wagers (Plymouth) 5:44
Quarterfinals
Thayne Kleman dec. Ayden Gleckler (Evergreen) 11-4
Semifinals
Max Hermes (Mil. Edison) maj. dec. Thayne Kleman 16-6
Consolation semis
Nathan Parks (Seneca East) dec. Thayne Kleman 4-2 
5th place match
Thayne Kleman pin Drew Matthews (Liberty Center) 3:13

Tayton Kleman 120 lbs. 
1st round
Tayton Kleman dec. Caedan Henderson (Otsego) 6-3
Quarterfinals
Tayton Kleman dec. Hayden Herman (Edgerton) 2-1
Semifinals
Riley Prosser (Sand. SMCC) dec. Tayton Kleman 5-1
Consolation semis
Marcus Medina (Mil. Edison) dec. Tayton Kleman 8-1
5th place match
Tayton Kleman maj. dec. Hayden Herman (Edgerton) 11-2

Trent Howard 195 lbs.
1st round
Trent Howard forfeit over Draven Bartley (Tinora)    
Quarterfinals
Wyatt Miller (Oak Harbor) pin Trent Howard 0:56
2nd consolation round
Weston Angel (Woodmore) maj. dec. Trent Howard 10-0

Jeremy Sturgeon 126 lbs.
1st round
Emmett Perry (Liberty Center) pin Jeremy Sturgeon 1:57
1st consolation round
Connor Robbins (Willard) pin Jeremy Sturgeon 2:08

Rossford district team scores:
1.    Milan Edison 241 points    
2.    Delta     157.5    
3.    Oak Harbor    125    
4.    Eastwood    96    
5.    Monroeville 81    
6.    Liberty Center 80    
7.    Otsego    79.5    
8.    Ashland Crestview 73    
9.    Archbold    71    
10.    Elmwood    65
11.    Mohawk    51.5    
12.    Bluffton    49    
13.    Seneca East 47    
14.    St. Paul    46.5    
15.    Sandsuky SMCC 39.5    
16.    Tinora    36    
17.    Ayersville    33    
18.    Sherwood Fairview 32    
19.    Gibsonburg    31    
20.    Plymouth    30    
21.    Liberty-Benton    29    
22.    Carey     27    
23.    Swanton 26    
24.    Woodmore 20.5    
25.    Northwood    15    
26.    Evergreen    13/Genoa Area 13    
28.    Edgerton 11.5    
29.    Bucyrus 10    
30.    Van Buren    9    
31.    South Central    8    
32.    Toledo Christian 7    
33.    Montpelier    6    
34.    Arcadia 5/Mil. Lake    5    
36.    Patrick Henry 4.5    
37.    Lucas    3/New London 3/Willard 3
40.    McComb 2    
41.    Hopewell-Loudon    1    
42.    Antwerp 0/Buckeye Central 0    
Coll. Western Reserve    0/Cory-Rawson 0/Fremont St. Joe C.C.    0    
Lakota 0/North Baltimore 0/Pandora-Gilboa 0/Paulding    0/ Riverdale 0    

The Division I state wrestling tournament is slated to be hosted by Hilliard Darby High School. Marengo's Highland High School will host the Division II state meet. The Div. III state tournament will be at Marion Harding March 13-14.