Freshman Wyatt Riddle finished as runnerup Saturday in the 106 pound weight class in the Division III OHSAA State Wrestling Championship at Ohio State University’s Schottenstein Center.
Riddle, who lives just north of Wilmington and wrestles for Xenia Legacy Christian Academy, was decisioned by Oscar Sanchez of Genoa Area 14-2 in the championship match.
“It sucks that I lost,” Riddle said after the match. “I didn’t wrestle so well in the final, but it’s great to get there. I wrestled all right, but I could’ve wrestled a little harder.”
Riddle finishes his freshman season with a 25-13 record. He entered the sectional tournament with a 16-10 mark but then went 9-3 in the post-season to earn the state runnerup. He admits he was a little nervous as he prepared for his championship match.
“Oh yeah,” said Riddle, a former student in Wilmington City Schools. “I kinda got used to it, but first when you’re walking out there and doing the Parade of Champions and all, it’s pretty big. Pretty exciting, it gets you fired up.”
En route to his runnerup place, Riddle avenged an earlier loss to Devan Hendricks of Greeneview in the semifinal round. Riddle lost to Hendricks in the sectional championship at Blanchester but defeated him at state, 6-4 SV.
Legacy Christian Academy finished sixth in the final standings among Division III schools. Riddle had one teammate who won a state title and another who finished fourth.
“I’m just glad to be here, glad that my teammates placed and everything, so it’s been great,” he said.
As for his future, Riddle said the 2017-18 season is already on his radar.
“Oh, it only motivates me to go harder next season,” he said. “I mean, I did good (this year) but next year’s a whole different story. So I’ve gotta get ready for that.”
Before another high school season, though, Riddle will keep close to the mats as the off-season unfolds.
“I might miss maybe a week or two, then I’ll be back on the mats training again,” he said. “I do a little bit of freestyle wrestling. I’m not very good at freestyle, I just started last year, but I’m starting to get better at that. I’ll probably do some more freestyle tournaments this summer.”
