The West Geauga Wolverines Wrestling Team has had an incredible 2025-2026 season.
The West Geauga Wolverines Wrestling Team has had an incredible 2025-2026 season.
In fact, Wolverines Wrestling highlights have included winning the CVC Title, a sixth place finish at the state duals, and an OHSAA Sectional Title.
The Wolverines added to these accomplishments by finishing as OHSAA District Runners-Up at Kenston on March 7.
“It’s been a very exciting year,” West Geauga Wolverines Head Wrestling Coach Joe Joltin said. “CVC Champions, we took sixth in the State Dual Championship and just qualified five guys to the state tournament. It’s pretty amazing, and we’re really happy about it.”
In achieving excellence at districts, the Wolverines qualified five wrestlers for the OHSAA State Tournament on March 13 to March 15, a Wolverines school-record.
After Zander Joltin and Brian Denamen clinched spots in the state tournament, Caden Kaleal, Austin Wheatley, and Blake Welker wrestled in the “blood round”. This is the round with a state tournament birth on the line.
“(Blood rounds), there some of the best of the year,” Coach Joltin said. “All your hard work and everything you put in comes down to that one moment. Those boys, they left it all out there, they put their hearts on the mat and came out with a victory.”
First on the mat for the Wolverines in the “blood round” was senior Caden Kaleal, who was looking to return to the State Tournament for the second year in a row.
Coach Joltin said that he told Kaleal before the match to go out and wrestle his match.
“We always say, go out, let it fly. We’re not wrestling to lose. You got to go out and wrestle to win. And it’s the same message, get to our offense and get to our points.”
Heeding Coach Joltin’s advice, Kaleal went out and wrestled an excellent “blood round” match as he defeated junior Logan Balla from Hubbard to punch his ticket to the State Championships.
Kaleal was dominant in the match as he took an 11-0 lead and then got the pin late in the third period.
“I thought he wrestled an amazing match,” Coach Joltin said. “Caden made a few adjustments and just kept stacking points.”
Next up in the “blood round” for the Wolverines was Austin Wheatley wrestling in the 190 pound division.
After a scoreless first period, Wheatley pinned his opponent, junior Wyatt Diestel from Conneaut, early in the second period.
“Austin’s top game has really been top notch and he has been doing an amazing job,” Coach Joltin said.
The third Wolverine to wrestle in the “blood round” was junior Blake Welker who qualified for states in the 215 pound division.
To qualify for states, Welker won his “blood round” in dramatic fashion as he came from behind late in the final period.
Tied 1-1, Welker took down junior Mason Frye from CVCA with 16 seconds left to take a 4-1 lead.
“Coming down to the (end of the) third period, he took a shot, I got in and scored on it,” Welker said.
Welker’s ability to win the “blood round” match late, demonstrated his excellent physical conditioning and mental toughness, Coach Joltin said.
“(Winning the ‘blood round’ match late), It just shows his conditioning, his will and his discipline to stay active and score points,” Coach Joltin said.
With five wrestlers qualifying for the state tournament, the Wolverines earned the OHSAA District Runners-Up trophy scoring 124 points, just 20 points behind Perry who won the District Championship.
Individually, making the podium at districts for the Wolverines were Denamen (165 pound division – 1st), Joltin (138 – 2nd), Kaleal (120 – 3rd), Welker (215 – 3rd), Wheatley (190 – 4th) and Maveric Milnar (285 – 6th).
In addition to the Wolverines, other Geauga County schools sending wrestlers to the state championships are the Kenston Bombers and the Berkshire Badgers.
For the Bombers, qualifying for the OHSAA State Tournament were Carter Baran who won the OHSAA District Championship in the 126 pound division and Teo Triscaro who finished runner-up in the 120 pound division.
After winning the district championship, Baran said that this victory will help him with the seeding for the state tournament.
“I said after last week, the job wasn’t done just after last week,” Baran said. “We had to come back in and take first. That was the main goal. The seeding at state just gets much more realistic in placing.”
Berkshire Badgers’ senior Danny Tiller qualified for states as he won an OHSAA Div. III District Title in the 190 pound division.
Geauga County wrestlers who qualified for the state tournament will next wrestle at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus from March 13 to March 15.
