By Cort Reynolds

Six Bluffton High School wrestlers competed in the Division III district meet at Rossford Saturday, March 5, with Kaden Basil making it to further competition on March 6.

Five Pirate grapplers lost in the first round and dropped into the consolation bracket of the double-elimination event, where four were knocked out in the next round.

Pirate senior Kaden Basil went 2-0 Saturday in the 175 lbs. bracket to reach the semifinal round.

In his first match Saturday, he pinned Margaretta junior Bobby Suto in just 35 seconds.

In his second-round bout vs. sophomore Cameron Urivez of Defiance Tinora, Basil won by pin in 75 seconds to reach the semis.

Basil is set to wrestle Gibsonburg senior Dominick Whetsel in the district semis Sunday. Both enter the bout with identical 36-5 records.

The winner will battle the victor between Plymouth junior Colton Sparks (38-2) and Defiance Ayersville junior Owen Berner (43-6) in the championship round. The loser will drop into the third-place bout Sunday.

Wrestlers who record top-four finishes in any district weight bracket qualify for the state meet March 11-13 at Ohio State University's Schottenstein Center.

In the 215 lbs. bracket, Pirate senior Trent Howard went 1-2 Saturday. In his first match, he lost by pin at 3:36 to 43-1 senior Jacob Thompson of Milan Edison.

In the first consolation round, he pinned senior Parker Sifuentes of Ayersville at 2:48.

Howard then faced off against senior Rollin Robinson of Delta in the second consolation round, and lost by pin at 2:23 to be eliminated. He ended his season 20-15.

Pirate sophomore Kyle Basil finished 0-2 in the 157 lbs. division. 

In his first bout Saturday, he faced off against Oak Harbor's Jack Zeitzheim and lost 15-0 by technical fall. In the first consolation round, he fell to Lucas senior John Vetter by pin at 2:46. He finished the season with an 18-13 record.

Senior Dustin Mortimer went 0-2 at the 150 lbs. weight class. Mortimer faced senior Luke DeLano of Defiance Ayersville in his first bout, and was pinned at 5:19.

In the first consolation round, he lost to sophomore Case Paul of Lakota by a 9-3 decision to end his season 17-15.

Pirate freshman Jett Blackburn lost both of his district matches at 132 lbs. In his initial match, he was pinned by senior Cristian Lecki of Millbury Lake at 1:31.

In the consolation bracket, Blackburn lost his first match to senior Tyler Winzeler of Defiance Ayersville by an 11-0 decision. His season concluded with a record of 15-12.

Junior Isaiah Mikesell went 0-2 at the 165 lbs. division. In his first match Saturday, he was pinned in 46 seconds by Willard senior Shadrick Slone, who improved to 45-1 with the win.

In the first consolation round, he was pinned by Gibsonburg junior Alex Porteous in 3:36. He finished his season with an 11-16 mark.