Staff Report

GALLIPOLIS — The Gallia Academy wrestling team hosted the Southeastern Ohio Athletic League Championships on Saturday, finishing in fourth place overall out of seven teams with a total of 68 points. Athens took first with 109 points.

In second place with 92 points was Chillicothe, followed by Logan in third place with 85. Fifth place through seventh place were Marietta, Warren, and Jackson with 63, 41, and 26 points, respectively.

Individually, Kyle Bays was the lone champion for Gallia Academy. Bays went 2-0 after his first-round bye, defeating Erik Mason of Warren and then Logan’s Kurt Geiger to win the 135-pound weight class.

The Blue Devils had three second-place finishers.

Jonathan Caldwell, wrestling in the 103-pound weight class, went 1-1 on the day. Caldwell defeated Chris Phillips of Logan, while Stephen Rodgriguez of Athens finished in first to take the title.

In the 130-pound weight class, Ben Saunders also finished 1-1 by defeating Greg Rose of Jackson. John Lazear of Athens was crowned champion.

The final second-place finisher from Gallia Academy was Jared Gravely, who wrestled in the 215-pound class. Gravely defeated Jordan Sweeney of Athens before being edged out by Danny Demick of Chillicothe for the title.

The hosts also had three third-place finishers.

Matt Watts, wrestling at 125 pounds, opened with a victory over Mike Harlow of Warren before losing to eventual-champion Stephen Sturm of Marietta. Watts then defeated Chillicothe’s Brad Hill and Logan’s Nathan Lawson to take third.

In the 160-pound weight class was Clint Saunders, who defeated Mike Bauman of Marrietta in his first match. After a loss in his second match, Saunders beat Tim Najewicz of Warren and then Bauman a second time to finish in third place.

The final third-place finisher was Mike Brown. Brown won his first match over Tim McCaully of Marietta but was beaten by Michael Snider of Logan in his second. He then won his third and fourth matches over Jai Cutter of Chillicothe and Ryan Klingman of Jackson to take third place.

Also wrestling for the Blue Devils were Morgan McKinniss, Russell Denison, Jason Wray, and Robert Daniels.

McKinniss wrestled at 145 pounds, Denison wrestled at 152, Wray wrestled at 189, and Daniels wrestled in the heavyweight class. All four 0-2 for the day.