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Woodridge's Bickel finishes season at state tournament

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March 14, 2010

by Michael Leonard

Sports Editor

In an often tough season for Woodridge wrestling, senior 140-pounder Zach Bickel often was asked to carry the banner alone for the Bulldogs.

He continued that trend March 4 at the Division II state wrestling tournament at Value City Arena in Columbus.

Unfortunately, Woodridge's lone wolf saw his season come to an abrupt end.

Bickel went 0-2 at the state tournament and finished off the podium. Bickel finished the season with a record of 35-17.

Bickel was eliminated by a pair of All-Ohioans.

Coming in as a No. 4 seed from the Firestone districts, Bickel knew he was going to have a tough draw. His first opponent was Brandon Staudacher of Indian Creek.

Staudacher jumped on Bickel early and ran out to a big early lead. Although Bickel got a takedown in the third period, it wasn't enough as Staudacher secured a 10-5 win.

Staudacher went on to take eighth at 140 pounds.

"I'm just trying to get all the nervousness out of my system," Bickel said after the loss.

"Typically down here, a kid that's been here before does better when he faces someone here for the first time," said Bulldogs coach Mike Massey. "The kid's advantage over Zach was that he'd been to states before. Zach later in the match started to come back on him.

"We've seen a lot of kids come back to the podium after losing their first match," Massey said.

Unfortunately for Bickel, there would be no comeback.

Bickel's second opponent was Oak Harbor's Jake Cramer. It was a much tighter affair than his first match, but Bickel could not get the winning takedown and dropped a 6-5 loss.

Cramer went on to place fifth.

E-mail: stowsports@recordpub.com

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