Several Knights wrestle in summer competitions
West Holmes’ Louden Dixon, left, recently received his Ohio High School Athletic Association individual academic All-Ohio award. Teammate Peyton Martin also received the award.
“It’s not the will to win that matters. Everyone has that. It’s the will to prepare to win that matters.”
—Unknown
Several West Holmes wrestlers have taken the above quote to heart this offseason, training and competing in several offseason folkstyle, freestyle and Greco-Roman competitions in Ohio and around the country.
In early June the team attended Jeff Jordan’s State Champ Camp, where the Knights did over 1,000 reps in drills and competed in over 50 live matches during the three-day camp.
Knights wrestling coach Scott Vaughn was more than pleased with the team’s second straight trip to the Jordan team camp.
“The amount of experience and skill gained is unmatched at Jeff Jordan’s State Champ Camp,” he said.
Off the mats, the Knights received the news that the team will once again compete in the 2026 Ohio High School Wrestling Coaches Association Division II State Team Duals Championship Tournament. The regional tournaments are slated for Feb. 7, 2026, with the state tournament slated one week later. Last season West Holmes placed seventh at the Div. II State Team Duals Championship Tournament.
Incoming seniors Peyton Martin and Louden Dixon received their Ohio High School Athletic Association individual academic All-Ohio awards (must be a state tournament placer with a GPA of 3.5 or higher). Martin (3.90 GPA, eighth at 120) and Dixon (3.75 GPA, champion at 150) met the criteria for the awards. The Knights team was honored with its eighth consecutive OHSAA Team Academic All-Ohio Award, with a team GPA of 3.3 or higher.
On the mats, West Holmes graduate Cole Porter, a Baldwin-Wallace University signee, competed recently at the AAU Scholastic Folkstyle Duals in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Wrestling for Ohio Titan Gold at 175, the former three-time state alternate for the Knights posted a 5-6 mark with two falls, helping his team to a 13th-place team finish.
Incoming sophomore Easton Ross recently wrestled for Austintown Fitch Falcons B in Fort Lauderdale, posting a 4-8 mark at 215 over the three days of wrestling. Ross’ wins helped his team to a fifth-place finish in the Silver Division, which was the team’s first placement at the AAU duals.
Dixon recently competed for Team Ohio Scarlet at the USA Wrestling Air Force Spec Ops Freestyle National Duals in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Wrestling at 165, the returning Div. II 150-pound state champion had a rough tournament, posting a 2-5 record, still good enough to help Team Ohio Scarlet to a national team runner-up finish.
Dixon also competed May 17 and 18 at the USA Wrestling Central Regional Fargo Junior Freestyle Nationals Qualifier in Louisville, Kentucky. For the second straight year, Dixon will make the trip to Fargo, North Dakota after a fifth-place finish at 165 with a 6-2 mark. Dixon made the round of 12 at last year’s Fargo nationals and will look to better that standing when the tournament gets underway July 10 in the FargoDome.
Porter and Dixon were busy wrestlers May 3 and 4 at Austintown Fitch, especially Porter. With the USA Wrestling Ohio Junior Freestyle State Team Duals Championship and Junior Freestyle and Greco-Roman State Championship Qualifier Tournaments on tap, Porter chose to wrestle in all three tournaments while Dixon chose the team duals as his only competition for the weekend.
In the team duals, both Dixon and Porter wrestled for the Gladiator Wrestling Academy, with Dixon (165) going undefeated at 5-0 and Porter posting a 2-3 record.
Porter qualified for the state tournament in both freestyle and Greco-Roman at 190. Porter earned the freestyle championship with a 4-0 record including two wins by fall. In G-R, Porter posted a 1-4 mark, good for fifth place.
Incoming sophomores Liam Angle and Oliver Hiller, along with incoming seventh-grader Jackson Vaughn, also competed this spring. All three qualified for the USA Wrestling Ohio freestyle and Greco-Roman state championship tournaments in their respective age groups — Angle and Hiller in the 16U division and Vaughn in the 14U division.
At their qualifying tournaments, Angle (126) earned a fourth-place qualifying spot in 16U freestyle with a 2-2 record. Angle also competed in 16U G-R, his first-ever attempt, and despite an 0-4 mark, he still placed fifth and qualified for the state tournament. Hiller (144) wrestled freestyle only (16U), finishing 0-2, but with slim numbers in his weight class, he qualified for the state championship.
Angle and Hiller had a rough go of it at the USA Wrestling Ohio 16U Freestyle and Greco-Roman State Championship Tournament May 25 at Ohio Northern University. Angle was 0-2 in both freestyle and G-R while Hiller also finished 0-2 in freestyle.
In the 14U division, Vaughn (88) wrestled both disciplines at Austintown, earning state championship berths in both styles. Vaughn was runner-up in G-R with a 1-1 record. In freestyle Vaughn posted a third-place finish with an 0-2 mark in the round-robin bracket. Vaughn had qualified earlier in the season at the Perrysburg qualifier but wrestled at 92 pounds in freestyle and 96 pounds in G-R.
Vaughn scored the championship in G-R with a 2-0 record. Vaughn again qualified in freestyle despite an 0-2 mark.
At the 14U state championship tournament in Middletown on May 10, Vaughn (92) posted a 1-2 mark in freestyle. Vaughn’s G-R competition did not go as hoped, finishing with an 0-2 record.