BRANDON — Otter Valley Union High School wrestlers Evan Bathalon and George Mitchell won their weight classes on Saturday as OV hosted a dozen teams at a tournament.
Bathalon, a senior, won the 215-pound weight class for his first tournament victory and was voted the tournament’s outstanding wrestler. Seeded third, he defeated the No. 2 and No. 1 seeds to claim the title.
Mitchell, a junior who won his 100th match in late December, claimed the 130-pound crown to remain undefeated this winter.
Perennial power Mount Anthony sent its A team and won eight weight classes and the team title with 245 points, followed by OV with 114.5 and Vergennes with 79 in third.
Bathalon’s performance generated the most buzz, said OV assistant coach Paul Desabrais. In the quarterfinal, Bathalon won by pin in 1:18. In the semifinal match vs. No. 2 Justin Bassler of Mount Anthony, Bathalon fell behind early, but scored five straight points for a 5-2 in.
Desabrais said the final vs. top-seeded Kyle Streeter of Harwood was a crowd-pleaser. Bathalon trailed again, but scored six points in the final 47 seconds for a 10-7 victory.
“The finals match went back and forth,” Desabrais said. “The two battled it out to the final seconds.”
Ultimately, Bathalon won his first tournament on home turf and received the outstanding wrestler trophy from his father, OV coach Bob Bathalon.
Mitchell, a defending state champion, also had a tough match in the final, preserving his perfect record with a 6-4 decision over Mount Anthony’s Tyler White.
Local wrestlers who placed in the top four were:
103 pounds: 3. Joey McCoy, OV.
112: 3. Seth Harrington, OV.
119: 4. Ben Cook, OV.
125: 3. Ricky Karzmarczyk, VUHS.
130: 1. Mitchell, OV; 4. Matt Karzmarczyk, VUHS.
140: 2. Simon Flynn, VUHS.
145: 2. Alex Alger, OV.
152: 2. Morgan Stinchfield, VUHS.
160: 3. Geoffrey Grant, VUHS.
171: 3. Rob Fjeld, OV.
189: 4. Alex Smith, OV.
215. 1. Bathalon, OV; 4. Aaron Desabrais, VUHS.
285: 3. Shaun Mills, OV; 4. Andrew Spooner, Mount Abe.