No. 2 Buchanan Leaves Ohio With a Statement Win — and a Result Few Expected

The California powerhouse cruised to a 100-point team victory while Zinkin flipped the script on a national rival in a marquee final

Billy Buckheit | 2 Hours Ago

Highland’s Brandon Bickerton celebrates his win in the 120 pound weight class during the championship round of the Brecksville Invitational Holiday Tournament at Brecksville-Broadview Heights High School on Dec. 30, 2025. / Mike Cardew / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Buchanan wrestling team that is ranked No. 2 in the country by High School On SI climbed aboard a plane and left sunny and warm California for a few days in frigid Ohio at the Brecksville Invitational Holiday Tournament hosted by Brecksville-Broadview Heights High School on a Monday and Tuesday at the end of December (29th and 30th).

Buchanan Makes a Statement Far From Home

The trip would have to be considered a very successful one. The Bears were never seriously challenged in the team race, ending the first day ahead of No. 17 Perrysburg of Ohio by close to 50 points and grew that lead throughout the day on Tuesday, eventually winning the team crown by more than 100 points over Perrysburg, 327-216.5.

“It was great,” said Buchanan coach Troy Tirapelle. “The main reason, it was wrestlers that we've never faced before and won't face again. We just want to differentiate the competition. We wrestle the same people all the time in California. Also, each area wrestles a bit differently, so it was nice to experience that as well.”

There was a time, not long ago, when the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) allowed their teams to compete at Ironman. A change in policy a few years ago snuffed out any farther visits to the function. The same rules kept them out of PowerAde, too, so Brecksville seemed like a logical fit for a Doc Buchanan tuneup to Tirapelle, who also is not a fan of Ironman’s intensity right out of the gate.

“Ironman is too early in the year for us,” remarked Tirapelle. “We are not trying to train that hard that early. Our most important event is our state tournament at the very end of February/beginning of March. We plan our training/pick-up around that.

“Secondly, our state organization (CIF) decided about five years ago that we can no longer wrestle teams that don’t belong to their state organizations (that fall under NFHS rules). Which means, we can no longer wrestle the National Prep schools. So, even if we wanted to go, we couldn't.”

Rocklin Zinkin Turns the Tables in Overtime Thriller

Buchanan’s four champions and six finalists were both tournament highs. The star for the Bears was Rocklin Zinkin at 126 pounds. Zinkin is ranked second in the nation at 120 pounds in the latest rankings by High School on SI. The senior has previously lost twice to the No. 1 guy at 120, Landon Sidun of Norwin, Pennsylvania.

Zinkin dropped a 6-5 match to No. 1 Grey Burnett of Perrysburg at the U.S. Open. It was not revealed whether the move to 126 is permanent one or temporary until Zinkin’s descension plan allows him to drop to 120 pounds. The Brecksville outcome may have the Bear considering the move permanently as he will now man the top spot at 126 pounds after winning an overtime ultimate tiebreaker, 2-1, over Burnett.

“Honestly, I thought he (Zinkin) dominated,” Tirapelle added. “We controlled the mat. We took every chance. We had two good opportunities to score. The only downside was that we did not capitalize on at least one of them. He deserved and earned that win.”

Four Champions, Six Finalists Highlight Buchanan Depth

No. 3 Thales Silva flattened No. 7 Cohen Reer of Edison, Ohio in the third period of their 106-pound final, 5:40. At 132 pounds, Paul Ruiz (No. 9 at 126) defeated No. 12 Nicholas Sorrow (Hudson, Michigan), 7-5. Sammy Seja upset Brecksville’s No. 37 EJ German, 11-6, in the 215-pound final. That loss was one of three for Brecksville in the gold medal round in which they were favored but came up short.

“They did great,” Tirapelle said. “It was a tough tournament. That's why we went. (It) should give us some momentum heading into the Doc Buchanan.”

The Bears who returned home with silver medals were CJ Huerta (144 pounds) and Ivan Arias (157). No. 26 Thiago Silva picked off No. 11 Jarreau Walker (Streetsboro, Ohio) to place third at 113 pounds. Also claiming bronze were Ashton Besmer (138 pounds) and Patrick Roberts (175). Carlo Contino was fourth at 150 pounds, Blake Woodward placed fifth at 165, Raiden Bishop was seventh at 190 pounds, with JJ Greene placing eighth at 120.

“Overall, I'd say (it was) good,” Tirapelle continued. “I thought we gave away some matches that we could've/should've won. However, that is why you do these things throughout the year. Trying to figure out our shortcomings so that we can be our best when it matters most at the end.”

Ohio Shockers Shake Up Individual Brackets

The biggest shocker amongst Brecksville’s hits was No. 1 Rylan Seacrist going down in the 113-pound finals. Seacrist had handled No. 3 Justin Farnsworth (Malvern Prep, Pennsylvania) in consecutive weeks at the Ironman and Beast of the East, so he was coming in hot and ready.

No. 16 Loc Webber (Dublin Coffman) suffered a 7-0 loss to Walker at Ironman and avenged that loss in the semis here, 3-2. Another one-point margin would be used to pocket the title, 9-8, in sudden victory, as Webber sent shockwaves through the stands with his exploits versus Seacrist. Heavyweight Braylon Wright gave Coffman a second champ with a 21-1 technical fall of Jacob Ernest (Wadsworth, Ohio).

Dublin Coffman’s Loc Webber (left) controls Brecksville’s Rylan Seacrist in the 113 pound weight class during the championship round of the Brecksville Invitational Holiday Tournament at Brecksville-Broadview Heights High School on Dec. 30, 2025. / Mike Cardew / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The upset written by St. Frances DeSale’s No. 22 Joel Welch was not as dramatic as Webber’s, but Welch came out ahead of his all-Ohio final with No. 12 Zack Aquila of Brecksville (their other unexpected loss), by pitching a 4-0 shutout in the 165-pound final.

Perrysburg, Massillon Perry Lead Host State Resistance

Massillon Perry crowned three champions with No. 29 Mason Rohr doing so at 144 pounds by clipping the wings of Buchanan’s Huerta (No. 15 at 138 pounds), 4-2. No. 10 Brennan Warwick was pushed hard by No. 23 Collin Wooldridge (La Salle) in another all-Ohio showdown before hanging on for a 9-8 victory. No. 36 Caige Horak also faced an Ohio rival, and like Warwick, had little room for error in a 5-4 decision.

Highland, Ohio’s No. 24 Brandon Bickerton met the unranked Oliver Lester of Dublin Coffman in the 120-pound final and walked away with a 7-2 win. Lester was not projected to be a finalist and had to get past two nationally ranked Ohio foes to do so, No. 23 Derion Williams (Trinity) and No. 25 Ayden Dodd (Perrysburg). Williams beat Bickerton in the Solon Comet Classic finals right before Christmas.

Three Michigan Wrestlers Reach the Top of the Podium

The final three titles were earned by Michigan Grapplers, No. 9 Blake Cosby (Dundee), No. 25 Bodie Abbey (Hartland), and Beckett Campbell (Hudson). Cosby took care of Buchanan’s Arias (No. 14 at 150 pounds), 4-1, in the 157-pound final. Campbell pinned Perrysburg’s Bradley Bauman in 1:11 at 150 pounds.

Abbey stuck No. 24 Urijah Lopez (Perrysburg) in the opening frame of their 138-pound final, 1:40. Lopez beat Abbey in overtime, 4-1, in the Grappler Gold Finals in early December. Abbey’s biggest moment came in the semis against Buchanan’s Besmer (No. 2 at 132 pounds), an U17 U.S. Open Champion and World Team member, whom he disappointed with an 8-4 tally in his favor.

The other four nationally ranked teams in the field filled out the third through six spots of the standings with three Ohio teams in a row with No. 15 Massillon Perry (181 points) in third, Dublin Coffman a point behind in fourth with 180 points, the number 32 hosts were in fifth with 170.5, and Michigan’s No. 29 Dundee finished in the sixth spot.

Team Scores (Top 10):

1-Buchanan (CA) 327

2-Perrysburg (OH) 216.5

3-Massillon Perry (OH) 181

1st Place Match

Braylon Wright (Dublin Coffman) 14-2, So. over Jacob Ernest (Wadsworth) 15-1, Sr. (TF-1.5 2:31 (21-1))

3rd Place Match

Clayton Shipley (Dublin Coffman) 4-1, Sr. over Cole Ditzig (Brecksville-Broadview Hts.) 4-2, Sr. (MD 9-1)

5th Place Match

Trent Taylor (Perry) 12-2, Sr. over Austin Miller (Dundee) 5-3, So. (Fall 4:12)

7th Place Match

Brycen Dunlap (Monroeville) 18-3, Sr. over Shepard Charlton (Benedictine) 12-5, Sr. (TB-1 2-1)

Published 2 Hours Ago

BILLY BUCKHEIT

Billy Buckheit is a long-time high school wrestling expert and journalist who has been doing the individual national high school wrestling rankings for SBLive Sports since 2022. He also provides coverage a major high school wrestling tournaments throughout the year. Billy previously served as the senior wrestling writer for Varsity Sports Network and the Baltimore Banner. He has also served on the seeding committees for many prestigious regional and national tournaments. In addition, he is the editor of Billy B's Wrestling World, a popular Facebook page dedicated to high school wrestling, and is an editorial contributor for the Maryland State Wrestling Association (MSWA).