Logan Stieber Dominates 3 straight years at OAC State
If I started this article off by giving you the names of all of the wrestlers who did not place in this weight class and then list their credentials of what they accomplished over the next several years of wrestling you would be baffled! In fact, that is what I am going to do. Logan Stieber won his very first-ever OAC Jr.High State Title as a sixth-grader at the 78-pound weight class (2004). In fact, he pinned his way into the finals and came in with an unblemished record of 30-0. So before I get into more about Logan, here are some of the young men that failed to place in this rugged weight class in 2004.
James Inghram was one of the best wrestlers throughout his youth and middle school years. Doing battle with Gus Sako, Ty Mitch, Johnni DiJulius and so on. However, in 2004 James was unable to place at Jr.High State. James went on to have an extremely successful high school career placing three times at the OHSAA State Tournament (3rd,3rd,2nd).
Cam Tessari happened to be in this bracket as well. If you are familiar with Logan Stieber, you have certainly heard the name Cam Tessari. Cam ended up being one of the select few to win 4 OHSAA State Titles like Logan, BUT on the same team (Monroeville). Can you imagine that a future 4-time high school state champion not even placing at Jr.High State? That just goes to show you how truly tough the OAC State Championship is.
Scott Mattingly from Uniontown Lake also failed to place. Scott had a successful high school run. Becoming a multiple-time OHSAA State Placer and also was an All-American at Jr.Nationals. Mattingly went on to become an NCAA qualifier in college for Central Michigan University and was a 4 time MAC Place Winner during those years in college.
Sam White should ring a bell to some wrestling fans. Sam was an absolute hammer in high school. Sam in fact defeated Jamie Clark in the State Finals in 2007 claiming his first of two OHSAA State Championships. He was a three-time state finalist and a two-time champion in OHSAA.
The four of these young men who did not place went on to become some of the best Ohio has seen. Basically, what I am trying to convey to someone out there reading this is that even if you fail to place at Jr.High State in Middle School, there is still plenty of time to develop into a great wrestler. There will be plenty of more practices to train and you may just in fact one day become the next 4-time OHSAA State Champion and you never even placed at state in middle school.
In 2004 Logan had hardly any competition. I believe his closest match this year was in fact in the finals of the OAC. He wrestled the whole tournament in 6:04. Just over a full match, he wrestled in 4 matches! 4 matches and 4 pins in 6:04! Logan made things look way too easy. He would get on top and put in that armbar half and it was all over from there! Logan didn’t just pin anybody he was pinning future state champions and OHSAA place winners such as “Zack Pope” whom he pinned in 1:32. He also pinned “Randy Henline” in 2:32, Randy in fact went the longest besides the finals match. In the semi-finals, Logan pinned multiple time state placer “Shelton Morris” in a short 1:15. Shelton ended up not being on the placement end due to a disqualification during the medal rounds. The finals match was where the toughest match came for Logan. Zach Neibert of St.Paris Graham. Logan per usual though did not have a single point scored against him in routing Neibert in the finals 6-0. Many of the kids who wrestled Logan considered it a real accomplishment if they didn’t get pinned and they could last the whole match. In fact, only losing 6-0 to Logan Stieber might have been the closest match he had in a couple of years. Zach would go on to become a 2-time OHSAA State Champion for Graham and then an NCAA All-American for Virginia Tech in College. Logan was a buzzsaw and if you were in the way, you were getting cut down! Logan’s success in the 6th grade was nothing surprising, he had been training with the best in the country for several years up until this point so it was expected from him and from most of the fans and wrestlers that he win Jr.High State as a 6th grader. Granted this is not a feat that many have ever been able to accomplish. Hence why there are only 10 that have ever done it. Logan has just always been on another level compared to the rest of the community.
2004 78lbs:
1.Logan Stieber
2.Zach Neibert
3.Zack Pope
4.Kyle Gilchrist
5.Jamie Clark
6.DQ
7.Gus Sako
8.Randy Henline
Think about this for a second. Logan’s weight with the 7 other place winners would go on to have 11 total State Titles in high school. Jamie Clark won 3, Gus Sako won 2 and Zach Neibert would win 2 and if you count Logan that makes for 11! Guys that won multiple titles in high school were finishing in 7th place at this weight! Just something to think about the next time you aren’t satisfied with your finish at the toughest Jr.High State Tournament in the country!
THE NEXT TWO TITLE’S FOR LOGAN STIEBER
The next two seasons for Logan would be business as usual. Logan winning matches and the opponents just fighting and praying they can go the distance for some kind of moral victory. In 2005, at 84 pounds Logan won his second of three OAC State Titles in middle school. This time Logan would go on to wrestle “Sam White” in the finals. Sam had failed to place the year earlier but here is where Sam really picked up speed in development in his career also. Even though Logan pinned everyone this year, and yes even in the finals Logan pinned Sam. Logan again only wrestled for a short amount of time, maybe under 6 minutes. 6 minutes for 5 matches is absolutely insane if you ask me. Nobody was getting a moral victory this year it seemed. The name that stands out to me that failed to place is a young man by the name of “Ian Miller”. You may recognize the name. The Ian Miller that became a 2 time OHSAA State Finalist and then onto Kent State where he was a three time NCAA All-American and was oh so close to becoming an NCAA Champion. Again , this reiterates how extremely tough this OAC Jr.High State Tournament is. Ian went 0-2 in 2005. However that didn’t stop his career. He ended up being one of the most exciting wrestlers in NCAA to watch. There were many wrestlers whom didn’t place in this bracket, however I just felt the need to mention that name because of how it stands out and what the young man was able to accomplish later on in his career. It gives a great view of how things change over time. The 2005 top 8 finishers were as follows:
2005 84lbs:
1.Logan Stieber
2.Sam White
3.Alex Minnard
4.Zach Neibert
5.Justin Hall
6.Garrett Manley
7.Cody Shivener
8.Zach Vargo
Logans final round at the OAC Jr.High State Championships was in 2006 at 102 pounds. Per usual Logan smashed his way to an other title (strictly business), making it his third title in a row. He again pinned his way except for one Tech Fall in his third match. Put it this way , in the semi finals Logan went up against a tough young wrestler by the name of “Harrison Hightower”. Logan pinned him in 1:23 , making it look easy. Hightower would go on to win three OHSAA State Titles for University School. He then went on to compete in college at Ohio University and qualified for the NCAA tournament for the Bobcat’s. All throughout middle school the common theme here is that Logan was smashing everybody he wrestled. These guys weren’t the savages that they became later. However what I wanted to show in this article was just how dominant Logan has always been his entire career. There was no letting off the gas pedal. He was relentless all the time. All gas, no brakes. These wrestlers who went on to have great careers in high school and some in college didn’t just throw in the towel. They used losses like these from Logan to their strengths. They didn’t want to feel left out from not placing at state or from winning the whole thing. They persevered over the years and trained hard.I wanted this article to show dominance as well as perseverance through the tough times in a young wrestlers career.
2006 102lbs:
1.Logan Stieber
2.Alex Lopez
3.Pierce Harger
4.Andrew Dehart
5.Harrison HighTower
6.Matthew Fee
7.Jacob McCombs
8.Cody Shivener
Follow @DrewBlogzCLE on Twitter and on DrewBlogzCLE.Wordpress.Com for more blog postings and updates around the sport!
Do you have a memory, opinion of the toughest weight or OAC pics? Feel free DM or tag us and use #oaclegends. Facebook Ohio Athletic Committee; Twitter @OhioAthleticCom; Instagram @ohioathleticcommittee
