Barnesville (D-III) and Steubenville (D-II) will both be taking part in Saturday’s Ohio High School Wrestling Coaches Association State Team Duals. It will be the fifth straight appearance for the Shamrocks, while Big Red will be making its second trip.

The Division II event is being held at Columbus Bishop Watterson High School, with the Division III tournament at Marion Elgin High School. Both start at 11 a.m.

The Shamrocks received the No. 6 seed in the 8-team event and will face No. 3 Apple Creek Waynedale in the opening round. The Bears won the Wheeling Park Duals this season.

Taking the top seed was perennial Division II state powerhouse Graham, which has dropped a division. Delta is No. 2, with Lake Catholic (4th); Versailles (5th); Liberty Center (7th) and Elgin (8th).

Barnesville has been to the event in all five of its years of existence, finishing runner up to No. 2 Delta last season when it was the top seed. It was the No. 2 seed in 2023 and finished third. In 2022, the Shamrocks took fourth as the No. 5 seed and they dropped two matches in the inaugural tournament in 2021 as the seventh seed.

“I think we are seeded where we should be. I have about nine kids that got to compete last year,” Barnesville head coach Jayson Stephen said. “So they know what to expect.

“This just gives my team another experience to have and prepares them more for the postseason,” he added. “This will make five years in a row for Barnesville making the top 8 in the state and I believe there will be more years to come.”

The Shamrocks lineup features five seniors in Conner Wilson (113), Aydan Andrews (120), Eli Messenger (150), Ayden King (165) and Blake Kirk (285). King is a sparkling 40-2 this season and is 186-30 for his career. He won the OVAC Ron Mauck Tournament this year and placed fifth at the prestigious Ironman. Andrews has collected 93 career wins.

Jonathan Foster (157) and Hines Ford (175) are the lone juniors. Ford has 108 career wins, including 36 this season.

The majority of the lineup consists of sophomores Easton Stephen (106), Layden Loring (132), Colt Carpenter (138), Brayden Trigg (144), Austin Armstrong (190) and Christien Hannahs (215). Stephen leads that group with 28 victories this season. Carpenter, who was an OVAC Ron Mauck titlist as a freshman, and Trigg each have 26 wins this season. Hannahs has 23.

The lone freshman is Haden Bowman (126).

Barnesville punched its ticket last week with Regional wins over Martins Ferry (64-12) and Mechanicsburg (44-29).

Steubenville qualified for the first tournament in 2021 and had the privilege to host the event inside the Crimson Center. It placed fourth as the No. 3 seed.

Big Red has a pair of OVAC Ron Mauck Tournament champions in senior Brody Saccoccia (157) and junior Cooper Smith (144). Saccoccia, a Purdue University signee, is a three-time OVAC Ron Mauck champion and a defending Ohio State champion. He is currently 28-0. Smith has won a pair of OVAC Ron Mauck titles and has posted a superb 30-3 mark this season.

The remainder of the lineup includes seniors Landon Drazic (138) and Ethan Llewellyn (165); juniors Cole Harvey (113), Kasyn Berky (120), Dorian Haddad (126), Julius Mullins (132), Charlie Abbott (150), Nolan Blackburn (190), Landon Babel (215) and Beau Hudson (285); sophomore Landon Crosier (175); and freshman Monte Guntrum (106).

Llewellyn, an Indian Creek transfer, has picked up 29 wins this season, while Haddad has 24 and Blackburn 22. Guntrum and Crosier each have 20 victories, one more than Harvey and Berkey).

Steubenville also drew the No. 6 seed and will face No. 3 Perry in its first match.

Host Bishop Watterson was awarded the top seed, with Buckeye the No. 2. Sandusky Perkins (No. 4), Wauseon (No. 5), Jonathan Alder (No. 7) and West Holmes (No. 8) round out the field.

“I think at this level, every point in every match is going to be very important. I know our guys are excited to compete and we are going to focus on one dual at a time,” Steubenville head coach Lucas Huffman said. “We just want our guys to wrestle to the best of their abilities and we will see what happens.”