By Jordan Miller
FPS Editor
Carrollton High School wrestlers Sawyer Broadwater and Cael Lowdermilk showcased their talents at the OHSAA Division II state wrestling tournament, with Lowdermilk securing a fifth-place finish and Broadwater gaining valuable experience at the state level.
Both sophomores opened the tournament with strong performances on Friday, March 7. Broadwater (106 lbs.) edged Collin Bartos of Buckeye in a 3-1 decision, while Lowdermilk (113 lbs.) blanked Carter Baran of Kenston, 5-0, sending both into the quarterfinals.
In the quarterfinals on Saturday morning, Lowdermilk continued his winning ways, defeating Mykale Schneider of Wauseon 7-2 to advance to the semifinals. Broadwater faced a tough match, falling in a narrow 4-2 decision to Zane Russell of Wapakoneta, which sent him into the consolation bracket.
Broadwater’s state tournament run came to an end in the second round of consolations, where he was pinned by Hayden Jones of Brookville in 2:01.
Meanwhile, Lowdermilk squared off against Dom Prosperi of Canton South in the semifinals but suffered a 4-1 defeat. Prosperi went on to finish as the state runner-up.
“Overall, I feel like I wrestled well,” Lowdermilk said. “But I know there are things I need to work on. I need to make sure I stick to my style of wrestling no matter who I’m up against.”
On Sunday morning, Lowdermilk lost a tightly contested 2-0 match to Aiden Ohl of Ontario in the consolation semifinals. Determined to finish strong, he rebounded in the fifth-place match with a commanding performance, pinning Bronko Braun of Indian Valley in 2:36.
“It felt good to finish with a win,” Lowdermilk said. “Coming into the tournament, my goal was to place, so I’m happy with how I finished. But I also know there’s still a lot of room for improvement.”
Looking ahead to his junior season, Lowdermilk remains uncertain about his specific goals but plans to take time to reassess his path.
“I haven’t really thought that far ahead yet,” he admitted. “I’ll take some time to reflect and then set my goals when the time is right.”