COLUMBUS OHIO- March 9, 2025: OHSAA State Wrestling Championships at Schottenstein Center, Ohio State University D3 FINALS 150 lbs, Tyson Seesholtz, South Range, during his loss in the finals.. MICHAEL G. TAYLOR | TRIBUNE-VINDICATOR

COLUMBUS — So close yet so far.

That was the story of the OHSAA state wrestling finals for two of the area’s athletes: Canfield’s Gabe Miller and South Range’s Tyson Seesholtz.

Both held leads during their finals — Miller in the Division II 190-pound tilt and Seesholtz in the Division III 150-pound championship match — but ultimately surrendered them and fell to their opponents by a single point.

The losses, while an accomplishment in and of itself, are stinging ends to respectively impressive seasons.

Miller lost 6-5 to Archbishop Hoban’s Brydon Feister, who managed to take Miller down on the edge of the mat and keep the sophomore star on bottom the rest of the way.

“He wrestled great,” Canfield head coach Craig Shaw said of Miller. “He was ready. He was prepared. State finals are a hard match, no matter what. And he did fantastic. He has so much to be proud of.”

Miller took a 3-0 lead with 30 seconds remaining in the first period by slamming Feister to the mat. Miller stayed ahead 3-1 for the entire second period as Feister, who had pinned his way through his side of the bracket before Sunday, could not turn Miller. Similarly, Miller could not escape from the bottom.

In the third period, Feister almost immediately scored a reversal to tie the match up at three apiece before being penalized a point for a crossface that knocked Miller’s headgear off of his head and onto the mat.

After an escape, Miller sported a 5-3 lead, which would last only moments as Feister slammed Miller to the mat and onto his back. Action was stopped just as Feister scored his takedown, wiping out any potential back points for the Hoban standout and allowing Miller an opportunity to tie it back up with another escape.

Unfortunately for Miller, he could not get the larger Feister off of his back before time ran out.

After the loss, Canfield coaches and wrestlers surrounded and consoled Miller, who Shaw effusively praised.

“Words can’t explain how proud I am of Gabe,” said Shaw after coaching his first state final. “We went through a lot this year. He went through a lot. He did incredibly. His mental fortitude is incredible. He’s just a wonderful human being. And he never wavered. He always followed the process, followed the work plan and he did it. One point away from taking it all. He’s an incredible kid.”

Miller finishes his sophomore season 32-3 and with state tournament wins over Bellevue’s Tatum Gore, Benjamin Logan’s Owen Jordan and Eaton’s Presley Stewart.

Shaw said after Sunday’s loss that Miller will be even more motivated to capture a state title next March.

“He was gonna be motivated regardless of the outcome to be back in the same situation next year,” Shaw said. “Now, it’s just focusing on winning them. That’s it. If I know Gabe, we’ll probably take a week off, and then we’ll start training.”

A WEEK’S DIFFERENCE

After Tyson Seesholtz defeated Amanda-Clearcreek’s Bodie Martin 5-3 in the Division III 150-pound championship semifinals Saturday in an ultimate tiebreaker, Seesholtz’s South Range head coach Frank Giordano said he expected to see the best of Seesholtz come Sunday’s state title match.

While Seesholtz has been stellar all season — he entered Sunday 34-2 — it could be argued he was at his best for the first two periods of the final vs. Caleb Greenwood of Beechwood.

A week ago, Seesholtz suffered an 18-1 technical fall defeat at the hands of Greenwood in the Independence district final.

Seesholtz said Friday that he was not in the correct mental state at districts, but that he had been building momentum throughout the week since. The momentum kept building during the weekend; he beat Genoa Area’s Tyler Abbey 11-3 in the first round before defeating Treven Angus of Northridge 7-4 and Martin in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively.

Despite such a lopsided loss to the same opponent a week earlier, Seesholtz scored the only takedown of the first period Sunday to take a 3-0 lead into the second, where he continued to grow his lead.

While on bottom, Seesholtz rolled through and reversed Greenwood, putting the district champion at a 5-0 deficit. Twenty-five seconds later, Seesholtz earned a pair of back points, increasing his lead to seven with 35 seconds remaining in the period.

Greenwood’s comeback, however, would begin near the end of the second when he scored his first point with an escape in the final seconds.

Starting on the feet in the third, Greenwood immediately took Seesholtz down, let him up and took him down again to pull within a point.

In the final minute, Greenwood attempted a go-ahead takedown, which Seesholtz tried but could not stave off. With 26 seconds left in the match, Greenwood took his first lead.

Seesholtz, trailing 11-9, managed to escape from underneath Greenwood with four seconds left, but time ran out before he could score a match-winning takedown.

With the loss, Seesholtz, the second South Range wrestler to reach the state finals, finishes the season with a 34-3 record and his second state placement in three appearances.