Sometime after 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Cambridge’s Justin Bartlett and Caden Kenworthy each will take the mat for the first time at the Ohio Division II State Wrestling Tournament.
It will also mark the next step in the resurgence of the successful and proud tradition of Bobcats’ wrestling in Guernsey County.
Bartlett advanced with a runner-up finish at the districts competing in the 195-pound class, falling to Indian Creek’s Austin Starr, 7-2, in the final match.
Bartlett’s record stands at 20-3. Two of his losses have come to Starr while the other is 220-pound district champion Reese Skaggs of St. Clairsville. After just missing placing the last two years at districts, Bartlett made massive improvements heading into his senior season.
“His sophomore and junior year, he was one match away from placing,” Cambridge coach Kollin Clark said. “He’s made some big strides wrestling both from the top and on his feet.
“He’s improved a lot from last year and is a totally different wrestler.”
Kenworthy, just a junior, joined his senior counterpart by closing out his district tournament with a 14-1 major decision against Karter Jones of Tri-Valley to finish third. He fell in the semifinals to eventual champion Jonathan Potts of Beaver Local, 1-0, after surrendering an escape point in the second round.
He’s wrestled well this year and bumped up a few weight classes from last year,” Clark said. “He’s strong, but also a good technician and he’s really turned it on.”
While it’s both wrestlers first appearance at the state level, it’s also the first time a Cambridge wrestler qualified since Tommy Moore finished second at the district tournament in 2017 to advance. It’s also the first time since 2013 that more than one Bobcats’ wrestler qualified.
Passing the Torch
2018 began a three-year drought from the state tournament for Cambridge, which also marked the final season in the memorable coaching career of one of its own, Tom “Tank” Moore.
Tank Moore led the Bobcats’ program as its head coach from 1995 through 2018, seeing 26 qualifiers reach the state tournament, with 10 placers and one finalist under his tutelage.
Prior to taking the coaching reigns, Moore was a three-time NAIA All-American at West Liberty, finishing third twice before fighting his way to a runner-up position as a senior in the heavyweight division. He’s also a member of the Hilltoppers’ Hall of Fame, inducted in 2015 after compiling a 108-19 record.
A graduate of CHS, Moore was an OVAC champion and third in the state in Division II in 1988.
When Moore announced he was stepping down, the school board looked to find a replacement who could continue the Bobcats’ winning tradition. Not the easiest shoes to fill.
They found a young and energetic recent graduate who wrestled collegiately in the Ohio Valley and also had success at the state level in Ohio.
Clark finished fifth in the state wrestling for nearby Claymont High School, like Cambridge, a fellow member of the East Central Ohio League.
His talents drew the attention of then-Wheeling Jesuit wrestling coach Sean Doyle, who brought Clark into wrestle for the Cardinals.
Clark spent all four years of his collegiate career on the team, earning his degree and learning from both Doyle and former coach Danny Irwin, who currently has his Hilltoppers poised for a big weekend at the Division II National Championships.
Now in his third season at Cambridge, Clark credits a bit of his coaching style from what he learned both under Doyle and Irwin. In fact, he still keeps up with them.
“We still keep in touch, both with Doyle and Irwin,” Clark said. “Two of my assistants are from Jesuit too. We went out to dinner earlier this year and talked about the season.”
On the Upswing
Year three is definitely the best thus far for Clark and his Bobcats.
While two wrestlers advanced to Highland, Cambridge nearly saw a third with Eric Reed finishing one win shy of placing, two of qualifying.
A senior, Reed lost to district runner-up Dylan Strouse of West Homes in the quarterfinals, won his next match but then fell to Beaver Local’s Jaymin Salsberry, finishing 2-2 for the day. Reed qualified for the district tournament all four years, finishing as high as sixth as a junior.
In 2018, Cambridge advanced only one wrestler to the district level, Reed. The following year, five advanced in Clarks’ first year at the helm, but no Bobcats reached the podium for the second year in a row.
Reed’s sixth place finish in 2020 broke that stretch. Kenworthy and Bartlett doubled that total last weekend.
“It kind of took a bit for the guys to buy into what my coaching staff and I are trying to do as far as practices, off-season workouts,” Clark said. “But these kids have all bought into it.”
While Bartlett and Reed both graduate, Kenworthy will be back for his senior season, looking to help Clark lead the Bobcats back to wrestling prominence and the level of success previously established under Moore.
“It’s been a while, so I’m excited and the kids are really excited to be back at state,” Clark said.
