Top coaches the last 20 years

Jim Behrens said:
Not to throw stones but every one of those coaches except one had outstanding kids coming from all over the landscape to wrestle for him. That one is Big Mike (like Jamie today). I am not very smart but with the talent that came into their rooms, and the terrific assistant coaches they have/had, even I would look like a stellar coach.
I am NOT trying to degrade the accomplishments of these coaches. They are all outstanding. However, to me the mark of a really outstanding coach is the ability to take what comes into your school "naturally" and make them into fine people as well as outstanding wrestlers.
The line my brother once used, and I like it a lot, is that a good coach can take his and beat yours or take yours and beat his.
BTW, it is Howard Ferguson, not Harold.
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My apologies to the great Howard Ferguson. RIP
 
Jim Behrens said:
Not to throw stones but every one of those coaches except one had outstanding kids coming from all over the landscape to wrestle for him. That one is Big Mike (like Jamie today). ]

Good point Jim, as always, thats why Mike is the only Ohio hs coach enshrined in the Ntl H of F as a Distinguished Member. .....in fairness i believe the others are great coaches too. In todays world, where talent moves to great coaching, thats how it is. Jordan for example benefited but he also attracted talent for a reason.
Urbas is there for a different reason. Hes just a great man period, based on the testimonials i got on his behalf when doing my article.
if u notice the other 8 i mention as DM prospects nationally are mostly public schools.
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bdhof said:
A lot of great discussion on that thread about these coaches. Another guy in that poll, Harold Kester - John Hay/Cleveland West, didn't get any votes but was Mike Milkovich before Mike Milkovich, dominating Ohio wrestling in the late 1930s thru the early 1950s.
yappi.com

GOAT HS Wrestling Coach

With Urbas retiring, I have a question for the Eds faithful and anyone else who wants to weigh in. For your GOAT Coaching staff, is Ferguson or Urbas the Head Coach? As an outsider, I think it's much more difficult to build something, like Ferguson did, that to keep something going, like Urbas...
yappi.com yappi.com
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of course the "Best" coaches in Ohio may have never coached a state champion-- u can only coach what walks into your wrestling room The "Greatest" are the guys who are known nationally and get awards & mention from major publications . But the Best is something a little different sometimes. Any of those named on here could be the Best (man, leader, example, teacher, motivator, tactician i.e. the Best coach).
 
BobPreusse said:
of course the "Best" coaches in Ohio may have never coached a state champion-- u can only coach what walks into your wrestling room The "Greatest" are the guys who are known nationally and get awards & mention from major publications . But the Best is something a little different sometimes. Any of those named on here could be the Best (man, leader, example, teacher, motivator, tactician i.e. the Best coach).
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So true. The only problem is the "Best" by this definition would likely only have anecdotal evidence. But the good news is that this thread could make for some great stories about numerous great/best coaches who impacted the lives of young athletes in positive ways.
 
I know this is not what you're looking for, but I feel like I should toss Don Jones name in there. He takes these kids really young and teaches them body awareness/movement/being upside-down and basic wrestling, and then they leave him to go to various clubs around the area so the club gets the glory. Then, when the kids are older, Don asks them back to help younger ones at his practices and camps. Don is a true ambassador of the sport and sees it as a life-long learning experience. Also an amazing man for parents looking for perspective.
 
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youngmanmom said:
I know this is not what you're looking for, but I feel like I should toss Don Jones name in there. He takes these kids really young and teaches them body awareness/movement/being upside-down and basic wrestling, and then they leave him to go to various clubs around the area so the club gets the glory. Then, when the kids are older, Don asks them back to help younger ones at his practices and camps. Don is a true ambassador of the sport and sees it as a life-long learning experience. Also an amazing man for parents looking for perspective. Go ahead and blast me now.
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noone gonna blast at all, but u didnt say where Jones coaches??
 
BobPreusse said:
Not sure when they retired but the TERNES bros at Lorain Southview are at or near the top, if u look at the Big picture, what they did for kids who had nothing and a school that was so needy. Produced good teams on a statewide level. simply AWESOME.
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Cool thread and the stories are fantastic. You have to admire coaches that check all the boxes. Think how rich they are when they retire. Yes, I do consider them rich.
 
Cincinnati area would include:

(# of state champs / # of finalists) in the 2000's

Current
Engle (Reading) -- ( 3 / 1 )
Dennis (Harrison) ( 1 / 1 )
Dunn (Ross) ( 1 / - )

Former
Gaier (Moeller )-- ( 7 / 5 )
Root (Springboro /Mason/LaSalle) -- ( 6 / 4 )
Fetzer (Lakota West) -- ( 3 / 6 )
McCoy (Elder) -- ( 3 / 4 )
Murnan (Mason) -- ( 3 / 1 )
Latessa (Lakota East) -- ( 3 / - )

Sidebar: Here's a great article from 1995 about Bob Latessa when he decided to leave Lehigh for Lakota

The Morning Call - We are currently unavailable in your region

www.mcall.com www.mcall.com
 
Here are some public school coaches that I didn’t see mentioned yet that always seem to have solid teams:

George Bergman (Oak Harbor)
Anthony Carrizales (Delta)
Travis Crabtree (Sandusky Perkins)
Louie Stanley (Waynedale)
Mike Ritter (Wauseon)
Michael Blackburn (Steubenville)
Ralph Cubberly (Oregon Clay/Eastwood)
 
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Jeff Jordan Dave Riggs Eric Toukonen.

Jordan for what he did in the middle of 4-corn fields.Eric Toukonen Claymont team state champs state runner up 98% home grown kids
Riggs for pushing St Ed’s all them years and getting a state title at the end
 
wrestledynasty.jpg
The Birth of a Program
1968-1969
The Toukonen Era
1983-2018
The Toukonen Era
In 1983 Eric Toukonen was hired as the Head Wrestling Coach of the Mustangs. Eric had wrestling experience as a high school wrestler at Jefferson Area High School and as a collegiate wrestler at Kent State University.
Coach Eric Toukonen, 1985 Senate League Coach of the Year
As a student teacher in 1977, he was the assistant wrestling coach at Garrettsville High School. From there, Eric and his wife Lexine moved to Steubenville where he was the Junior High Coach for two years.
In 1979, Eric met Mel Peters at an off-season tournament and Mel asked him to be his assistant coach. Eric accepted the position and from 1979 to 1983, Eric was Mel's assistant.
Eric's first year, the 1983-1984 season, was Toukonen's toughest coaching year. Many local people knew little about Eric and only knew he was replacing a very popular coach in Mel Peters.
At first, Eric was not received very well by the wrestling community, especially after finishing 4th in the League with an 8-3 record in 1984. However, with his success as an assistant and his success as a Junior High Coach, Toukonen knew that if he could get the right line-up with the right personnel, he could win. The Mustangs did qualify Bob Starkey, Matt Peters, Scott Avon to the State Tournament with Matt Peters finishing 5th in the State.
It did not take long... the 1984-1985 season was a "turn around" season for the Mustangs. Winning the Senate League Tournament, District Championship, and placing 13th in the State with Claymont's first State Champion in Matt Peters, the Mustangs with a record of 16-1 secured Toukonen's position as Head Wrestling Coach.
Eric, though, was not happy. Taking eight wrestlers to the State Tournament in Chuck Grandison, Sean Thetford, Rob Sommers, Ray Poulson, Matt Peters, Ray Starkey, Sam Dunlap, and Harry Anderegg and not challenging for the State Title was unheard of from up North where Toukonen was from and where wrestling, at that time, ruled the state. Although it was right in front of him, it would take Toukonen four years to figure out the problem.
In 1986 Eric's Mustangs finished with a 14-3 record and were 3rd in the Senate League, 1st in the District Tournament, and 5th in the Regional Tournament. (For 3 years the Sectional Tournament was called a District Tournament and The District Tournament, as it is today, was called in 1986 a Regional Tournament. There are only 4 District Championships in Ohio Wrestling, so a District Championship in Wrestling is the same as a Regional Championship in other sports.)
The Mustangs did finish 10th in the State in 1986 because of a strong showing at the State Tournament by Chuck Grandison (2nd in the State) and Ray Starkey (4th in the State).
The Toukonen led team in 1987 finished with an 11-4 record and again were Sectional and District Champions, but no team production in Toukonen's view occurred at the State Tournament where Chuck Grandison, Sean Thetford, Todd Jackson, Kurt Stewart, Brett Peters, Ray Starkey, Dan Langdon qualified for the State Tournament with Ray Starkey finishing 3rd and Chuck Grandison finishing 6th in the State.
In 1988, Claymont with a veteran team had a 13-4 record and had four State Qualifiers in Brett Peters, Dan Langdon, Kurt Stewart, Fred Lindsay, with Brett Peters finishing 6th in the State. However, no championship occurred and Eric knew what he had to change in the Claymont Program. He felt he had a well-coached team and kids who had the potential to be state wrestlers. What they needed was simple, yet tough to provide.... Great Competition!
Toukonen best explains the years from 1988 to 1992 where Claymont went from a respected program, to a state-ranked program to a state championship program. "The 1988 season ended and I was very disappointed. We were good, but not great. I felt I had to change everything except for our weight lifting program which Mike Trimmer and I started in 1979. That basically was lifting the wrestlers at 6:00 a.m. in the morning, before school every Monday, Wednesday, And Friday. It probably was a big reason why we were very competitive locally. Our practices through, had to change. They became longer and tougher. This, however, did have it's consequences. Seven starters quit that year and at one point I looked across the practice room and saw only 16 wrestlers. We normally would have over 30 wrestlers on the team each year. I would find out soon, however, that this group of young men mainly consisting of freshmen and sophomores would turn into a very special team.
"In 1989 David Henry, one of our few seniors, qualified for the State Tournament, but we won the Senate League title which was a huge achievement considering the age of our team. I thought, why not challenge these kids in the off season and go north which at the time, had the best wrestlers in the state of Ohio. We knew Solon had a great turn out of wrestlers at their open mats, so with the help of Tom Shaw, one of my wrestling parents, we made the long journey to Solon High School. I mean, this was a lot of dedication by our wrestlers... 91 miles to Solon, 91 miles back. Over 3 hours of total driving just to wrestling a little over an hour. But we did it and we got better and better. I think Solon workouts are one of the reasons why we are one of the best wrestling programs in the state of Ohio."
"The 1990 team won the Conference Title in our new league, the East Central Ohio League (ECOL). Scott McDaniel, Jason Jones, and Chett Peters qualified for the State Tournament. Weight lifting was going great, practices were going great and we had a large number of wrestlers going to Solon's open mats. I wanted to develop more of a team atmosphere in our program and at the same time get great competition. So, in the summer of 1990 we went to our first team competition camp. We went to summer camps before, but they were mostly instructional camps. We didn't need technique, we needed competition. So we went to Pennsylvania knowing their caliber of wrestlers are in the same category as Ohio."
"In 1990 everything seemed in place. Great kids, solid coaching staff, great competition in the off season, a strong weight lifting program, and a tough schedule. I remember when we went to the Medina Tournament, one of the most prestigious tournaments in the nation, and finished 4th as a team. Everyone asked, "Who's Claymont?" and "Are they from Ohio?"The Medina Tournament attracted teams from all over the nation, so it was a legitimate and fun question to be asked."
"After Medina, we quickly rose to a number one ranking in the state of O
1991 Division II State Champions
hio in Division II. We held that ranking all year going 17-0 and winning the ECOL Tournament, Sectional Tournament, and District Tournament. The District Tournament however, started our problems for the State Tournament. Although we won the District, we lost several key wrestlers who didn't make it to State."
"At the State Tournament we did place 3 wrestlers: Ryin McDaniel (5th), Jason Jones (4th), and Kirk Henry (6th). But we fell way short of our expectation, finishing as a team 9th in the State. I was quoted as saying this was the hardest working team I've ever had the opportunity to coach and to this day, I still believe it. They broke new ground in our program, and I'll never forget them."
Coach Eric Toukonen, 1992 Ohio High School Division II Coach of the Year
"Well, needless to say, I was embarrassed that our team was ranked #1 and finished 9th in the state so I put together a ridiculous schedule that had on it many of the top teams in Ohio and in the nation. We went 13-4 in duals losing only to the top 4 Division I teams in the state. Again we won Conference, Sectional, and District titles, but in 1992 we were ready for the State Tournament. Scott McDaniel (112 lbs), Craig Shaw (119 lbs) and Ryin McDaniel (140 lbs) all made it to the finals. Huge points in the State Tournament! With Kirk Henry score team points (160 lbs) and Jeff Abel and Scott Shaw wrestling tough, Claymont was in 1st place going into the finals. Scott McDaniel and Craig Shaw suffered tough losses in the finals and both of them finished 2nd in the State. It was up to Ryin McDaniel to win the state title for himself and to also win the state title for our team.... and he did just that beating his opponent 7-6 to secure our first Boys' State Title in any sport at Claymont. What a great feeling! This was not only a title for our state placers and qualifiers... this was a victory for our whole team and program."
1992 Division II State Champions
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After 1992, everything changed for the Claymont Wrestling Program. We were known and we were a factor in Ohio Wrestling. To repeat the process of explaining what our schedule was like and what type of schedule and training occurred would be tedious. All the tournaments won and all the huge victories that occurred in our old gym and in our new gym under the Toukonen era is too much to record. For historical sake, however, listed are our State Qualifiers, State Placers, Teams that won Conference, Sectional, District Titles and teams that finished in the "Top 10" in the State of Ohio. Some statistics are listed here on our Wrestling Website.
1992 - 1993
Eric Seibert, Scott Shaw, Jeff Abel, Kurtt Peters, Chad Mehok qualified for the State Tournament with Scott Shaw and Jeff Abel finishing 4th in the State and Kurtt Peters finishing 3rd in the State. The team won Conference, Sectional, District titles and finished 6th in the State with 46 points.
1993 - 1994
Eric Seibert, Kurtt Peters, Todd Johnson, Jeremy Johnson, Jason Freeman qualified for the State Tournament with Jason Freeman finishing 5th in the State and Kurtt Peters finishing 3rd in the State. The team won Conference, Sectional, and District titles.
1994 - 1995
Eric Seibert, Deric Vanderpool, Jason Freeman, Ryan Armstrong, Tom Zurcher qualified for the State Tournament with Ryan Armstrong finishing 6th in the State and Jason Freeman finishing 5th in the State. The team won Conference and Sectional titles.
1995 - 1996
Kayne Toukonen, Jeremy Johnson, Rhett Peters qualify for the State Tournament. The team won Conference and Sectional Titles
1996 - 1997
Kayne Toukonen, Sky Abbuhl, Elliott Peters, Daniel Grove, Jake Akers, Travis Poland, Chris Akers qualify for the State Tournament with Kayne Toukonen placing 2nd in the State, Sky Abbuhl placing 3rd in the state, and Chris Akers placing 6th in the State. The team won Conference, Sectional, District titles and finished 6th in the State with 48 points.
1997 - 1998
Kayne Toukonen, Sky Abbuhl, Tommy Williams, Elliott Peters, Jeff Grove, Jake Akers qualify for the State Tournament with Elliott Peters finishing 6th in the State. The team won Conference, Sectional, District titles.
1998 - 1999
Kayne Toukonen, Jeff Grove , Daniel Grove, Josh Piccin, Elliott Peters, Jason Edwards, Tommy Williams qualify for the State Tournament with Kayne Toukonen and Tommy Williams finishing 4th in the State and Elliott Peters finishing 3rd in the State. Kayne Toukonen becomes Claymont's first 4-time State Qualifier. The team won Conference, Sectional, District titles and finished 6th in the State with 49 points.
1999 - 2000
Corey Henry, Alan Patterson, Elliott Peters, Jeff Grove, Ted Boitnott, T.C. Cottrell qualify for the State Tournament with Elliott Peters winning the State title and Jeff Grove finishing 2nd in the State. The team won Conference, Sectional, District titles and finished 6th in the State with 47 points.
2000 - 2001
Tyler Reichman, Corey Henry, T.C. Cottrell qualify for the State Tournament with T.C. Cottrell finishing 4th in the State and Tyler Reichman finishing 6th in the State. The team won Conference and Sectional titles.
2001 - 2002
Tyler Reichman, Terry Jackson, Todd Marsh, Lucas Grove, Brian Burdette qualify for the State Tournament with Tyler Reichman finishing 4th in the State and Terry Jackson finishing 4th in the State. The team wins Conference and Sectional titles and finished 10th in the State with 30 points.
2002 - 2003
Tyler Reichman, Terry Jackson, Todd Marsh, Lucas Grove qualify for the State Tournament with Terry Jackson finishing 3rd in the State, Tyler Reichman finishing 4th in the State, Lucas Grove finishing 5th in the State, Todd marsh finishing 6th in the State. This sets a school record for "Most State Placers" with 4 state placers. Team wins Conference title and finishes 7th at the State Tournament with 47 1/2 points.
2003 - 2004
Tyler Reichman, Terry Jackson, Nathan Richardson, Brian Burdette qualify for the State Tournament. Tyler Reichman finishes 3rd in the State and Terry Jackson finishes 4th in the State. The team wins Conference and Sectional Titles and finishes 10th in the State. Tyler Reichman becomes Claymont's first 4-time State Placer. Coach Eric Toukonen is inducted into the Ohio High School Coaches Hall of Fame.
2004 - 2005
Kyle Henry and Zack Triplett qualify for the State Tournament.
2005 - 2006
Kyle Henry, Chris Kovach, Kyle Ditcher, Jeremy Regula, Zach McKibben qualify for the State Tournament. Kyle Henry finishes 4th in the State. The team does win a Sectional Title.
2006 - 2007
Cody Garbrandt, Wayne Garabrandt, Kyle Ditcher, Chris Kovach, Ryder Dynes, Zach Garbrandt qualify for the State Tournament. Cody Garbrandt becomes Claymont's first freshman State Champion. Zach Garbrandt and Wayne Garabrandt finish 4th in the State. The team wins Conference and Sectional Titles and finishes 5th in the State with 56 points.
2007 - 2008
Cody Garbrandt, Kyle Ditcher, Jeremy Regula, Ryder Dynes, Zach Garbrandt qualify for the State Tournament with Cody Garbrandt finishing 2nd int he State, Jeremy Regula finishing 4th in the State, and Zach Garbrandt finishing 8th in the State. The team wins Conference and Sectional Titles.
2008 - 2009
Zach Garbrandt, Josh Jackson, Luke Langdon, Kyle Warner, Lionel Woods, Tyler Beckley qualify for the State Tournament. The team wins Conference, Sectional and District Titles at the State Tournament. Josh Jackson wins the State Title with Luke Langdon finishing 3rd in the State and Kyle Warner finishing 5th in the State. Lionel Woods and Tyler Beckley score team points. In dramatic fashion, Zach Garbrandt, down by 1 point, with 6 seconds to go in the match, stands up, faces his opponent, and hits a cement mixer for a 2 points reversal to win the State title. Called one of the greatest finishes in the history of the State Tournament, this finish enables the Mustangs to finish 2nd at the State Tournament by 1/2 team point with a team score of 81 points.
2009 - 2010
Kyle Warner, Luke Langdon, Tyler Beckley qualify for the State Tournament with Luke Langdon finishing 4th in the State and Kyle Warner finishing 5th in the State. The team wins the Conference Title.
2010 - 2011
Luke Langdon, Cody Burcher, Kyle Warner, Jordan Burkhart qualify for the State Tournament with Cody Burcher finishing 2nd in the State, Luke Langdon finishing 4th in the State, and Kyle Warner finishing 5th in the State. The team wins Conference and Sectional Titles and finishes 8th in the State, 47.5 points.
2011 - 2012
Luke Langdon, Kyle Warner, Trent Johnson, William Corso, Taylor Peters, Caden Herron, Cody Burcher, Dustin Warner qualify for the State. This ties a school record for Most State Qualifiers and State Placers. Cody Burcher finishes 2nd in the State, Luke Langdon finishes 3rd in the State, Kyle Warner finishes 5th int he State, and Trent Johnson finishes 8th in the State. The team wins Conference and Sectional Titles and finishes 6th in the State with 59 points.
2012 - 2013
The Ohio High School Athletic Association, for the first time, has an OHSAA Dual Team Wrestling State Tournament. The Mustangs, with the starting line-up of Tyler Warner (106 lbs.) Dustin Warner (113 lbs.) Kollin Clark (120 lbs.) Cody Burcher (126 lbs.) Drew Dillon (132 lbs.) Drew Avery (138 lbs.), Caden Herron (145 lbs.) Rexx Peters (152 lbs.) Tanner Peters (160 lbs.), Matt Dennis (170 lbs.), Colt Crall (182 lbs.) Nate Gray (195 lbs.) Garrett Harding (220 lbs.), Kyle Henry (Hwt.) finish 1st at the District Tournament, 1st at the Regional Tournament and 2nd at the State Tournament. At the State Wrestling Individual Tournament, Tyler Warner, Dustin Warner, Cody Burcher, Drew Dillon, Drew Avery Matt Dennis qualified with Tyler Warner winning the State Title, Dustin Warner finishing 3rd in the State, Cody Burcher finishing 3rd in the State, and Drew Avery finishing 7th in the State. After winning Conference, Sectional, and District Titles, the Mustangs, at the State Wrestling Individual Tournament as a team finished 5th in the State with 71 points.
2013 - 2014
The Second Annual OHSAA Dual Team Wrestling State Tournament occurs with the Mustangs finishing 2nd in the State, losing again in the finals to St. Paris Graham 34-25. After winning the District Team Title and The Regional Team Title, Claymont battled to the State Finals defeating Amanda Clearcreek 46-15 and Perry High School 34-25. The starting line-up for the Mustangs: Tyler Warner (106 lbs.) Lane Peters (113 lbs.) Dustin Warner (120 lbs.) Kollin Clark (126 lbs.), Chandler Golec (132 lbs.) Cody Burcher (138 lbs.), Johnathan Gray (138-145), Caden Herron (145 lbs.), Justice Avery (152 lbs.) Clayton Paisley (160 lbs.), Matt Dennis (170 lbs.) Colt Crall (182 lbs.) Nate Gray (195 lbs.), Garrett Harding (220 lbs.) Kyle Henry (Hwt). After the State Dual Tournament, the Mustangs again won Conference, Sectional and District Titles at the State Individual Tournament. Qualifying for the State Wrestling Individual Tournament were Tyler Warner, Lane Peters, Dustin Warner, Kollin Clark, Chandler Golec, Cody Burcher, Caden Herron, Colt Crall, Nate Gray, Garrett Harding, Kyle Henry (with Justice Avery, Matt Dennis and Clayton Paisley as State Alternates). The 11 State qualifiers set a new school record for "Most State Qualifiers." Placing at the State Tournament were Tyler Warner, State Champion (his second State Title), Dustin Warner, State Champion, Garrett Harding, State Runner-Up, Cody Burcher 4th in the State, Caden Herron 4th in the State, Colt Crall 4th in the State, Kollin Clark 5th in the State, Lafpetersne Peters 6th in the State. The 8 State Placers also set a school record for "Most State Placers." After a 9th Place finish at the Ironman Tournament (#1 Tournament in the Nation), defeating National Ranked Lakewood St. Eds in a Dual, finishing 3rd at Nationally ranked Tournaments Medina and Alliance, setting a State record for Most Points Scored by a State Runner-Up Team in Division II with 137.5 points. The Claymont Mustangs, out of 10,488 High Schools that have Wrestling Programs in the national, finished their 2013-2014 season ranked 27th in the Nation. Coach Eric Toukonen and his staff may have witnessed the greatest team ever to come out of Claymont High School, but as the old saying goes... Records are made to be broken.
2014 - 2015
Tyler Warner wins his 3rd state title (Only 61 wrestlers in the history of the state tournament have won 3 state titles). Max Peters, Keaton Herron, Tim Zurcher, Justice Avery, Chandler Golec, Lane Peters all qualify for the state tournament. Lane Peters finished 5th in the tournament. The team wins conference and district titles and finishes 10th in the State Tournament.
2015 - 2016
Tyler Warner, Lane Peters, Chandler Golec, Justice Avery, Ashton Eyler, Tarin Rauch, Jaret Aubiel all qualify for the state tournament. Lane Peters finished 2nd, Chandler Golec finished 5th, Ashton Eyler finished 6th and Tyler Warner finished 3rd in the tournament. Tyler Warner does not win his 4th state title as predicted although many consider his weight class to be the toughest at the tournament. The team wins conference and district titles and finishes 7th in the state tournament.
2016 - 2017
Ashton Eyler, Tarin Rauch, Chandler Golec, Dakota Bunting, Jarrett Warrington, Maxx Peters all qualifid for the state tournament. Ashton Eyler finished 3rd and Dakota Bunting finished 8th in the state tournament. The team wins conference and disrict titles.
2017 - 2018
Ashton Eyler, Lyle Clark, Maxx Peters, Kaden Bunting, Dakota Bunting, and Kole Aubiel qualify for the state tournament. Ashton Eyler finishes 2nd in the state tournament, Maxx Peters finishes 4th in the state tournament, and Lyle Clark finishes 4th in the state tournament. The team wins The Inter Valley Conference, the first conference championship for any sport at Claymont in their new league. The Mustangs finish 8th in Ohio at the state tornament and regional champions at the dual meet state championships.
Eric Toukonen retires after 42 years of coaching... 35 years as head coach of the mustangs. Overall, Toukonen coaches 1 state championship team, 5 state runner-up teams, 27 conference championships teams (In three difference conferences/leagues... senate League, East Central Ohio League, and Inter Valley Conference), 28 sectional championship teams, 16 district/regional championship teams, and 20 teams that finished in the "top ten" at the stae tournament. Individually Eric coaches 186 state qualifiers, 93 state palacers, 21 state finalist(10 state chapmions, 11 state runner-ups). Coach Eric Toukonen ends his long career with an overall career record of 359-93 against some of the best competition in the state of Ohio.
 
Ashtabula St John coach Scott Blank had a huge influence on the majority of the Ashtabula county wrestlers recent successes in Columbus.
 
AmWrNews interview 2 years ago with coach Toukonen. Excerpt:

AWN: Eric, tell readers about your upbringing, what led you to a career as a teacher and a coach.
I grew up in a family of eight kids, three brothers and four sisters. My dad, Reino, and my mom, Grace, were dairy farmers so it created an environment of working hard and setting goals for the family and for myself. I always enjoyed my physical education classes so I cannot ever remember not wanting to be a physical education teacher. Coaching was always on my mind and coaching wrestling gave me my greatest satisfaction.

AWN: This is the last of your 42 year coaching career, what fond memories come to mind?
All my favorite memories are with my wrestlers and my family. Starting out at Claymont with a group of kids that I had in elementary physical education classes and seeing them work, grow and believe in me to where in 1992 we won a state title. All the huge crowds we have had at our matches over the years, our many conference, sectional, and district championships, the four state runner-up teams and the 19 times we finished in the “Top Ten” at the state tournament are all fond memories. My son, Kayne, wrestled for the state title and my daughter, Britni, as a mat maid. My wife of forty years, Lexine, supporting me always along this tough but fun and exciting journey. I have great memories of our wrestlers and the coaches I have coached with and against.

AWN: We know small town teams that prospered for a while then burned out, but yours has prospered for four decades, can they keep it going?
Honestly, I do not know… I hope it does but in the beginning, I had this “chip” on my shoulder. I had always felt I had to prove myself to this community. You see, I am not from this area. I grew up in Jefferson, Ohio so the name, Toukonen, was odd and different and I have always joked that when I die, they will have “Coach” on my tombstone instead of Toukonen. Now, it all seems funny. In the beginning, Mike Trimmer, my reserve coach, helped me with 6:00 a.m. weightlifting and always gave me the encouragement I needed at that time. I mean, I was being questioned! “The schedule is too tough.” “You are going to get our kids hurt wrestling this type of competition.” “Why are you picking our kids up at 6:00 a.m. to lift?” “Traveling to Solon’s open mats is an hour and forty minutes away is crazy.” “Do we really need to do freestyle or go to camps in the summer?” Then, thank God, we won the state title in 1992 and things got better and better. I guess that is one of the reasons I am retiring… I am happy with my career. To answer your question, will the program continue to succeed, the answer is yes, if the next the coach is willing to work. Work is the only thing I found that wins.

AWN: How would you describe the Uhrichsville/Dennison style of wrestling, what do you emphasize on the mat?
Our style goes with the kind of wrestler we have… Tough, hardnosed wrestlers who will battle you to the end of the match. I wanted to “sell” wrestling and create an identity for our team. In the 1980’s I put the whole team, from junior high school to high school, in pinstriped uniforms. (A major paper in Cleveland said, when we won the state title, Claymont High School, with their pinstriped uniforms, should have been deducted one team point for a major “fashion foul.” That worked until now. There are at least 20+ teams in Ohio with pinstriped uniforms. I wanted our team to have an identity with a move… We did that! Many teams in Ohio and other states know of the Claymont Cradle. Of course, takedowns and escapes are critical in our program.

AWN: In wrestling who specifically has influenced you and in what way?
My three brothers, Dale, James and Alex, started my interest in this great sport. My high school coach, Dave Lockwood, really encouraged me in a way that helped me as a coach to encourage others in their times of doubt. Last, but not least, my college coach, Ron Gray, the former Head Wrestling Coach at Kent State University who asked me to “walk on” the Kent State University Wrestling Team after having his wrestling class as a class requirement for a physical education major. When I went out, it only took me two weeks to get my first take down! I did get to start against Iowa State at Iowa. My opponent was Pete Galea, he pinned me… with a cradle!

AWN: Your team has competed in rugged Ohio Division II, vs St. Edward and St. Paris Graham often in duals and at the Iron Man. What have you learned from this schedule?
It was always my philosophy to wrestle great competition. I was never concerned about my dual record. Great competition makes you better. I learned this in the Kent State wrestling room. I became a much better wrestler wrestling the competition I had to face every day in practice.
 
dman said:
John Burd Fitch
Chad Gilmore Medina
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Coach,

I'd throw your name in there too. I have the utmost respect for both coach Mancini and coach burd. Both have done a tremendous job for their individual schools and the entire area with freestyle and greco.

Id also throw in the Canfield group as well (Crawford, Conley, Fletcher, etc.) Thet built a very impressive group.
 
Jason Rostofer from Wapakoneta has to be on this list. Since he took over the program 3 state individual titles and the WBL title seems like every year
 
Cjlewis01 said:
Coach,

I'd throw your name in there too. I have the utmost respect for both coach Mancini and coach burd. Both have done a tremendous job for their individual schools and the entire area with freestyle and greco.

Id also throw in the Canfield group as well (Crawford, Conley, Fletcher, etc.) Thet built a very impressive group.
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Well said CJ
 
Southwest Ohio over past 20-40 years:

Ron Masanek - Fairfield
Coached one of the top programs in SWO for 48 years (including first D1 4-time state champ, Willie Wineburg)

Coach McCoy - Elder
Like Coach Masanek, McCoy has led one of the top programs in SWO for decades.

Bob Dalton - Lakota
Took over a struggling program in 1975 and “the Dalton Gang” immediately became one of the bullies on the block in SWO. Coffing brothers & Karl Grove were a few of the big names back in the day.
 
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Top Reporter said:
wrestledynasty.jpg
The Birth of a Program
1968-1969
The Toukonen Era
1983-2018
The Toukonen Era
In 1983 Eric Toukonen was hired as the Head Wrestling Coach of the Mustangs. Eric had wrestling experience as a high school wrestler at Jefferson Area High School and as a collegiate wrestler at Kent State University.
Coach Eric Toukonen, 1985 Senate League Coach of the Year
As a student teacher in 1977, he was the assistant wrestling coach at Garrettsville High School. From there, Eric and his wife Lexine moved to Steubenville where he was the Junior High Coach for two years.
In 1979, Eric met Mel Peters at an off-season tournament and Mel asked him to be his assistant coach. Eric accepted the position and from 1979 to 1983, Eric was Mel's assistant.
Eric's first year, the 1983-1984 season, was Toukonen's toughest coaching year. Many local people knew little about Eric and only knew he was replacing a very popular coach in Mel Peters.
At first, Eric was not received very well by the wrestling community, especially after finishing 4th in the League with an 8-3 record in 1984. However, with his success as an assistant and his success as a Junior High Coach, Toukonen knew that if he could get the right line-up with the right personnel, he could win. The Mustangs did qualify Bob Starkey, Matt Peters, Scott Avon to the State Tournament with Matt Peters finishing 5th in the State.
It did not take long... the 1984-1985 season was a "turn around" season for the Mustangs. Winning the Senate League Tournament, District Championship, and placing 13th in the State with Claymont's first State Champion in Matt Peters, the Mustangs with a record of 16-1 secured Toukonen's position as Head Wrestling Coach.
Eric, though, was not happy. Taking eight wrestlers to the State Tournament in Chuck Grandison, Sean Thetford, Rob Sommers, Ray Poulson, Matt Peters, Ray Starkey, Sam Dunlap, and Harry Anderegg and not challenging for the State Title was unheard of from up North where Toukonen was from and where wrestling, at that time, ruled the state. Although it was right in front of him, it would take Toukonen four years to figure out the problem.
In 1986 Eric's Mustangs finished with a 14-3 record and were 3rd in the Senate League, 1st in the District Tournament, and 5th in the Regional Tournament. (For 3 years the Sectional Tournament was called a District Tournament and The District Tournament, as it is today, was called in 1986 a Regional Tournament. There are only 4 District Championships in Ohio Wrestling, so a District Championship in Wrestling is the same as a Regional Championship in other sports.)
The Mustangs did finish 10th in the State in 1986 because of a strong showing at the State Tournament by Chuck Grandison (2nd in the State) and Ray Starkey (4th in the State).
The Toukonen led team in 1987 finished with an 11-4 record and again were Sectional and District Champions, but no team production in Toukonen's view occurred at the State Tournament where Chuck Grandison, Sean Thetford, Todd Jackson, Kurt Stewart, Brett Peters, Ray Starkey, Dan Langdon qualified for the State Tournament with Ray Starkey finishing 3rd and Chuck Grandison finishing 6th in the State.
In 1988, Claymont with a veteran team had a 13-4 record and had four State Qualifiers in Brett Peters, Dan Langdon, Kurt Stewart, Fred Lindsay, with Brett Peters finishing 6th in the State. However, no championship occurred and Eric knew what he had to change in the Claymont Program. He felt he had a well-coached team and kids who had the potential to be state wrestlers. What they needed was simple, yet tough to provide.... Great Competition!
Toukonen best explains the years from 1988 to 1992 where Claymont went from a respected program, to a state-ranked program to a state championship program. "The 1988 season ended and I was very disappointed. We were good, but not great. I felt I had to change everything except for our weight lifting program which Mike Trimmer and I started in 1979. That basically was lifting the wrestlers at 6:00 a.m. in the morning, before school every Monday, Wednesday, And Friday. It probably was a big reason why we were very competitive locally. Our practices through, had to change. They became longer and tougher. This, however, did have it's consequences. Seven starters quit that year and at one point I looked across the practice room and saw only 16 wrestlers. We normally would have over 30 wrestlers on the team each year. I would find out soon, however, that this group of young men mainly consisting of freshmen and sophomores would turn into a very special team.
"In 1989 David Henry, one of our few seniors, qualified for the State Tournament, but we won the Senate League title which was a huge achievement considering the age of our team. I thought, why not challenge these kids in the off season and go north which at the time, had the best wrestlers in the state of Ohio. We knew Solon had a great turn out of wrestlers at their open mats, so with the help of Tom Shaw, one of my wrestling parents, we made the long journey to Solon High School. I mean, this was a lot of dedication by our wrestlers... 91 miles to Solon, 91 miles back. Over 3 hours of total driving just to wrestling a little over an hour. But we did it and we got better and better. I think Solon workouts are one of the reasons why we are one of the best wrestling programs in the state of Ohio."
"The 1990 team won the Conference Title in our new league, the East Central Ohio League (ECOL). Scott McDaniel, Jason Jones, and Chett Peters qualified for the State Tournament. Weight lifting was going great, practices were going great and we had a large number of wrestlers going to Solon's open mats. I wanted to develop more of a team atmosphere in our program and at the same time get great competition. So, in the summer of 1990 we went to our first team competition camp. We went to summer camps before, but they were mostly instructional camps. We didn't need technique, we needed competition. So we went to Pennsylvania knowing their caliber of wrestlers are in the same category as Ohio."
"In 1990 everything seemed in place. Great kids, solid coaching staff, great competition in the off season, a strong weight lifting program, and a tough schedule. I remember when we went to the Medina Tournament, one of the most prestigious tournaments in the nation, and finished 4th as a team. Everyone asked, "Who's Claymont?" and "Are they from Ohio?"The Medina Tournament attracted teams from all over the nation, so it was a legitimate and fun question to be asked."
"After Medina, we quickly rose to a number one ranking in the state of O
1991 Division II State Champions
hio in Division II. We held that ranking all year going 17-0 and winning the ECOL Tournament, Sectional Tournament, and District Tournament. The District Tournament however, started our problems for the State Tournament. Although we won the District, we lost several key wrestlers who didn't make it to State."
"At the State Tournament we did place 3 wrestlers: Ryin McDaniel (5th), Jason Jones (4th), and Kirk Henry (6th). But we fell way short of our expectation, finishing as a team 9th in the State. I was quoted as saying this was the hardest working team I've ever had the opportunity to coach and to this day, I still believe it. They broke new ground in our program, and I'll never forget them."
Coach Eric Toukonen, 1992 Ohio High School Division II Coach of the Year
"Well, needless to say, I was embarrassed that our team was ranked #1 and finished 9th in the state so I put together a ridiculous schedule that had on it many of the top teams in Ohio and in the nation. We went 13-4 in duals losing only to the top 4 Division I teams in the state. Again we won Conference, Sectional, and District titles, but in 1992 we were ready for the State Tournament. Scott McDaniel (112 lbs), Craig Shaw (119 lbs) and Ryin McDaniel (140 lbs) all made it to the finals. Huge points in the State Tournament! With Kirk Henry score team points (160 lbs) and Jeff Abel and Scott Shaw wrestling tough, Claymont was in 1st place going into the finals. Scott McDaniel and Craig Shaw suffered tough losses in the finals and both of them finished 2nd in the State. It was up to Ryin McDaniel to win the state title for himself and to also win the state title for our team.... and he did just that beating his opponent 7-6 to secure our first Boys' State Title in any sport at Claymont. What a great feeling! This was not only a title for our state placers and qualifiers... this was a victory for our whole team and program."

After 1992, everything changed for the Claymont Wrestling Program. We were known and we were a factor in Ohio Wrestling. To repeat the process of explaining what our schedule was like and what type of schedule and training occurred would be tedious. All the tournaments won and all the huge victories that occurred in our old gym and in our new gym under the Toukonen era is too much to record. For historical sake, however, listed are our State Qualifiers, State Placers, Teams that won Conference, Sectional, District Titles and teams that finished in the "Top 10" in the State of Ohio. Some statistics are listed here on our Wrestling Website.
1992 - 1993
Eric Seibert, Scott Shaw, Jeff Abel, Kurtt Peters, Chad Mehok qualified for the State Tournament with Scott Shaw and Jeff Abel finishing 4th in the State and Kurtt Peters finishing 3rd in the State. The team won Conference, Sectional, District titles and finished 6th in the State with 46 points.
1993 - 1994
Eric Seibert, Kurtt Peters, Todd Johnson, Jeremy Johnson, Jason Freeman qualified for the State Tournament with Jason Freeman finishing 5th in the State and Kurtt Peters finishing 3rd in the State. The team won Conference, Sectional, and District titles.
1994 - 1995
Eric Seibert, Deric Vanderpool, Jason Freeman, Ryan Armstrong, Tom Zurcher qualified for the State Tournament with Ryan Armstrong finishing 6th in the State and Jason Freeman finishing 5th in the State. The team won Conference and Sectional titles.
1995 - 1996
Kayne Toukonen, Jeremy Johnson, Rhett Peters qualify for the State Tournament. The team won Conference and Sectional Titles
1996 - 1997
Kayne Toukonen, Sky Abbuhl, Elliott Peters, Daniel Grove, Jake Akers, Travis Poland, Chris Akers qualify for the State Tournament with Kayne Toukonen placing 2nd in the State, Sky Abbuhl placing 3rd in the state, and Chris Akers placing 6th in the State. The team won Conference, Sectional, District titles and finished 6th in the State with 48 points.
1997 - 1998
Kayne Toukonen, Sky Abbuhl, Tommy Williams, Elliott Peters, Jeff Grove, Jake Akers qualify for the State Tournament with Elliott Peters finishing 6th in the State. The team won Conference, Sectional, District titles.
1998 - 1999
Kayne Toukonen, Jeff Grove , Daniel Grove, Josh Piccin, Elliott Peters, Jason Edwards, Tommy Williams qualify for the State Tournament with Kayne Toukonen and Tommy Williams finishing 4th in the State and Elliott Peters finishing 3rd in the State. Kayne Toukonen becomes Claymont's first 4-time State Qualifier. The team won Conference, Sectional, District titles and finished 6th in the State with 49 points.
1999 - 2000
Corey Henry, Alan Patterson, Elliott Peters, Jeff Grove, Ted Boitnott, T.C. Cottrell qualify for the State Tournament with Elliott Peters winning the State title and Jeff Grove finishing 2nd in the State. The team won Conference, Sectional, District titles and finished 6th in the State with 47 points.
2000 - 2001
Tyler Reichman, Corey Henry, T.C. Cottrell qualify for the State Tournament with T.C. Cottrell finishing 4th in the State and Tyler Reichman finishing 6th in the State. The team won Conference and Sectional titles.
2001 - 2002
Tyler Reichman, Terry Jackson, Todd Marsh, Lucas Grove, Brian Burdette qualify for the State Tournament with Tyler Reichman finishing 4th in the State and Terry Jackson finishing 4th in the State. The team wins Conference and Sectional titles and finished 10th in the State with 30 points.
2002 - 2003
Tyler Reichman, Terry Jackson, Todd Marsh, Lucas Grove qualify for the State Tournament with Terry Jackson finishing 3rd in the State, Tyler Reichman finishing 4th in the State, Lucas Grove finishing 5th in the State, Todd marsh finishing 6th in the State. This sets a school record for "Most State Placers" with 4 state placers. Team wins Conference title and finishes 7th at the State Tournament with 47 1/2 points.
2003 - 2004
Tyler Reichman, Terry Jackson, Nathan Richardson, Brian Burdette qualify for the State Tournament. Tyler Reichman finishes 3rd in the State and Terry Jackson finishes 4th in the State. The team wins Conference and Sectional Titles and finishes 10th in the State. Tyler Reichman becomes Claymont's first 4-time State Placer. Coach Eric Toukonen is inducted into the Ohio High School Coaches Hall of Fame.
2004 - 2005
Kyle Henry and Zack Triplett qualify for the State Tournament.
2005 - 2006
Kyle Henry, Chris Kovach, Kyle Ditcher, Jeremy Regula, Zach McKibben qualify for the State Tournament. Kyle Henry finishes 4th in the State. The team does win a Sectional Title.
2006 - 2007
Cody Garbrandt, Wayne Garabrandt, Kyle Ditcher, Chris Kovach, Ryder Dynes, Zach Garbrandt qualify for the State Tournament. Cody Garbrandt becomes Claymont's first freshman State Champion. Zach Garbrandt and Wayne Garabrandt finish 4th in the State. The team wins Conference and Sectional Titles and finishes 5th in the State with 56 points.
2007 - 2008
Cody Garbrandt, Kyle Ditcher, Jeremy Regula, Ryder Dynes, Zach Garbrandt qualify for the State Tournament with Cody Garbrandt finishing 2nd int he State, Jeremy Regula finishing 4th in the State, and Zach Garbrandt finishing 8th in the State. The team wins Conference and Sectional Titles.
2008 - 2009
Zach Garbrandt, Josh Jackson, Luke Langdon, Kyle Warner, Lionel Woods, Tyler Beckley qualify for the State Tournament. The team wins Conference, Sectional and District Titles at the State Tournament. Josh Jackson wins the State Title with Luke Langdon finishing 3rd in the State and Kyle Warner finishing 5th in the State. Lionel Woods and Tyler Beckley score team points. In dramatic fashion, Zach Garbrandt, down by 1 point, with 6 seconds to go in the match, stands up, faces his opponent, and hits a cement mixer for a 2 points reversal to win the State title. Called one of the greatest finishes in the history of the State Tournament, this finish enables the Mustangs to finish 2nd at the State Tournament by 1/2 team point with a team score of 81 points.
2009 - 2010
Kyle Warner, Luke Langdon, Tyler Beckley qualify for the State Tournament with Luke Langdon finishing 4th in the State and Kyle Warner finishing 5th in the State. The team wins the Conference Title.
2010 - 2011
Luke Langdon, Cody Burcher, Kyle Warner, Jordan Burkhart qualify for the State Tournament with Cody Burcher finishing 2nd in the State, Luke Langdon finishing 4th in the State, and Kyle Warner finishing 5th in the State. The team wins Conference and Sectional Titles and finishes 8th in the State, 47.5 points.
2011 - 2012
Luke Langdon, Kyle Warner, Trent Johnson, William Corso, Taylor Peters, Caden Herron, Cody Burcher, Dustin Warner qualify for the State. This ties a school record for Most State Qualifiers and State Placers. Cody Burcher finishes 2nd in the State, Luke Langdon finishes 3rd in the State, Kyle Warner finishes 5th int he State, and Trent Johnson finishes 8th in the State. The team wins Conference and Sectional Titles and finishes 6th in the State with 59 points.
2012 - 2013
The Ohio High School Athletic Association, for the first time, has an OHSAA Dual Team Wrestling State Tournament. The Mustangs, with the starting line-up of Tyler Warner (106 lbs.) Dustin Warner (113 lbs.) Kollin Clark (120 lbs.) Cody Burcher (126 lbs.) Drew Dillon (132 lbs.) Drew Avery (138 lbs.), Caden Herron (145 lbs.) Rexx Peters (152 lbs.) Tanner Peters (160 lbs.), Matt Dennis (170 lbs.), Colt Crall (182 lbs.) Nate Gray (195 lbs.) Garrett Harding (220 lbs.), Kyle Henry (Hwt.) finish 1st at the District Tournament, 1st at the Regional Tournament and 2nd at the State Tournament. At the State Wrestling Individual Tournament, Tyler Warner, Dustin Warner, Cody Burcher, Drew Dillon, Drew Avery Matt Dennis qualified with Tyler Warner winning the State Title, Dustin Warner finishing 3rd in the State, Cody Burcher finishing 3rd in the State, and Drew Avery finishing 7th in the State. After winning Conference, Sectional, and District Titles, the Mustangs, at the State Wrestling Individual Tournament as a team finished 5th in the State with 71 points.
2013 - 2014
The Second Annual OHSAA Dual Team Wrestling State Tournament occurs with the Mustangs finishing 2nd in the State, losing again in the finals to St. Paris Graham 34-25. After winning the District Team Title and The Regional Team Title, Claymont battled to the State Finals defeating Amanda Clearcreek 46-15 and Perry High School 34-25. The starting line-up for the Mustangs: Tyler Warner (106 lbs.) Lane Peters (113 lbs.) Dustin Warner (120 lbs.) Kollin Clark (126 lbs.), Chandler Golec (132 lbs.) Cody Burcher (138 lbs.), Johnathan Gray (138-145), Caden Herron (145 lbs.), Justice Avery (152 lbs.) Clayton Paisley (160 lbs.), Matt Dennis (170 lbs.) Colt Crall (182 lbs.) Nate Gray (195 lbs.), Garrett Harding (220 lbs.) Kyle Henry (Hwt). After the State Dual Tournament, the Mustangs again won Conference, Sectional and District Titles at the State Individual Tournament. Qualifying for the State Wrestling Individual Tournament were Tyler Warner, Lane Peters, Dustin Warner, Kollin Clark, Chandler Golec, Cody Burcher, Caden Herron, Colt Crall, Nate Gray, Garrett Harding, Kyle Henry (with Justice Avery, Matt Dennis and Clayton Paisley as State Alternates). The 11 State qualifiers set a new school record for "Most State Qualifiers." Placing at the State Tournament were Tyler Warner, State Champion (his second State Title), Dustin Warner, State Champion, Garrett Harding, State Runner-Up, Cody Burcher 4th in the State, Caden Herron 4th in the State, Colt Crall 4th in the State, Kollin Clark 5th in the State, Lafpetersne Peters 6th in the State. The 8 State Placers also set a school record for "Most State Placers." After a 9th Place finish at the Ironman Tournament (#1 Tournament in the Nation), defeating National Ranked Lakewood St. Eds in a Dual, finishing 3rd at Nationally ranked Tournaments Medina and Alliance, setting a State record for Most Points Scored by a State Runner-Up Team in Division II with 137.5 points. The Claymont Mustangs, out of 10,488 High Schools that have Wrestling Programs in the national, finished their 2013-2014 season ranked 27th in the Nation. Coach Eric Toukonen and his staff may have witnessed the greatest team ever to come out of Claymont High School, but as the old saying goes... Records are made to be broken.
2014 - 2015
Tyler Warner wins his 3rd state title (Only 61 wrestlers in the history of the state tournament have won 3 state titles). Max Peters, Keaton Herron, Tim Zurcher, Justice Avery, Chandler Golec, Lane Peters all qualify for the state tournament. Lane Peters finished 5th in the tournament. The team wins conference and district titles and finishes 10th in the State Tournament.
2015 - 2016
Tyler Warner, Lane Peters, Chandler Golec, Justice Avery, Ashton Eyler, Tarin Rauch, Jaret Aubiel all qualify for the state tournament. Lane Peters finished 2nd, Chandler Golec finished 5th, Ashton Eyler finished 6th and Tyler Warner finished 3rd in the tournament. Tyler Warner does not win his 4th state title as predicted although many consider his weight class to be the toughest at the tournament. The team wins conference and district titles and finishes 7th in the state tournament.
2016 - 2017
Ashton Eyler, Tarin Rauch, Chandler Golec, Dakota Bunting, Jarrett Warrington, Maxx Peters all qualifid for the state tournament. Ashton Eyler finished 3rd and Dakota Bunting finished 8th in the state tournament. The team wins conference and disrict titles.
2017 - 2018
Ashton Eyler, Lyle Clark, Maxx Peters, Kaden Bunting, Dakota Bunting, and Kole Aubiel qualify for the state tournament. Ashton Eyler finishes 2nd in the state tournament, Maxx Peters finishes 4th in the state tournament, and Lyle Clark finishes 4th in the state tournament. The team wins The Inter Valley Conference, the first conference championship for any sport at Claymont in their new league. The Mustangs finish 8th in Ohio at the state tornament and regional champions at the dual meet state championships.
Eric Toukonen retires after 42 years of coaching... 35 years as head coach of the mustangs. Overall, Toukonen coaches 1 state championship team, 5 state runner-up teams, 27 conference championships teams (In three difference conferences/leagues... senate League, East Central Ohio League, and Inter Valley Conference), 28 sectional championship teams, 16 district/regional championship teams, and 20 teams that finished in the "top ten" at the stae tournament. Individually Eric coaches 186 state qualifiers, 93 state palacers, 21 state finalist(10 state chapmions, 11 state runner-ups). Coach Eric Toukonen ends his long career with an overall career record of 359-93 against some of the best competition in the state of Ohio.
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That resume is way too much info.
 
Pope Francis 1 said:
Southwest Ohio over past 20-40 years:

Ron Masanek - Fairfield
Coached one of the top programs in SWO for 48 years (including first D1 4-time state champ, Willie Wineburg)

Coach McCoy - Elder
Like Coach Masanek, McCoy has led one of the top programs in SWO for decades.

Bob Dalton - Lakota
Took over a struggling program in 1975 and “the Dalton Gang” immediately became one of the bullies on the block in SWO. Coffing brothers & Karl Grove were a few of the big names back in the day.
Click to expand...
Jeff Gaier from Moeller would have to be considered the most successful at the state level from SWO. Also, Coach Zerkle from Lasalle is among the most successful, altho with a shorter track record than the others mentioned.
 
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One guy that should be mentioned on this list... Coach “I”
Domenick Iammarino

During his tenure at Beachwood he has coached 12 State Wrestling Champions, 72 State Place Winners/Qualifiers.


Coach “I” is regarded as the “Godfather of Beachwood Wrestling.” He was the Head High School Varsity Wrestling Coach at Beachwood for 30 years and was the pioneer of the program which began in 1967. His resume includes hundreds of accomplishments. Probably his greatest accomplishments his induction into the Ohio High School Athletic Association Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1992 and his 2003 2nd Place team finish at the State Tournament, which marks the highest State finish of any Beachwood sports team in school history. Coach “I” also was voted two times as the OHSAA Ohio Wrestling Coach of the Year; and Greater Cleveland Coach of the Year four times. Seven times in his coaching career he was named the Plain Dealer Coach of the Year.
His teams won the Metropolitan Area Conference (MAC -8) in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005.
 
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