Highland wrestling sends seven to state tournament, first female
by Dan Holland
Capping off a banner season, the Highland High School boys’ wrestling team sent an unprecedented seven wrestlers to the OHSAA state wrestling tournament, finishing seventh overall as a team in Division I. The school also sent its first-ever female state qualifier.
Qualifiers for the state tournament, held March 13-15 at Schottenstein Center at Ohio State University, included Brandon Bickerton, Austin Bickerton, Kyle Scavuzzo, Brennan Kicker, Niko Giatis, Kallen Whitling, and Cody Bendau. On the girls wrestling team, freshman Kelsey Denholm became the program’s first-ever state qualifier.
Junior Brandon Bickerton, who was a state wrestling champion his freshman year at 106 pounds, was a state runner-up at 113 pounds this year, losing to Brecksville-Broadview Heights senior Rylan Seacrist, who finished his season as the #1 ranked wrestler in the nation at 113. Senior Niko Giatis (165) was also a state runner-up, losing to Zack Aquila of Brecksville-Broadview Heights.
Additional state placers included Austin Bickerton (fifth), Kyle Scavuzzo (eighth) and Brennan Kicker (eighth).
“This is the most [qualifiers] I think the school has had, at least in the 2000s,” said Boys Wrestling Head Coach Lazar Vilimonovic. “We had seven state qualifiers, and out of that seven, we had five placers; I can’t remember the last time we had five placers in a single season. We had twelve total district placers, along with many different records that were broken this season.”
“Brandon [Bickerton] stayed at 120 pounds for most of the season, and then dropped to 113 pounds, as that was the best outcome for our team to perform the best we could at the state tournament,” explained Vilimonovic. “He had a phenomenal state run; he beat the fifth or sixth ranked kid in the country from Dublin Coffman [High School] and then lost to Rylan Seacrist in the finals, who is #1 ranked in the country.”
Vilimonovic shared accolades for his additional state qualifiers.
“With having the Bickerton brothers, the Giatis brothers, Brennan Kicker, Kyle Scavuzzo and a lot of the other guys; just having those guys in the program and having them stay true to their roots and coming though Highland is awesome for the school district,” said Vilimonovic. “It shows how we continue to develop kids in the program, and I’m really grateful to have those assets on the team to be able to show the wrestling community and the rest of the state what we’re able to do and what special things we have going on here at Highland.”
Vilimonovic said he looks forward to more future success in the program.
“It’s tough losing three of our seniors who were all state qualifiers, but everyone else is returning, and those four other placers are hungry and eager to get back on the mat and compete,” he said. “We have a bunch of guys who are right on the cusp of being in that state qualifier realm, and it’s great to have those guys coming in. So, I think it will be a great season next year, and it should be a good lead-in to where we finished this season.”
First-ever female state qualifier
Freshman Kelsey Denholm became the school’s first-ever female state qualifier.
“While the outcome [at the state tournament] wasn’t what we had hoped for, being one of the top 16 girls at your weight in a competitive state like Ohio is an amazing accomplishment,” said Highland Girls Wrestling Head Coach Aaron Boucher. “With Kelsey being one of only 28 freshman girls to qualify for the state tournament is an even more impressive accomplishment.”
“Being one of only nine freshmen girls above 140 [pounds] means that very few girls her age are able to find the kind of success that she did this year, as she frequently competed against more physically mature and experienced wrestlers.”
The girls wrestling team fielded nine wrestlers in the program’s second season.
“Our team has made amazing progress in our second year, and I’m really excited to see this group of underclassmen return with more experience after an offseason of development,” said Boucher.
Photo caption Freshman Kelsey Denholm is Highland’s first-ever female state qualifier in the school’s girls wrestling program. Photo submitted.