Bees wrestling team produces two state champions, state runner-up

by Dan Holland

The Brecksville-Broadview Heights High School wrestling team solidified its status as a top-40 nationally-ranked program by producing two state champions and one state runner-up during the OHSAA State Tournament the weekend of March 13.

The Bees, who finished in fifth place overall as a team in Division I, sent a record-tying 11 qualifiers to the tournament.

At 113 pounds, senior Rylan Seacrist won his second consecutive state championship, and junior Zack Aquila won his first state title at 165 pounds. Seacrist completes his high school career as the No. 1-ranked wrestler nationally in his weight class. 

Sophomore Drew Moro was state runner-up at 157 pounds. 

Other top-five placers included a third-place finish by sophomore Cole Speer (144 pounds), a fourth-place finish by senior E.J. German (215 pounds) and a fifth-place finish by senior Anna Madi (125 pounds).

Madi, who is the school’s only-ever female state place finisher, was a four-year state place winner along with Seacrist. They are only the third and fourth wrestlers in program history to accomplish the feat since Kyle Lang (class of 2009) and Austin Assad (class of 2015) began the legacy.

Head coach Todd Haverdill, who has been a wrestling coach and health teacher at BBHHS for 25 years, noted the success of this year’s program despite fielding a young lineup.

“Every team is different, and as a coach, you need to recognize that. There are things you do differently with the coaching staff from year to year for the clientele that you have,” said Haverdill. “This year, we had a very young team, and we had our ups and down during the season, but I was extremely proud of how they competed at the end of the year in the postseason. The sectional districts and state tournament went very well for us.”

“We had 11 wrestlers qualify [for the state tournament], and we returned eight of the 11, and seven of the retuning eight are sophomores,” he added. “So, it’s a very young group, and for them to perform the way they did at the end of the year was very special.”

In addition to winning back-to-back state titles, Seacrist was also the first wrestler in school history to win both the Ironman and Beast of the East wrestling tournaments in a single season.

Haverdill credits his coaching staff and a year-round effort from the wrestlers for the program’s continued success.

“I don’t think there’s a blueprint to this; I think we’ve been able to surround ourselves with great people with a great coaching staff,” said Haverdill. “But one of the things we do, is we have a year-round program. So, these kids are wrestling freestyle year-round in our program.”

“We’re just trying to put these kids in the best position for success, and I think that makes us unique,” he continued. “A lot of people come to our freestyle club, and many will drive long distances, in some cases, to participate.”

Seacrist is an Arizona State University wrestling commit, and Aquila has committed to the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Senior Jace Jett, who did not compete this year due to an injury, has committed to wrestle at Ohio University.

Haverdill said he has expectations of one day sending a Bees wrestler in all 14 weight classes to the state tournament. 

“When you qualify 11, there are 14 weights, and we’ve done that [eleven] twice now,” he said. “I would love to walk into the state tournament qualifying all 14 weights.”

“And, winning a team state title remains the goal,” he added. “We did it in 2015, and we would love to do it again, and walking in qualifying wrestlers at all 14 weights would be special.”

Haverdill, whose daughter Kyla was a member of this year’s state championship-winning BBHHS gymnastics team, has had to balance time between the two sports. Kyla, a senior, completed her run this year, while his oldest daughter, Lea, was a senior on the championship team two years ago. His youngest daughter, Livia, an eighth-grader, will be coming up into the program next season.“Over the last few years, I have chosen to leave the district tournament as late as I can and hustle down to Columbus to watch my daughters compete [in gymnastics], and I think the parents in the wrestling community understand that,” said Haverdill. “It’s been a lot for me, but it’s something that I’m very grateful for. But it’s been a lot to manage over the last few years.” 

Photo caption: Zack Aquila celebrates the win that earned him the state title in 2026. Photo submitted by Leslie D’Anna.