High school wrestling: St. Edward freshman and Avon resident Ryan Bennett area's lone state champion; older brother Evan and Elyria's Enrique Munguia finish second

HILLIARD — The area's finals experience ran through the greatest program in the state during the Division I state tournament Sunday night. St. Edward freshman Ryan Bennett, an Avon resident, rallied in the third period to capture the 106-pound state championship, his older brother, Evan, a junior, finished as the state runner-up at 152 and Elyria senior Enrique Munguia couldn't figure out the Eagles' top wrestler — Padraic Gallagher, who is ranked No. 1 in the nation — during the 160 final. Ryan Bennett pulled out one close victory after another as he navigated his way through the bracket. He won 10-8 in sudden victory overtime against Olentangy Liberty's Jaxson Osselli in the quarterfinals, edged Massillon Perry's Austin McBurney 1-0 in the semifinals and downed Wadsworth's Jaxon Joy 6-5 in the final. "My coaches pushed me all year for this moment and I was prepared … I'm just really happy right now," Bennett said. "I was thinking about this since first grade. I hope I can get three more. One's done and hopefully three more to go." Bennett trailed 4-2 heading into the third period. After choosing the down position to start, he scored a reversal and two-second nearfall to take the lead for good. "I did that little chin whip thing and got my two-count for my backs," he said. "My head was up looking at the clock and I saw there was about 30 seconds left, so I hooked his leg and tried to get a good breakdown and ride him out." Bennett got a loud ovation from the St. Edward fans, then got kudos from his teammates when he went back to the warmup area. His brother was first in line. "Right after the match he came over and gave me a big hug, so I was pretty excited to see that," Ryan said. Munguia had one of the tournament's most quality wins en route to his championship match. He dominated Brunswick's Derek Fields, who is ranked No. 11 in the nation, for an 8-2 victory in the semifinals. "I didn't really have a game plan. I just wanted to wrestle my match and see how I'd do," Munguia said. "I think the first takedown was big, it gave me confidence and helped me wrestle hard." The good feeling ended abruptly during an 11-3 major decision loss to Gallagher in the final. "Enrique was looking forward to the challenge, he truly was," Pioneers coach Erik Burnett said. "There are things that Enrique is going to continue to work on but you can't coach fight and you can't coach fearlessness, and that's what he has. I think he's going to be fine moving forward. "Gallagher's amazing. He made Enrique make some mistakes and he took advantage of Enrique making some mistakes, and that's what the really good wrestlers do. Credit to him, he wrestled fantastic." Munguia said getting back on the horse will be his primary concern for the near future. "Yeah, it's tough to deal with right now, but college is next so I'm looking forward to college," he said. "(The plan is) definitely working on small things to tighten up my wrestling, do a little freestyle (this spring and summer) and have a little fun." Evan Bennett was uniquely qualified to understand Munguia's finals frustration as he also had to face the nation's top wrestler at his weight class in Brecksville's Victor Voinovich … and he had to do it on a bum leg. "I broke my ankle about four weeks ago at the state duals, so I've had to deal with this at sectionals and districts," said Bennett, who said he used tape and a brace to keep the ankle stable during competition. "The season's been a challenge all around, health wise. I just had to lay it all on the line because this was the last tournament of the year. You have to give it everything you have and that's what I did from start to finish. "You know you have the No. 1 kid in the country but that's not going to stop me from trying to give it my all." Becoming a state finalist with a year left in his high school career and helping St. Edward win the team state championship helped alleviate the sting of losing in the final, but watching his younger brother climb to the top of the podium topped all his positive experiences during the weekend. "I'm so proud of him," Evan said. "I've seen him grow up wrestling, coming through all his tribulations throughout life, so it was really cool to see him get the opportunity to show what he's made of and go out there and win a state title for St. Ed's." Contact Shaun Bennett at 329-7137 or sbennett@chroniclet.com. Like him on Facebook and follow him @ShaunBennettct on Twitter.