CHAGRIN FALLS, Ohio (March 1, 2025) -- Rocky River's season came to an end with the Wrestling Raiders competing on district tournament mats Friday and Saturday. [Results]

Three Pirate athletes qualified through last week's sectional round and into the DII Northeast District Tournament held at Kenston High School. All three grapplers were pinned in their opening bouts. At 150 pounds, two-time district qualifier Dylan Heffron battled back with a win by fall in the wrestleback bracket. The senior captain was then ousted by a pin in his third match.

At 175, fellow senior captain splits two pins -- a loss then a win -- before losing an 11-3 major against Hubbard senior Alex Hackwelder, a state qualifier in 2024 and eventual fourth-place finisher (thus earning a state berth against this year) on Saturday.

At 215, junior captain London Hover was pinned by eventual third-place finisher Gavin Hang (West Branch) in his Friday opener. Hover's second loss came against 40-win sophomore Blake Welker of West Geauga.  

Overall, athletes from 54 schools competed in the weekend gateway event setting up next week's state tournament. The three-division Buckeye State title event will take place March 7-9 at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus. 

River netted six team points to clock a tie for 38th place at Kenston. Cleveland West Conference-champion Buckeye was the top squad. The Bucks piled up 141 points which out-distanced second-place Perry (109) by more-than-30 points. Buckeye qualified six grapplers for the state meet; two won district crowns in Saturday's action.

Top-4 placers at the district tournament qualified to move on to Columbus. Fifth-place finishers move on as alternates.

For the Wrestling Raiders, Krish closed out his senior campaign with a 29-7 mark. His season included a third-place finish at the CWC Championships (Feb. 8). Hover finished with a record of 28-18; he earned a fourth-place finish at the conference meet.

Heffron closed out his fine career and what was a record 2024-25 season. The senior standout won the 150-pound CWC championship en route to logging a 42-7 mark. Along the way, Heffron racked up consecutive pins, total pins in a single season, total wins, and total-points program records. He piled up 87 victories in his career.  

River's participation in the district meet closed out the school's 2024-25 winter sports slate.

by Skip Snow

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