‘Amazing’ comeback from broken leg has Monroe senior back at state

“Honestly, we thought he wouldn’t be able to come back,” the coach said. “We thought he’d be done, but he got with the right doctors and he put in all the hard work and everything to be back in mid-January. It’s pretty unbelievable that he could come back that quick.”

“Coming back as soon as I did was a surprise,” admitted Pitsch, who qualified for last year’s state tournament. “They told me I wouldn’t be able to wrestle again. To get back this quick is amazing.

“I wanted to get back on the mat as soon as possible,” he added. “I qualified for state last year, but I didn’t qualify for the podium (top eight finishers). My dream is to get on the podium.”

Pitsch went through what he described as a “ton” of therapy, going two times a week for three months before making enough progress to cut that in half. Eating right and supplements helped, he said.

He admitted to being “really nervous” going into his first match.

“It was different,” he said. “It was weird. It was like I was wrestling for the first time. It didn’t feel the same. I didn’t know how it was going to feel. I didn’t know what was going to happen.”

Lambert has noticed slight differences in Pitsch on the mat.

“You can tell a little bit,” he said. “He’s not a hundred percent. He’s still healing. We’re told it can take a year to fully heal. He’s not as quick as he used to be, but it really hasn’t hindered him much.

“His record speaks for itself. His only loss was a tough one he probably shouldn’t have lost.”

Pitsch’s biggest accomplishment might be forgetting about the injury on the mat.

“I can usually put it out of my mind,” he said. “It’s about as back to normal as it’s going to get. I’m able to do everything.”

Ross with four qualifiers and Fairfield with three dominate the area’s representation in Columbus. The Rams are sending four underclassmen – junior Jordan Miller (38-10), who finished fourth in the district at 106; sophomore Jovanni Greco (43-6), second; sophomore Ryan Foster (44-9), third, and junior Ryan Iams (37-12), second.

Badin 215-pound senior Eli Emmons (32-4) also qualified in Division II with a fourth-place district finish.

Fairfield 165-pound senior Lane Abrams improved to 40-1 while winning his Division I weight class championship at Fairmont High School’s Trent Arena.

Indians coach Blair Willcocks believes Abrams has improved in many areas, especially defense.

“His defense has been great,” Willcocks said. “He’s really improved in his ability to scramble out of situations.”

Abrams will be joined by two junior teammates: 113-pound Jake Lentz (28-15) and 138-pound Tanner Beerman (29-11). Both finished fourth in the district.

Edgewood is sending two heavyweights to the Division I state meet. Sophomore Wyatt Walker (45-1) won the district 215-pound championship, while senior Radical Rothermel (43-4) finished second at 285 pounds.

Middletown junior Jacob Castillo (32-5) qualified with a runner-up finish at 138, while Lakota West junior Matthew Szczepaniak (40-7) advanced by finishing third at 144.