After a one-year hiatus, Alec Marsico of the Pickerington High School North wrestling team made his return to the Division I state tournament, which concluded last Saturday at Ohio State.

He was one of three Panthers to finish as state placers. Marsico finished fourth at 140 pounds. Nick Justus was fifth at 189 and Matt Ferguson was seventh at 171.

Marsico, who was 0-2 in the state tournament as a sophomore, appeared on his way back after a strong regular season last year, but his season was derailed when he didn't make weight for North's sectional.

On March 4, he stepped onto the mat against Lakewood St. Edward's Matt VanCuren and the effort that last year's disappointment spawned was rewarded.

"It was great, because last year I didn't make weight at sectional" said Marsico, who was 4-2 and finished 46-10. "(Competing in the first match) was nerve-wracking, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Once I got through the nerves, I just wrestled."

Marsico beat VanCuren 5-3 before losing to Massillon Perry's Shane Foster 3-1 to drop into the consolation bracket. He won three more matches before falling to Wadworth's Nate Ball 8-4 in the third-place match.

Ferguson, who beat Toledo Start's Nate Brubaker 8-6 in a seventh-place match, was one of three wrestlers from the Central District to reach the podium at 171 pounds. Westerville North's Josh Demas won the title at 171 and Groveport's Kwan Bailey, finished fourth.

"I guess we're in the top three percent of kids in Ohio in our weight class," said Ferguson, who finished 38-7. "That's a big deal. For three of us to come out from central Ohio and be placers, which they said was one of the weakest parts the state. We proved that wrong for our weight class. That's nice."

Last Friday, Ferguson faced Bailey, his cousin, for the third time this postseason, losing 5-3. The loss sent Ferguson to the seventh-place match while Bailey wrestled once more for a spot in either the third- or fifth-place match.

Nick Justus finished fifth at 189 pounds after defeating Springboro's Tyler Franz 12-4 in a fifth-place match. Franz had won the district championship on Feb. 27. Justus was third that day, but the two didn't meet in competition.

Justus' 3-2 record at state made him 42-8 on the season.

Also competing at state was Sean Bui, who was 1-2 at 152 pounds. He lost an elimination match to Twinsburg's Waquim Comar 9-6. Austin Marsico was 1-2 at 103, getting pinned by Dublin Coffman's Ryan Murdock in 59 seconds in his final match.

Alec Lamancusa was 0-2 at 215. Lamancusa's final match was a 13-2 loss to Cincinnati Elder's Pat Nusekabe.

For Central, Josh Hunter was 1-2 at the state tournament at 112. Hunter, the Tigers' lone representative, lost to Cleveland St. Ignatius' Jerome Robinson 14-3 in his opening match.

He rebounded with a 5-3 win over Fairfield's Adam Sams, but on the tournament's second day he fell to Miamisburg's Tyler Regan. Hunter finished the season 33-8.