COLUMBUS - Long before Charlie Keenan took the mat in the Division II, 195-pound state final, four other Steubenville Big Red wrestlers were busy etching their name into OHSAA lore.
A most productive weekend for coach Mike Blackburn's squad resulted in five all-Ohio wrestlers, raising the Big Red program total to 41 placers all-time.
Freshman Devin Brown finished third in the Ohio State Junior High tournament last year and came into this season thinking he could make a run to Columbus.
His run got him here and his wrestling earned him a bronze medal as he won two matches Saturday morning and finished his inaugural varsity season with a 42-9 record.
"This whole weekend has been like wow for me," Brown said shortly after winning his consolation final.
Brown was sent to the consolation bracket Friday morning and successfully navigated his way through four consolation matches to win third-place award.
He formally earned his medal thanks to a 8-5 decision over Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy's Ryan Bennett.
"After I lost on Friday, I didn't expect to finish third because of all of the tough competition," Brown said. "I was out of it after that match (on Friday), but then I thought to myself, why not just come back and win it?"
In the consolation final, Brown spotted Bennett a 3-0 lead, but took over in the second period and never looked back.
"I didn't feel as snappy as I usually do, so I think I could have wrestled better, but once it got into the second and third period, I felt much better," he said.
It was a tough ending to a brilliant season and career for senior Shawn McGhee. The talented 145-pounder advanced to Friday night's semifinals before losing.
"The tournament was a great experience," McGhee said. "I worked hard to be at the top, but unfortunately, there's always someone better out there."
He rebounded well with an impressive major decision over Miami Trace's Nathan Bowers in the consolation semifinals.
In the third-place match, McGhee was dealt a tough 4-3 setback by Mogadore Field's T.J. Fox, forcing the Big Red standout to settle for fourth place.
"I'm a little bit disappointed to be fourth, but I am going to keep working hard for college next year," McGhee said. "I wrestled to the best of my ability, but (Fox) was a tough kid, so I can't be mad at myself."
As for his future plans, McGhee isn't sure where he's heading. He was waiting for this tournament to finish. He'll now begin the process of sifting through offers and schools.
McGhee - an OVAC champion earlier this season - finished his campaign with an impressive 41-5 record.
Junior Greg Moray's tournament didn't end nearly the way he had hoped or envisioned.
After being derailed by technical fall in the semifinals, Moray bounced back to post a 5-4 win over Germantown Valley View's Bryan Day in the consolation semifinal.
Unfortunately, Moray didn't get a chance to wrestle for his bronze medal. He injury defaulted to fourth place due to a back injury.
Moray finished his season with a 45-3 record.
Senior Jake Howarth finished with the eighth place medal and a season record of 39-9. He was upended in his final match by CVCA's David Gray, 7-5.
