PERRYSBURG — Coming out of the Perrysburg District tournament’s second day March 4, Midview heavyweight Austin Dye booked a return trip to Columbus with a victory in the consolation semifinal round.
285 Consi Semis (VIDEO) @HsMidview Austin Dye makes a return trip to state!! 3-1 decision and he'll be joined by Hunter Anderson. @MJournalSports @MiddieUpdates pic.twitter.com/9eTNLdC5tA
— Sean Fitzgerald (@fitzonsportsbsr) March 4, 2023
A year ago, he had to go alone with none of his teammates wrestling on the mats with him. He was pulling hard for close friend and teammate Hunter Anderson, Midview’s 150-pound junior, to make the trip with him.
It was nerve-wracking, but with how the brackets played out, Anderson was set up well with no ranked opponents coming his way. As long as he beat Findlay’s John Paul Smith, he’d be golden.
Anderson grabbed a 4-2 edge going into the third period of that match, and as time whittled away and a stall point was called, Smith couldn’t turn Anderson over for any back points. Anderson would be going to Columbus with a 4-3 decision. It’ll be the first time Midview has had multiple qualifiers since they sent three wrestlers down Interstate 71 in 2018.
150 Consi Semi (VIDEO) @HsMidview Hunter Anderson holds on from bottom position for 4-3 decision and the junior's first trip to states. State Counter at 5@MJournalSports @MiddieUpdates pic.twitter.com/IscDVeEgJT
— Sean Fitzgerald (@fitzonsportsbsr) March 4, 2023
Anderson stood victorious after holding out, his coaches hugging each other as he stood from the mat. After his arm was raised, Anderson found his coaches and family, letting a wave of emotion pour out after accomplishing a long-sought goal and getting to go with a teammate and brother in Dye.
“The first thing (after that match) was definitely to give my parents a hug,” Anderson described the moment and what ran through his mind in the immediate aftermath. “The second thing was my coach made me a promise that if I made it down to states, he’d give me this jacket he got in college and that’s the first thing I was looking forward to was getting that jacket from him.”
Dye couldn’t have been happier, given how close he and Anderson’s families have been over the years.
“Hunter’s like a second brother to me,” Austin Dye said. “I’m pretty sure last year he went 1-2 here. He made a big leap and now he’s going for third and fourth.”
The feeling was mutual, and Hunter now gets a chance to experience the biggest stage with his longtime friend.
“Austin is one of my brothers,” Hunter Anderson said. “I’m excited to be able to go down there with him, spend the mat time together, practice together and spend more time together. It’s just an awesome opportunity to be with him.”
“Every time I come home, the Dyes are there at my house or Hunter is over there,” Zak Anderson, Hunter’s older brother, said with a chuckle. “I think they spend more time with my parents than I do, with me being away at college. They’re always hanging out together. They’re brothers. They’re really close and I’m super excited for Austin and Hunter to get down there and wrestle together.”
It also meant a lot for Hunter to make it to Columbus after Zak had been a perpetual heartbreak story in Lorain County wrestling. Zak had come up just short time and time again to reach the state tournament from the district tournament. Hunter was also doing this for him, and the two shared an embrace shortly after Hunter did what Zak couldn’t do.
“I couldn’t be more excited for him,” Zak said, beaming with pride after the consolation semifinal match. “He did a great job this entire weekend and he’s obviously got one more (match) left. He fought his heart out all day yesterday and came in against a tough kid who’s the project state champ in the semifinals today, took a tough loss and got right back to it. He was ready for that next match, so it was awesome to see him bounce back.
“He’s wrestled for every second of every match, competing and fighting for every point. I couldn’t be more proud of him,” Zak added. “That was great to see him right when he got off that mat and it was really cool to be in the corner with my dad right after that win.”
“It was just awesome to give him that hug,” Hunter said with a smug grin stretching across his face, with Zak a foot or so away in one of the back hallways of Perrysburg High School’s gymnasium as Hunter spoke.
“Knowing I’m the first Anderson to make it down to state, that’s an improvement by all of us,” Hunter quipped, with Zak doing his best to hold back from belching out a laugh. “I’m going to brag in his face for the next 50 years until I can’t anymore. It’s going to be awesome.”
There were some nerves, with roughly 25 seconds left and Hunter clinging to his narrow lead. If you knew Zak, you couldn’t blame him given his prior experiences.
“I think I looked up at the clock with 26 seconds left and I started shaking a little bit and getting nervous,” Zak recalled. “But I knew he was going to be good. He battled that whole match, that was great getting that first takedown in the first one minute period, that was huge for the lead.”
It’s going to be a fun weekend for the two families, and Dye knows he’ll definitely enjoy the company.
“I think it’s going to be a lot more fun because I’m going to have somebody down there to do all the things before wrestling starts,” Dye said after completing his own match to punch his second state ticket. “I’ll have someone to cheer on while I’m down there, someone I actually know from my team. It’s going to be better.”
