By Tom Nader

Publisher and Editor

Rootstown wrestling celebrated five All-Americans and Mogadore had one All-American at the recent Disney Duals.

Competing under the name the Rootstown Raiders and coached by Al Marzec, the group placed eighth out of 56 total teams in the Community Two Gold Division at the prestigious event.

The performance was a follow-up to the Raiders’ runner-up finish at the Disney Duals in 2022.

The Community Two Division allows for three extra wrestlers from adjoining schools to be rostered together, which allowed Mogadore’s Tyler Shellenbarger, who won the OHSAA Division III state championship this past season at 215 pounds. Shellenbarger finished a perfect 10-0 at the event.

Rootstown’s five All-Americans included Max McEwuen, Nick Malek, Tyler Paulus, Dillon Wise and Lane McKenzie.

As a group, the Raiders finished with a 7-3 record, qualifying for the Gold Division, which only takes the top two teams from each of the eight pools of elite wrestlers.