New Lex's Williams second at state

COLUMBUS - New Lexington coach David Ratliff predicted that Dimitri Williams' championship match against Canfield's David Crawford "will be a barn burner."

He proved prophetic.

Williams, the Panthers' 170-pound senior, saw his match with Crawford deadlocked at 1 during a defensive-minded match that saw little in the way of shots or scoring attempts.

When the overtime arrived, Williams saw a scoring chance on the legs and took it. But Crawford was ready, and his counter-attack led to the deciding points in a 3-1 win on Saturday night at the Division II state tournament at Value City Arena.

It was Williams' first loss of the season after winning 34 straight. He couldn't hide his disappointment afterward, spending several minutes in the hallway outside of the arena crying uncontrollably while being consoled by Ratliff and assistant Matt Reed.

Being only the second wrestler in school history to reach the finals meant little, nor did the fact he made the most of an injury-riddled career that almost was derailed prematurely after major shoulder surgery.

He wanted to win it that badly, especially for his coaches.

"I feel like I let them down," Williams said. "That's the hardest thing of all. They mean the world to me and I just wanted to win it for them. Every one of them. You care so much, which is why I'm in the this position (emotionally)."

The sturdily built Crawford, a junior, had two wins by close decisions entering the match, including a 3-1 win against Sandusky Perkins' Keysean Amison to reach the finals. Williams had no preconceived notions that he would continue the dominant path he took to the finals, but he did expect to win.

They split two matches at the Ohio Freestyle Championships last summer at Mount Orab Western Brown, and Crawford's win there came after Williams built a 10-5 lead. They were reasons why Williams took a confident approach.

In Saturday's match, however, he was unable to land any of his shots as Crawford sat back throughout and managed only an escape to take a 1-0 lead. Williams escaped from the down position to start the third, and the match stayed tied until Crawford finally got Williams on his back after missing an inside shot in the extra session.

"I felt like it was there, and I was trying to set up a jab because I knew he would come with a front headlock," Williams said. "But I couldn't."

New Lex coach David Ratliff left the match still feeling Williams was the better wrestler and lauded him for trying to take shots while Crawford did not.

"We took 25 shots to his one or two," Ratliff said. "(Dimitri) is the better wrestler, in my opinion. This wasn't our night."

Williams will next wrestle at the Senior Nationals in Virginia Beach, Virginia. He hopes to become an All-American.

"Knowing Dimitri, this is going to fuel him for the next five years," Ratliff said. "There are a lot of things in his life, outside of wrestling, where he could have packed it up. He didn't. He moved forward and this is just another stepping stone. In two weeks we're going to get back on the horse."

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