The first day of the OHSAA Division I State Wrestling Tournament ended with victories for both Najee Lockett and Michael Drobnick.

Lockett earned his victory in his first match, while Drobnick dropped a bout before returning with a vengeance in his second.

Entering Day 2, Lockett stands in the Championship Quarterfinals at 160 pounds, while Drobnick heads into the second round of Consolations at 195. 

The day started with weigh-ins before the start of the tournament in the afternoon. Najee Lockett began the action with Max Van Fossen of Mount Vernon at around 6:30 pm. 

The match began in the typical way for Najee Lockett – with quick points. Lockett fired out his stance with his brilliant quickness, landing a couple quick takedowns. Although he allowed a pair of escapes, Lockett was fully in control.

Another takedown in the second period seemed to stunt his foe, who could only manage a few escapes in the face of the fierce sophomore. Lockett finished off the match with a final late takedown to secure the 10-6 win. 

Lockett will face Nevan Snodgrass of Kettering Fairmont (26-4) tomorrow in the quarterfinals, starting at about 11:20 am. 

Lockett finally broke a smile after the match with his teammates and coaches, glad to be headed to the Quarterfinals in his first State appearance. His coach, the veteran Mark Sullivan, was quite pleased with Lockett, too. 

"This is his first time in Columbus – last year, he got hurt at Districts," Sullivan said. "He had to work through the nerves of being down here for the first time and seeing the magnitude of the competition. I thought he handled it tremendously."

Michael Drobnick then continued the action for the Mat Cats. From the start, Drobnick struggled to land anything against Breylon Douglas of Austintown Fitch. A smart competitor, Douglas used his ability to stay out of jams early and often with Drobnick. Douglas grabbed a 2-1 lead after one period and extended it to 5-1 after two. 

Then, following some injury time for Drobnick, Douglas used a good move to beat Drobnick and pin him with 45 seconds remaining. 

Drobnick used the two-hour break to recuperate with encouragement from his teammates and coaches. 

The senior responded to the pep talks with a victory via pin over  Lancaster's Quinn Kelley in the first round of consolations, in just 2:11. Drobnick will face the loser of St. Edward's Dakota Howard and Newark's Levi McKee tomorrow during consolations, starting at about 1:40 pm. 

"Michael came out very strong in the second match," Coach Sullivan said. "He was a little more hungry. He knew he had to win that match for the chance to be a State placer. So he has to win at least one more match to be a State placer, and that's gotta be his goal at this point, one match at a time." 

Overall, Sullivan was pleased with his two wrestlers, given the toughness of the competition in Columbus. 

"I think they wrestled very well. Every year I come down here, I realize how good wrestling is in the state of Ohio," said Sullivan. "You think you get by the District Tournament and you see some of the best in the State, and you come down here an realize that every weight has 16 really tough guys. To advance in this tournament, you have to have a little luck, a lot of skill, and a lot of hard work."