With a first-round victory at the state wrestling tournament Thursday night at the Schottenstein Center, Fairfield senior Adam Sams completely surprised assistant coach Brad Wright.

It wasn’t the performance that caught Wright off guard. It was the significance.

Sams’ pin of Parma junior Kyle Workman in 2 minutes, 48 seconds was the 120^th victory of his career, tying him with Wright for fourth place on the school’s all-time list.

“I didn’t know he had that many, but Adam’s worked really hard for every single one of those wins and I’m glad to see it pay off for him,” said Wright, a 1995 grad. “Everyone says records are made to be broken, and they truly are. I know Adam has other goals, and I hope he gets a state title.”

This is Sams’ third trip to state and it’s his best start yet.

“First first-round victory ever,” said Sams, who can move into sole possession of fourth place this morning in his Division I 138-pound quarterfinal match against Gahanna Lincoln senior Drew McDougle, who placed fourth at 132 last year.

Like Sams, Lakota East senior Jacob Burton recorded his first opening-round win in dominating fashion by pinning Pickerington North’s Geno Rollo in 5:17.

“It’s better than losing the first one,” said Burton, who lost in the first round last year but battled back to place eighth.

“I have my head on a lot more this year,” Burton added. “My goal is to get to the state finals, wrestle my butt off and win this title.”

Also moving into the Division I quarterfinals was Lakota West junior Kevin Leonhardt, who survived Twinsburg senior Tyone Mcguinea for a 1-0 decision.

Fairfield senior Dylan Lauffer (152) lost a tough 4-2, ultimate-tiebreaker decision to drop into the consolation bracket Thursday night, but he rebounded for an 11-0 major decision against sophomore Jacob Hinz to extend his season.

Fairfield senior Greysun Barden (120) and Lakota East senior Austin Daly (120) both were eliminated after going 0-2, as was Thunderhawks sophomore Daniel Roth (106).

DIVISION II

Ross wrestlers went 4-2 in the first round, putting the Rams in sixth place with 11 points in the team standings.

Seniors Joseph Jones (145) grinded out a 3-2 win, Tyler Bridwell (195) survived 5-3 in overtime and Frank Heimkreiter (220) turned a late 6-5 lead into an 11-6 triumph. Cordell Byrd was the only one who cruised, earning a 12-4 major decision.