COLUMBUS — The 2007-08 Ohio State Wrestling Championships at the Jerome Schottenstein Center ended with terrific fanfare, with a Parade of Wrestlers before the finals Saturday night, along with spotlights and music to accompany them.                                                                                                                        

Stuart Miller was among them, though he had to wait for his moment in the Division III 189-pound finals versus Nathan Jones.

Unfortunately for the Jefferson junior, the Troy Christian senior got the better of him once again, getting a reversal with 1:07 left in the match and a cradle for 2 back points to secure a 6-4 title-winning victory at Value City Arena.

“I could have done better; I saw him warming up and what he was working on, so I went to a different game plan,” Miller, the first Jeffcat wrestler to make it this far in the program’s 8-year history, began.

Jones beat Miller 3-2 in last Sunday’s district finals at Kettering.

“The last time, we saw that Jones liked to shoot, so we tried to slow him down from doing that. Stuart wanted to stay in his chest so he couldn’t shoot; he tried a more traditional, standing match and it worked until the middle of the third period,” Jefferson coach Jeff Rex explained.

After a scoreless first period, Jones got a reversal at 1:30 of the second and Miller an escape with 35 ticks showing to trail 2-1 after two periods.

When Jones chose a neutral position to start the third, that tied it at 2. Just 15 ticks in, Miller took him down for a 4-2 lead. Jones reversed him at 1:07, used a cradle to get back points with 45 ticks to go and then held on for the title.

Both coach and wrestler agreed that a mistake was made that cost Miller.

“I stayed calm and focused and I remain confident. I just got a bit lazy when he reversed me; I wasn’t moving like I should have been on top and it cost me,” Miller, who finished fourth at 189 last season, added. “I worked a lot this year on wrestling from the top position because I felt that was a weakness last year. I just have to keep working for next season.

“I was actually thinking of moving up to 215 this season but between football season and wrestling, I had some teeth and my tonsils removed and lost a lot of weight. I had to gain it back, so it was relatively easy to stay at 189. For next year, we will see.”

Rex also made no excuses.

“I felt Stuart was focused and relaxed; the stuff beforehand and waiting around didn’t bother him and it wouldn’t be an excuse anyway. Stuart doesn’t get too high or low; he’s very low-key, Rex added. “I felt that the back points were a bit cheap but that’s what it is. That’s all it takes; make one mistake and it costs you down here.

“I and my coaches are very proud of him. He’s a joy to be around; he’s a great kid in the classroom and on the mat. I’d venture a guess that he made a goal this year to do better than last year, which he did. I’d also guess that he’s made a goal to do as good next year if not better.”

Miller accounted for all of Jefferson’s 21 team points (good for 23rd out of the 83 teams with wrestlers who garnered points).

Spencerville was 18th (26.0).

Two Bearcat grapplers: one ending his career in senior Zac Clum (135) and one with two more years to go in sophomore 285-pounder Tyler Obringer; also had the chance to stand on the podium Saturday night.

Obringer finished fifth and Clum sixth.

Obringer pinned Josh Morosko (Massillon Tuslaw) in 1:35 for fifth place.

Clum lost to Shane Foster (Bellaire St. John’s Central Catholic) 6-1 for sixth place.

“That’s the first time in our program’s history that we had two wrestlers place at state. What else can you say about that?” asked head coach Tom Wegesin.

There was an air of mixed feelings by both wrestlers: not doing as well as they had hoped but also being in the top eight of their weight class in the Division III ranks.

“I would have liked to do better but it’s still a great achievement. When you think that you are in the last 16 in the state in your weight class, plus how many wrestlers from districts and sectionals, you can’t be too disappointed, either,” Clum (43-6) began. “I had faced Foster in the first round — he put me in the consolation bracket — so we both tried some different things. His just worked better than mine. I don’t think I’d have done anything different.”

Foster won 3-1 in OT the first time.

Obringer (30-4) vowed a return next season a smarter and better grappler.

“I didn’t wrestle very smart down here. You can’t do that when you consider how strong the competition is here,” he said. “I just made too many mental mistakes down here that kept me from finishing better. I plan on working, coming back down here next year and finishing higher.”

Both had lost earlier in the day: Clum by pinfall to Andrew Johnson of Tontogany Otsego and Obringer 7-2 to Christian Addis of Columbus Bishop Hartley; to knock them into the fifth/sixth-place matchups.

It wasn’t due to lack of effort or being nervous, according to Clum.

“I felt we were all relaxed coming into the weekend. We came down early and played cards for a couple of days; we tried not to think too much about our opponent,” Clum added.

Junior Scott Barnes was eliminated in the consolation quarterfinals.

Wegesin figured all three fell victim to the high quality of their opponents.

“Zac tried a cradle in his first match today; if he pulls it off, he’s a hero. He just couldn’t do it,” Wegesin explained. “You just have to give credit where it’s due.

“Zac’s had a great career. He will be in the top tier in many categories at Spencerville: a 2-time state qualifier and an alternate as a sophomore.”

Wegesin figured having two place, a third wrestle and a fourth (Justin Caudill) being an alternate at 112 was a pretty good accomplishment when he only had nine weight classes filled in 2007-08.

“That’s half of my wrestlers that made it down. Fifth ties the highest we’ve ever had anyone place down here,” Wegesin added. “After we had a chance to calm down and think about it, they all realize they could have done better but the lack of state experience did them in.

“Tyler and Scott have to work hard for next season but the problem is they play two and three sports; that makes this achievement even more remarkable. I only really see them on the wrestling mats during the season. They learned a lot; I hope they get a chance to use that knowledge next season.