“He wanted me to be great so he named me Marvelous,” the Stebbins High School senior said. “I’m going to live up to that name. … It’s a big name.”
Rutledge takes a major step toward that goal this weekend at the D-I district championships at Kettering’s Trent Arena. The top four placers in each weight class advance to the state tournament.
“He always told me to believe in myself. It all comes down to your heart and your mind,” Rutledge said. “That you believe you can win every match. He always told me I had the dog in me, I just had to release it.”
He did Saturday at the sectional championships at Centerville High School. Rutledge (19-0), competing in the 192-pound weight class, wore down Centerville sophomore Gunnar Pool in the semifinals for a 16-7 major decision. He then pinned Wayne senior Ryder Pierce in 48 seconds to win the sectional title.
Rutledge finished third at the district meet last season. But his and everyone else’s season ended there when the state tournament was cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“This year has been kind of weird, but I can never be mad because I’m still wrestling,” Rutledge said of missing out on state last season. “I give it all to God. Everything happens for a reason.
“My dad wanted me to experience wrestling and I feel in love with it. I can’t let it go. Right away I knew it was my sport. … I want to look up to him and try to accomplish what he accomplished. I’m looking to pass him. I want to beat that.”
Chasing his dad is his top goal. But his top fan continues to be his mom, Makeba.
“She was always my number one fan. She always loved me no matter what I did,” Rutledge said, acknowledging his mom gets nervous watching him compete. “Yeah, she hates wrestling.”
Rutledge is one of three Indians to qualify for the district tournament. Junior Charlie Blanton finished third at districts at 138 pounds and senior Dan Johnson was fourth at 170.
D-I and D-II (held in Wilmington) wrestling starts Thursday with early-round matches for 106 through 145 weight classes. The 152 through 285 classes wrestle early matches Friday. A split session follows Saturday with the lower weight classes completing their tournament in the morning and the higher weight classes in the evening.
The D-III tournament in Troy runs with split sessions on both Friday and Saturday. The lower weight classes wrestle first, followed by the higher classes after a break.
As for Rutledge, he’s four wins away from a district title. He ended the regular season ranked No. 8 in the state by wrestling guru Billy Schaefer, who also projects Rutledge to win the district title.
Rutledge brings the same physical toughness on the football field as he does the mat. He led the Indians with 70 tackles, including a team-high 31 solo tackles. He had 14 tackles against Troy and finished the season with three straight games of double-digit tackles.
“Wrestling and football go hand-in-hand for my position,” Rutledge said. “A blast double (leg takedown) is just like a football tackle. … I like to release all my anger on the mat, wrestle and have fun.”
* In D-I, Centerville is the lone program to qualify all 14 wrestlers to the district tournament, highlighted by sectional championships from Nate Stevens (106), Simon Taylor (113), Damion Ryan (120), Josh Cline (138) and Jonathan Bruder (220). Fairfield (11), LaSalle (11), Mason (11), Butler (10), Cincinnati Elder (10), Cincinnati Moeller (10) and Northmont (10) also qualified in double-digit weight classes.
* Eaton has an area-high eight qualifiers in D-II at Wilmington, followed closely by Milton-Union and Valley View with seven each. Graham leads the district field with 12.
* Miami East set a school record with 12 district qualifiers, the most at the D-III meet in Troy. Versailles had 10 and Covington and Legacy Christian both qualified nine. Legacy Christian has nine wrestlers in its program. All nine reached the championship match and six won titles at the Lehman Catholic sectional.
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