COLUMBUS — After finishing third in the state tournament last year, Garit Witt had one goal heading into his senior year: to win the state title.
On Saturday night at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Witt’s dream finally came true as he pinned Middletown Madison’s Nick Svarda in 2:20 to win the Division II 220-pound state championship.
“It’s a great feeling. This is way better than the semifinals,” Witt said. “It feels awesome, best feeling of my life right now. I wouldn’t want to be doing anything else other than winning a state championship with a pin.”
Prior to the match, Witt knew how the match was going to end. He had no problem letting his coaches know, too.
“I told my coaches before the match, ‘I’m going to pin this kid,’” Witt said. “I told them will we were in the bullpen that I was pinning him. My adrenaline was flowing, and I just went out there and did what I had to do.”
With the win, Witt became the 14 state champion wrestler from Clyde and the first since Chris Moore won the 170-pound title in 2012. It’s a tradition that Clyde coach Bob Blackburn wants to see continue once again.
“It’s been awhile since we’ve had a state champ. We have some tradition here, and we’re working to get it back,” Blackburn said. “(Garit) has been a big part of that. It’s nice to take one back to the hometown and put another sign on the wall when you come into town.”
While Witt felt he knew how the match was going to end, he still had to go out on the mat and do it. In the first period both wrestlers were feeling each other out.
Unlike Witt, Svarda had been in that spot before, as he was a defending state champion, having won the Division III 195-pound state title in 2015.
“He was pretty strong and I couldn’t really hold him down,” Witt said. “I put him to his back, and as soon as I had him on his back, I knew I had him. I could just feel it. I knew it was mine.”
Just 20 seconds into the second period, with the match still scoreless, Witt put Svarda on his back and that was that.
“To win it with a pin fall is awesome and amazing,” he said. “I don’t know if it gets much better than getting a pin in the state final.”
While Witt went out and did what he needed to do on the mat, he admits he never could have done it by himself.
“My coaches pushed me to do that best I could do,” he said. “There’s nothing more I could ask for. I’ve got some of the best coaches in the state, if you ask me. They push me every day to do the best I can do; I thank them for that.”
It wasn’t just his coaches that helped him out either. He also had a little help from a former state champion.
“My buddy who was the last one to win it for Clyde, Chris Moore, told me to stay calm, have fun and do what you’ve got to do,” Witt said. “If you do that, you’ll win. You just need to have confidence in yourself.”
While Blackburn has been on the Clyde coaching staff for a number of years, Witt’s title was the first for him as the head coach of the program.
“I’ve coached a lot of kids over the years and took them on the road a lot, I just wasn’t in the head coach position at the time,” he said. “It’s the same only different since I’ve not got a state title on my name. It’s always great to work with kids and train them and see their effort pay off.”
Getting to the state title was a long road for Witt, as he missed a lot of wrestling early in the season for various reasons, but Blackburn and his staff felt the senior would be ready when the state tournament finally rolled around.
“That’s what we work on. We turn the knob up a little bit every day, a little more each week as we progress in,” Blackburn said. “This is when we want to be on the top of our game because this is when it matters the most to the kids.”
Blackburn also hopes Witt’s title will motivate his young Fliers team to bigger and better things in the coming years.
“Hopefully seeing Garit win a state title motivates them to get their butts in gear,” he said, “so we can make this not a Lone Ranger show, but a regular thing. That’s what I’ve been preaching to them all year.”
Quotable
“It was awesome coming through the tunnel for the parade of champions. You get the smoke, and I choked on the smoke a little bit. I got a mouthful of it or something.” — Garit Witt.
“He was a bit of a pain again today, but in the end, it’s all worth it. I think he might have been a little more uptight today. It’s a great, great feeling. I’m happy for (Garit) and his accomplishments.” — Bob Blackburn
