“It was kind of fitting,” Day said of it coming down to ultimate tiebreak. “We are neck and neck and I knew it would come down to a one-point match.”
All five matches between the two were decided by a point. Day owned three 4-3 decisions and Sarver ended up owning a pair of 3-2 decisions.
After a scoreless first period, Sarver got the first escape in the second period for a 1-0 lead. Day answered with an escape in the third and had a couple of opportunities to record the winning takedown, but couldn’t finish the shots.
“I knew I couldn’t give up the takedown because I have been behind every time and couldn’t get it done from behind,” Sarver said. “He has a great shot. I just worked and learned how to defend it.”
Sarver got choice of top and bottom for the ultimate tiebreak due to scoring the first point. He chose to go in the down position.
Five seconds later, he was a state champ.
“I just told myself I had to get away as fast as possible,” Sarver said. “I just had to get it done.”
For Sarver, his title came as the lone senior among Graham’s 11 qualifiers. Day, a junior, still has a crack at winning the school’s first title.
“We don’t plateau,” Day said. “We get better next year and I’ll work to be better next year.”
Legacy Christian’s Tommy Hoskins claimed his third title at 120 in Division III, but teammate Wyatt Riddle (106), Miami East’s Alex Isbrandt (132) and Covington’s Lance Miller (160) all fell short in title matches.
National Trail’s defending state champ, Ben Sullivan, fell 7-3 in the D-III 220 finals.
Sarver’s title was one of six for the Falcons, who had their 17th state title wrapped up on Friday afternoon.
Graham coach Jeff Jordan hadn’t thought of the streak until his son, Rocky, pointed out that some of the kids on the team weren’t born when it began.
“The first thing that went through my mind was that we have done really well at Graham,” Jordan said. “The second thing I thought was that I am getting pretty old.”
In addition to Sarver, the Falcons got titles from Jordan Crace (120), JD Stickley (138), Mitch Moore (132), Rocky Jordan (152) and Ryan Thomas (160).
Moore used a second-period reversal for the lone points in winning his third title.
“He was a lot bigger than I was, but I knew if I kept at it something would happen,” Moore said. “This (winning state) never gets old. It feels like the first one.”
Jordan capped a 30-0 season in winning his second while Crace was also 30-0.
Jordan battled to a 8-0 win in a match where Ashland’s Sid Ohl was playing defense.
“I always want to score a lot of points,” Jordan said. “I was just a little more cautious because I didn’t want to make a mistake and give up something big.”
The title was the 24th for the Jordan family, which improved to 107-3 at the state tournament.
Jeff Jordan and sons Bo and Micah all claimed four titles. Jeff’s brother, Jim Jordan, also won four titles while his sons, Ben and Isaac, each won three.
“Both are surreal,” Rocky Jordan said of the family’s total and the 17-year streak. “There is a little pressure having the Jordan name because you are expected to win. Both are just as impressive. I’m just thankful to be part of both.”
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