Brother-sister duo Abigail and Aidan Mozden make Alliance High wrestling history
ALLIANCE ‒ Aidan Mozden and his sister Abigail have made wrestling history for Alliance High School.
They are the school's first brother-sister duo to qualify for the OHSAA state wrestling tournament in Columbus. The competition begins Friday.
The school qualified six wrestlers - five girls and one boy - for the state competition, plus one alternate. The girls team is a club sport, but the OHSAA for the first time sanctioned state titles in wrestling for girls.
More:No guts, no glory: Alliance wrestler Aidan Mozden overcomes injury, wins at Top Gun
The other qualifiers are freshman Ashlynn Pennington, sophomore Avery Horning and juniors Sabrina Shaffer and Jayda Patrick. Jackson Eddy, a junior, is an alternate for the boys.
"We're going to be the first ones, so we're going to make history that girls can look back at in 15 years," said Abigail Mozden, a 16-year-old sophomore.
Wrestling is in Mozden blood
Aidan Mozden, a 17-year-old junior, has been wrestling since he was preschooler when his mom, Becky, got him involved in. His sisters, Abigail and her twin Adilyn, were drawn into the sport before their freshman year. Adilyn suffered an injury this season.
"It's a big wrestling family," they said, adding uncles and cousins have also competed on the mat.
Dane Johnson, the girls' coach, has worked with all three Mozdens, first coaching Aidan at the middle school. "I was hoping his two sisters would wrestle and it has become a competition, one-upping each other," he said.
"They're phenomenal competitors and athletes," Johnson added. "I'm super proud of all five of my girls who made it."
Marcus Lambdin, the boys' coach, said Aidan Mozden has "always been a quality kid and a quality wrestler," but he thinks the junior blossomed into a state qualifier after winning the Top Gun Tournament in January.
"This kid has been put up against some of the best all season and has risen to the challenge," Lambdin said.
They overcome losses to win
Aidan Mozden will compete in boys Division II bracket while Abigail Mozden will compete in the girls bracket. Both made the state tournament by defeating opponents they previously lost to last week. The girls team won the overall Division I regional title.
"My semifinals match was probably my toughest match. I'd already wrestled that girl three other times and lost," Abigail Mozden said.
Her brother added: "I honestly didn't think I would win districts (last week). The kid I wrestled was No. 2 in the state. That same kid beat me last year."
Now the siblings look to make more history with possible state titles.
Lambdin said all the state qualifiers are enriched by their experience this weekend and if they return with titles it'll add to, "a rich history of wrestling at Alliance," which could inspire kids at a younger age to participate in the sport.
Reach Benjamin Duer at 330-580-8567 or ben.duer@cantonrep.com
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This article originally appeared on The Repository: Aidan, Abigail Mozden make Alliance wrestling history
