Swanton High School Honors Former Wrestlers Carone, Taylor and Lytle
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Prior to the wrestling match against the Van Wert Cougars last Saturday night, Swanton High School held a ceremony for three former wrestlers, Tony Carone, Xavier Taylor and Mimo Lytle, who had each reached the 100-win milestone during their high school career. Today, when a wrestler reaches this impressive total, they are awarded a banner in recognition of their outstanding achievement. However, back when these three Bulldogs ruled the mat, awarding banners was not the practice. It was decided rectify this omission and hold this event when Swanton scheduled Van Wert for a dual match, where Mimo is in his second year as head coach.
All three honorees were outstanding athletes in other sports as well during their high school years. Some of their accomplishments are listed below:
Tony Carone 1988-1992: Earned 11 varsity letters overall. Had 105 wrestling wins, first in school history. First four-year place winner at the prestigious Perrysburg Invitational Tournament (PIT). Four-time Sectional place winner. Three-time Sectional Champion. Two-time District place winner. Two-time State qualifier in Division II. Four-time NWOAL place winner. Two-time NWOAL Champion. MVP and Art Ruggles award winner in 1992. Four-time varsity letter winner in football. All NWOAL in football in Junior and Senior years. All District football as a Senior. Two-time varsity letter winner in baseball and one-time varsity letter winner in track. Was inducted to the Swanton Athletic Hall of Fame in 2003. The banner was presented to Tony by his wrestling coach and father, Joe.
Xavier Taylor 2003-2006: Four-year varsity letter winner in wrestling. Had 114 wins (second 100-win wrestler at Swanton) with 75 pins in his career. Was NWOAL Champion in 2003. Was Sectional Champion in 2005. Was District Champion in 2005 and 2006. Placed 5th at State in 2005 and 4th in 2006. Was High School All-American placing 6th at the National Tournament. The banner was presented to Xavier by his wrestling coach and father, Whitey.
Mimo Lytle 2009-2012: All-time career wins record at Swanton High School with 162. Three-time NWOAL Champion. Four-time Sectional Champion. Two-time District Champion and four-time District placer. Four-time State placer. Two-time Ohio State Champion, 2011 and 2012. Ninth all-time State of Ohio for career pins with 128. Named Most Outstanding Wrestler in Ohio Division III. Finished with a record of 83-1 in his final two years at Swanton. Wrestled three years for Kent State University and recorded a 7-1 record in the MAC Duals in 2015. Finished fourth at the MAC Championships to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Championships. Transferred to Findlay and qualified for the NCAA Division II Championships. The banner was presented to Mimo by his wrestling coach Greg Hallet.
For Mimo, it was his first time coming back to his high school alma mater as the head coach of a competing school. He was also not aware of the banner presentations until they were announced. “It was a surprise,” said Coach Lytle of the banner award. “I loved seeing my former coaches and seeing familiar faces from my hometown. It was very special.”
Photo (LtoR): Toney Carone, Xavier Taylor, Mimo Lytle
Click on the link above to access photos from the ceremony. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.
Fulton County Ohio Media 