CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — Chillicothe sophomore Cannan Smith has been in this position before; a fight to the death-type match to determine first place at the Division II District Tournament at Gallia Academy. He was already guaranteed a spot at the State Championships at The Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio, the next weekend. However, he knew the time was coming to show he was number one and that he might have to wrestle someone he knew since he was young.

DEFINITIVE MATCH

A pact was made between Cannan and New Lexington’s Tyson Spicer before their championship bout for the top spot was about to take place. A pact that defined Smith and the way he thinks about wrestling and his character.

As Cannan gave his name to the table, he began the match like any other. He was energized by his brother and coaches and with his headgear strategically placed over his head. Then Smith closed his eyes.

There is nothing special about his headgear. There are no American flags or stickers or anything that really stood out, except for some small writing. In ordinary penmanship the quote “Do it for Smoke” is written in simple, smeared, black magic marker. In honor of his late grandfather who recently passed in January.

“One of his grandfather’s (Jeff Smith) favorite things to do was watch the boys go wrestle,” Josh Smith said. “He never missed anything. Whether it was South Carolina or any other place he was there. He was the first guy to meet him at the state tournament his freshman year beating his mom and siblings.”

“His support was unmatched,” Cannan said.

He was called “Smoke” because he liked to smoke cigarettes and when he played paintball when Josh was young, they could see the smoke and get into a paintball fight and the “Smoke” nickname stuck.

Cannan, a third generation Chillicothe wrestler, started to prepare for his match by first mentally preparing himself to win because he could come in second like the year before.

“I am visualizing honestly,” Cannan said. “I do it so much — I visualize myself winning.”

He does a routine inspired by Austin DeSanto where he flicks his straps and does an almost dance on the mat.

“I like his style of wrestling,” Cannan said. “He’s one of the best wrestlers to not win a national title. He was good…He just went out there and competed and I loved that about him.”

As the match began, Cannan knew what’s on the line. He has been here before as a freshman, trying to be district champion against a worthy opponent. Last time he came in second with a pin by West Holmes’ Mason Taylor. It slipped through his fingers. Now he was determined not to let history repeat himself.

The match started hard and fast for both wrestlers. One scored then the other with neither one able to pin one another. The first period finished, no winner, same with the second. No pins, no tech falls. Entering the third period, everything was on the line.

Point by point Cannan gained momentum, but Spicer fought back. However, with the sounds of the last buzzer, time was up, and then victory. Claiming an 8-4 triumph, he did it. And it was sweet.

Only one thing left. He hugged Spicer who knew they both made a promise. It was Spicer’s moment to fulfill. A pact between friends. Smith bent slightly down, and Spicer crowned Smith the champion. A bond of friendship and respect had been solidified that day at Gallia.

It was this moment that not only defined Cannan as a champion, but as a competitor many have come to respect and fear.

UNREMARKABLE BEGINNING

Wrestling has always been about family for Smith, whether by blood or not. Cannan doesn’t remember how he got into wrestling. It has always been a huge part of his life since he was five years old.

“I have been wrestling as long as I can remember,” Cannan said.

According to his dad Josh Smith, Cannan didn’t have a lot of success as a child.

“He was horrible,” Josh said. “But his grittiness and willingness to put in the work changed his career. He did some things on the mat as a kid you can’t coach but suffer a mental lapse. It was when he got it mentally and beating on his craft is when he started getting good.”

His first year of wrestling his dad admits was never forced. When he didn’t want to go to practice and he didn’t go to practice. The first year Josh didn’t coach and was a dad. But when he was approached, he started to coach Cannan and the others.

“What kept him in as a youth are the friendships and relationships he made [which] kept him going back to practice,” Josh said. “The bonds made in the wrestling room are inseparable.”

His little brother Cael Smith is also one of the reasons for Cannan’s success because the Smiths traveled a lot for wrestling competitions for his younger brother Cael.

“Cael was very, very good,” Josh said. “As we traveled to find competition for Cael, Cannan competed in all the tournaments. And he never had the success that his little brother had. We traveled to Las Vegas, Cael won; Michigan, Cael won; Indiana, Cael won. Cannan podiumed, maybe seventh or eighth, but never high.”

THE START OF SUCCESS

As he got older, his brother’s success made him want to get better. His love for wrestling grew and he started finding the successes he was wanting. Wrestling became the focus of his athletics.

“The combat and knowing you are the only one that out there is what I love about wrestling,” Cannan said. “With football you can blame the quarterback for throwing an interception and in basketball you can blame the center for missing a shot. With wrestling, you only have yourself the blame. If you lose, you do something dumb. I did that, that’s my fault. Got to go back to the drawing board.”

Maturity is also something that Cannan has worked hard on. His freshman year, he thought he was a “hotshot” and was pinned. During the 2023 GMVWA Holiday Wrestling tournament at the beginning of this year he placed eighth in his weight class. He knew that he needed to mature more mentally to get the results he wanted, and he knew he needed to hit the gym to get stronger.

To keep his competitiveness up, Chillicothe and Cannan have traveled to other invitationals located in places like Sheridan and Mount Vernon, not just in southeast Ohio, and have practiced with schools like Lancaster.

“I want to find guys who want to get better with me,” said Cannan.

As Cannan keeps improving and beating record after record, he has a few other goals in mind.”

“I would love to win a national title in April, Cannan said. “That’s a big goal of mine right now and to try to get noticed by some of these big colleges, I would love to get a call from the big-name college.”

Cannan not only jumped three weight classes his sophomore year, from 113 to 132, crediting time he spent in the weight room and his drive to win and bet records, but he also has studied his opponents.

“I like to scout,” said Cannan. “See the differences between last year and this year. It is also amazing to win after putting in all that work. While I used to think it was a way to get my dad’s attention when my brother was winning when he was younger, it’s just the sweet part of all the hard work.”

Cannan’s wrestling style is hard for both him and his dad and coach Josh Smith to describe.

“I just let it fly,” Cannan said. “I look for opportunities. It is hard to pin as you go up in weight classes, so I look for those points.”

“He is an inside and outside guy that can do both very well,” Josh Smith said. “And that makes him very dangerous.”

It is his progression as not a good wrestler to one of the best wrestlers in Southeast Ohio that has had many bumps and turns, especially making the state finals his eighth-grade year.

“I had a broken kneecap my eighth grade year and I didn’t know about it,” Cannan said. “It showed how much I had jumped wrestling wise and none of us knew the extent until it still bothered me after state when they found out I had a patella fracture at the back of my knee cap.”

STATE BOUND

Through it all. It is through hard work and instinct to fight that Cannan won his Gallia District match and returned to the OHSAA State Tournament.

Going into the tournament Cannan felt a lot of pressure. Not only did he expect to win a State title, but others expected it as well.

Cannan admits that he thrives under the pressure and with pressure comes the opportunity to continue to do one’s best.

“It’s tough,” Canna said. “Honestly, the pressure is unlike any other I’ve been under, especially this season with all of the downs that we’ve had and all that it was extremely, extremely hard. But as soon as I stepped on that mat all the pressure just melted away. With pressure comes opportunity.”

Going up weight classes Cannan knew stronger and better competition would be around the corner.

“It’s fun chasing that title, the work is the best part of it,” Cannan said.

On Friday night, Cannan’s first match would go quickly, defeating Lousiville’s Aric Criss by pin 53 seconds into the third round to guarantee a spot for the second day of competitions.

His second match went almost as smoothly against Chaminade-Julienne with a 16-1 tech fall, Cannan seemed to be on a roll. However, his championship semifinals match did not go as smoothly as he wanted with a pin by Howland’s senior Adam Heckman midway through the second period.

“Obviously I got out wrestled, out strengthened, and out of time,” Cannan said. “You can’t dwell on it too much or that is gonna mess with your head and you are not able to compete.”

However, Cannan did take that loss to heart. While going for the top spot, he and his dad Josh Smith worked on a game plan, but unfortunately that game plan did not work. Cannan admitted that he didn’t wrestle the way he normally wrestles, and the first thing he thought of was his dad. Saying “I’m sorry” after the match.

“It was a tough moment,” Cannan said. “The first thing I thought was that I failed my dad.”

That feeling of failure did not last. Cannan returned to his winning streak. While not able to take first, he knew he still could make school history as a repeat third place champion. Cannan did just that. Defeating Cuyahoga Falls’ Dylan Hart in a semifinal consolation match 11-4 and ultimately pinning Franklin’s Tucker Campbell to solidify a third-place victory.

Pointing his hands to the sky, Cannan dedicated his win to his grandfather, whom he worked hard to make proud all season.

Overall, the experience is something Cannan will take and learn from.

“I learned that I have to keep my head on straight.”

ALL IN THE FAMILY, FATHER AND COACH

Throughout Cannan’s career one thing has been certain, his dad Josh Smith has been right by his side, first as a father then as a coach. After longtime coach Mike Peck stepped down, Smith took up the challenge to not only coach his son, but to help continue and build upon what former Coach Peck had started the past few years at Chillicothe.

Josh is no stranger to local wrestling. He wrestled at Mt. Logan Middle School and continued in high school with Chillicothe High School wrestling for coach Craig Fournier.

“He helped develop my passion for wrestling,” Josh said. “He’s the one that got me to buy into what it takes to be a successful wrestler. The biggest thing he taught me was mental toughness and the sacrifices needed to be a successful wrestler.”

Wrestling has gone deep in the Smith family with Josh’s uncle Mike McMahon was a state qualifier in wrestling in the 1970s.

“My Uncle Mike and Tim, his brother, were my coaches in middle school,” said Josh. “They got me to wrestle.”

Josh Smith has an impressive local wrestling record, competing for Chillicothe from 1995 to 1998. Josh had 120 wins, 59 pins, and 385 takedowns. He was named OCC-Central Division champion while becoming the second wrestler in school history to place at state with a third-place win. After high school he would go on to wrestle for Coach Joel Greenlee at Ohio University.

Josh would come back after college to assist the high school and help shape successful Chillicothe wrestlers like Adam Steele.

After Cannan was born and started wrestling, Josh started helping more and coaching with Little Cavs and then started First Capital Wrestling Club in Chillicothe as the boys became more and more serious about traveling more to find great competition.

With his experience Josh knew he was ready for the head coaching position at Chillicothe.

“It was a surprise when Peck stepped down,” said Josh. “I have high standards and it is hard to find coaches locally to take these kids to the next level. The facilities are not like they are up north. I also wanted to continue with those kids that I have grown with through the years. My track record is proven, and I know the sacrifice that needs to be a high-level coach and wrestler.”

Josh admits the sport constantly evolves and changes and that’s also a factor with seventh and eighth graders coming up that will help shape the future of Chillicothe wrestling.

“I have stretched my wings,” said Josh. “I have traveled and learned from a lot of great guys and high-level coaches through travels. We will travel so they can get beat and then pick those matches apart.”

Former Chillicothe wrestling coach Mike Peck believes that Josh is the right man to continue his legacy.

“Josh loves the sport of wrestling and Chillicothe High Schoo,” said Peck. “I knew the program was in good hands no matter what with Josh involved. His experiences as a wrestler in High School and college alone would have been enough however he has traveled the country year-round with his kids and others to compete and camps. He has continued to study the sport and it shows with the students he has coached over the years. The Smith family truly is a great example of a real wrestling family as they enjoy every moment of it.”

Along with Josh, he has Caleb Price by his side helping to guide the program. Price took eighth in the state tournament as a junior at Chillicothe with 111 wins, 56 pins, and 261 takedowns.

“He is one of the best wrestling minds in this area,” said Josh.

Josh’s goal is to get the kids from Little Cavs into middle and high school and to create a girls team with a separate coach. He has integrated the middle school with how the high school trains to get them up to par as they reach their varsity years.

As the 2023-2024 season concludes and prep continues, there seems to be no stopping the sophomore Chillicothe Phenom with the help of his coach and dad. The two time Jr. High State placer, two time third place OHSAA State placer, and CHS single season record holder in wins, pins and takedowns, is not just helping to build a program, but breaking down barriers. Josh will also continue to run wrestling through his First Capital Club with the help of his sons Cannan and Cael that will accept anyone and will start Greco and Freestyle wrestling training.

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