Area Grapplers Win Sectional Titles
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Jim Brenneman-
Warsaw's Justin Brooks (112 pounds) and Matt Elvidge (140) took first place, as did Braxton Riley (215) from Wawasee and Triton's Blake Hoffer (145).[[In-content Ad]]Warsaw
Justin Brooks had two wins by fall to take the championship at 112 pounds. In the finals he pinned Garth Simpson of Rochester in 1:28. Meanwhile Matt Elvidge (140) wrestled just the semifinal match to grab the championship. Andy Hacha of Plymouth forfeited in the finals due to illness.
Andy Keener (152) suffered his first loss of the season when he was pinned in the closing seconds of the championship bout. Keener had been dominating Culver Academy's Kevin Dobbyn with a 12-5 lead. However, with just a half minute remaining, Dobbyn managed to tie Keener up in a cradle. The Tiger coaches could see it coming and shouted warnings, but Keener tightly bundled up and Dobbyn scored the fall with only four seconds left on the clock.
"At this point, as we enter the tournament for the state championship - from now on - everybody is good, and you cannot make mistakes," said Warsaw coach Tony Boley. "Andy made a mistake and got caught."
Boley went on to say, "We need to be taking it to every opponent, building a big lead in the score. If the score is low, the other guy just doesn't give up, but if we dominate and get points he will lose hope. You can't give anyone a second chance. If we get someone in a pinning combination we need to finish it."
Adam Keener (145) also took runner-up honors. In the semifinals, the younger Keener edged Tippecanoe Valley's Kyle Horn 6-4. During that bout Keener aggravated his injured foot and was forced to bow out of the final match, giving the win to Triton's Blake Hoffer by injury default.
Steven Palladino (125) took second after winning two matches earlier in the day. In the finals he lost 7-1 to Chase Lewandowski of Plymouth.
Paul Manbu (130) avenged a loss earlier in the season when he defeated Plymouth's James Letsinger in the semifinals. The Tiger sophomore lost in the championship to Culver Academy's Daniel Young in a 16-4 major decision.
Tyler Wetzel (103) pinned Valley's Ethan Harshman in the semifinal round, but then in the finals Wetzel was pinned by Rochester's Jacob Schroder in 1:05.
Tippecanoe Valley
The Valley wrestlers had five third-place finishers and two fourths to advance seven to the regional.
Ethan Harshman (103) was awarded third place and Taylor Judy (112) took third by pinning Ethan Starke of Bremen.
Austin Nelson defeated Culver Academy's Josh Brown 9-3 for third place while Daniel Kerkhoff scored a fall earlier in the day before losing in the semifinals to the eventual champion, Jordan Schultz of Rochester.
Kerkhoff came back with two more wins. First, he pinned Wawasee's Ethan Eastway to reach the consolation finals, where he defeated Triton's Zach Clark in a narrow 6-5 decision to earn third place.
Elijoe Yoder (152) and Jason Yoder (215) both had fourth place finishes.
Elijoe Yoder first lost to Josh Vallejo of Wawasee, 10-6, but he came back to nail Plymouth's Scott Bradley in 1:57 before losing to Vallejo a second time.
Jason Yoder had a fall in 1:33 against Cody Gamble of Rochester, but then he was defeated by the champ, Braxton Riley of Wawasee. Yoder got a win against the Academy's Jack Crawford but was up-ended in the consolation finals by Bremen's Nate McKenzie.
Wawasee
Riley (215) was the lone champion for the Wawasee Warriors. Riley fought his way to the finals by pinning Tommy James of Culver Community in 45 seconds and Valley's Jason Yoder in 1:21. In the finals, the referee saw too much pushing and shoving between Riley and Plymouth's Drew Flora. Stalling penalties were assessed several times against both wrestlers. In the final period Riley took control, scoring three takedowns for a 10-7 victory.
Bobby Marcuccilli (119) scored two falls to reach the finals, where he was narrowly edged by Culver Community's Jesse Good. Marcuccilli could not find an opening against the Culver senior until the third period, when the Warrior freshman tied the score with a takedown. Good came back with a reversal and won by a 5-4 margin.
Josh Vallejo (152) and Paul Xanders (189) each finished in third. Vallejo lost to the eventual champion, Kevin Dobbyn, in the semifinals. However, he had three other wins to wind-up in third place.
Paul Xanders (189) took third by pinning Chris Fitzpatrick of the Academy in 4:32 before losing to Triton's Chad Ulmer. In the consolation rounds, Xanders came back to pin Phillip Miller of Rochester in 1:40 and Matt Kornblith of Culver Community in 1:22 to grab third place.
Jake Jones (285) had a couple of quick pins but he lost in the semifinals to the champion from Plymouth, Justin Deurloo. Previously Jones had recorded a fall in 40 seconds against Culver Community's Jacob Sheridan. In a consolation match, Jones pinned Valley's Eric Salyer in 14 seconds, but then he was pinned in the finals by Jeremy Dawson of Triton.
Triton
Hoffer (145), now at 36-1, was the Triton champion. Like Elvidge of Warsaw, Hoffer got the championship with just one victory on the mat. In the semifinal round he pinned Culver Academy's Cameron Crowell in 38 seconds. Hoffer was awarded the championship after Warsaw's Adam Keener bowed out due to an injury.
Chad Ulmer (189) settled for second place when was edged out by Plymouth's John Popi. It was an on-going struggle for hand control, littered with stalling warnings on both wrestlers, but Ulmer came out on the short end, losing 2-1.
Jeremy Dawson (285) earned third place when he pinned Jake Jones of Wawasee. Earlier, Dawson had pinned the same victims who had also fallen to Jones, but when the two heavyweights met each other on the mat, Dawson got the win in 3:36.
Jason Thompson (135), Dylan Senff (140), and Zach Clark (160) each advanced to the regional with fourth-place finishes.
Three wrestlers from local schools took fifth place, and are waiting in the wings as alternates, including Warsaw's Salvador Devia (135), Valley's Isaac Yoder (140), and Wawasee's Ethan Eastway (160).
The 24 area who wrestlers finished among the top four now advance to the South Bend Clay Regional Saturday, with wrestling beginning at 9:30 a.m.
Team scores - Rochester 233; Plymouth 224.5; Warsaw 172; Culver Academy 166.5; Tippecanoe Valley 152; Wawasee 128; Triton 117; Bremen 81; Culver Community 72
(Individual Results for Regional Qualifiers [and Alternate])
103 - Jacob Schroder (Rochester) pinned Tyler Wetzel (Warsaw), 1:05
Ethan Harshman (Tippecanoe Valley), ff
112 - Justin Brooks (War) pinned Garth Simpson (R), 1:26
Taylor Judy (TV) pinned Ethan Starke (Bremen), 3:49 [Roach -Plymouth]
119 - Jesse Good (Culver Community) def. Bobby Marcuccilli (Wawasee), 5-4
Chuck Holmquest (P) def. Luke Huskins (R), 2-1 [Ostergren -Culver Academy]
125 - Chase Lewandowski (P) def. Steven Palladino (War), 7-1
Austin Nelson (TV) def. Josh Brown (CA), 9-3 [Purkey -R]
130 - Daniel Young (CA) def. Paul Manbu (War), 16-4
James Letsinger (P) def. Derek Nelson (R), 3-1 [Bogart -B]
135 - Zack Naas (P) def. Alex Canacci (CA, 18-3 tech fall
Artie Shidler (R) def. Jason Thompson (Triton) 10-0 maj. [Devia -War]
140 - Matt Elvidge (War) def. Andy Hacha (P), inj.
David Pitts (R) def. Dylan Senff (Tri), 14-6 maj [Yoder -TV]
145 - Blake Hoffer (Tri) def. Adam Keener (War), inj.
Kyle Horn (TV) def. Cameron Crowell (CA), 15-1 maj. [Murphy -R]
152 - Kevin Dobbyn (CA) pinned Andy Keener (War), 5:56
Josh Vallejo (Waw) def. Elijoe Yoder (TV), 6-5 [Bradley -P]
160 - Jordan Schultz (R) def. Shaun Sahlhoff (B), 4-1
Daniel Kerkhoff (TV) def. Zach Clark (Tri), 6-5 [Eastway -Waw]
171 - Branden James (CA) pinned Marc Troutman (R), 2:31
Robert Molebash (Cul Com) def. Scott Barry (P), 11-2 maj [Bauters -TV]
189 - John Popi (P) def. Chad Ulmer (Tri), 2-1
Paul Xanders (Waw) pinned Matt Kornblith (Cul Com), 1:22 [Miller -R]
215 - Braxton Riley (Waw) def. Drew Flora (P), 10-7
Nate McKenzie (B) pinned Jason Yoder (TV), 3:48 [Gambel -R]
285 - Justin Deurloo (P) pinned Ben Long (R), 3:15
Jeremy Dawson (Tri) pinned Jake Jones (Waw), 3:36 [Sheridan -Cul Com]
Warsaw's Justin Brooks (112 pounds) and Matt Elvidge (140) took first place, as did Braxton Riley (215) from Wawasee and Triton's Blake Hoffer (145).[[In-content Ad]]Warsaw
Justin Brooks had two wins by fall to take the championship at 112 pounds. In the finals he pinned Garth Simpson of Rochester in 1:28. Meanwhile Matt Elvidge (140) wrestled just the semifinal match to grab the championship. Andy Hacha of Plymouth forfeited in the finals due to illness.
Andy Keener (152) suffered his first loss of the season when he was pinned in the closing seconds of the championship bout. Keener had been dominating Culver Academy's Kevin Dobbyn with a 12-5 lead. However, with just a half minute remaining, Dobbyn managed to tie Keener up in a cradle. The Tiger coaches could see it coming and shouted warnings, but Keener tightly bundled up and Dobbyn scored the fall with only four seconds left on the clock.
"At this point, as we enter the tournament for the state championship - from now on - everybody is good, and you cannot make mistakes," said Warsaw coach Tony Boley. "Andy made a mistake and got caught."
Boley went on to say, "We need to be taking it to every opponent, building a big lead in the score. If the score is low, the other guy just doesn't give up, but if we dominate and get points he will lose hope. You can't give anyone a second chance. If we get someone in a pinning combination we need to finish it."
Adam Keener (145) also took runner-up honors. In the semifinals, the younger Keener edged Tippecanoe Valley's Kyle Horn 6-4. During that bout Keener aggravated his injured foot and was forced to bow out of the final match, giving the win to Triton's Blake Hoffer by injury default.
Steven Palladino (125) took second after winning two matches earlier in the day. In the finals he lost 7-1 to Chase Lewandowski of Plymouth.
Paul Manbu (130) avenged a loss earlier in the season when he defeated Plymouth's James Letsinger in the semifinals. The Tiger sophomore lost in the championship to Culver Academy's Daniel Young in a 16-4 major decision.
Tyler Wetzel (103) pinned Valley's Ethan Harshman in the semifinal round, but then in the finals Wetzel was pinned by Rochester's Jacob Schroder in 1:05.
Tippecanoe Valley
The Valley wrestlers had five third-place finishers and two fourths to advance seven to the regional.
Ethan Harshman (103) was awarded third place and Taylor Judy (112) took third by pinning Ethan Starke of Bremen.
Austin Nelson defeated Culver Academy's Josh Brown 9-3 for third place while Daniel Kerkhoff scored a fall earlier in the day before losing in the semifinals to the eventual champion, Jordan Schultz of Rochester.
Kerkhoff came back with two more wins. First, he pinned Wawasee's Ethan Eastway to reach the consolation finals, where he defeated Triton's Zach Clark in a narrow 6-5 decision to earn third place.
Elijoe Yoder (152) and Jason Yoder (215) both had fourth place finishes.
Elijoe Yoder first lost to Josh Vallejo of Wawasee, 10-6, but he came back to nail Plymouth's Scott Bradley in 1:57 before losing to Vallejo a second time.
Jason Yoder had a fall in 1:33 against Cody Gamble of Rochester, but then he was defeated by the champ, Braxton Riley of Wawasee. Yoder got a win against the Academy's Jack Crawford but was up-ended in the consolation finals by Bremen's Nate McKenzie.
Wawasee
Riley (215) was the lone champion for the Wawasee Warriors. Riley fought his way to the finals by pinning Tommy James of Culver Community in 45 seconds and Valley's Jason Yoder in 1:21. In the finals, the referee saw too much pushing and shoving between Riley and Plymouth's Drew Flora. Stalling penalties were assessed several times against both wrestlers. In the final period Riley took control, scoring three takedowns for a 10-7 victory.
Bobby Marcuccilli (119) scored two falls to reach the finals, where he was narrowly edged by Culver Community's Jesse Good. Marcuccilli could not find an opening against the Culver senior until the third period, when the Warrior freshman tied the score with a takedown. Good came back with a reversal and won by a 5-4 margin.
Josh Vallejo (152) and Paul Xanders (189) each finished in third. Vallejo lost to the eventual champion, Kevin Dobbyn, in the semifinals. However, he had three other wins to wind-up in third place.
Paul Xanders (189) took third by pinning Chris Fitzpatrick of the Academy in 4:32 before losing to Triton's Chad Ulmer. In the consolation rounds, Xanders came back to pin Phillip Miller of Rochester in 1:40 and Matt Kornblith of Culver Community in 1:22 to grab third place.
Jake Jones (285) had a couple of quick pins but he lost in the semifinals to the champion from Plymouth, Justin Deurloo. Previously Jones had recorded a fall in 40 seconds against Culver Community's Jacob Sheridan. In a consolation match, Jones pinned Valley's Eric Salyer in 14 seconds, but then he was pinned in the finals by Jeremy Dawson of Triton.
Triton
Hoffer (145), now at 36-1, was the Triton champion. Like Elvidge of Warsaw, Hoffer got the championship with just one victory on the mat. In the semifinal round he pinned Culver Academy's Cameron Crowell in 38 seconds. Hoffer was awarded the championship after Warsaw's Adam Keener bowed out due to an injury.
Chad Ulmer (189) settled for second place when was edged out by Plymouth's John Popi. It was an on-going struggle for hand control, littered with stalling warnings on both wrestlers, but Ulmer came out on the short end, losing 2-1.
Jeremy Dawson (285) earned third place when he pinned Jake Jones of Wawasee. Earlier, Dawson had pinned the same victims who had also fallen to Jones, but when the two heavyweights met each other on the mat, Dawson got the win in 3:36.
Jason Thompson (135), Dylan Senff (140), and Zach Clark (160) each advanced to the regional with fourth-place finishes.
Three wrestlers from local schools took fifth place, and are waiting in the wings as alternates, including Warsaw's Salvador Devia (135), Valley's Isaac Yoder (140), and Wawasee's Ethan Eastway (160).
The 24 area who wrestlers finished among the top four now advance to the South Bend Clay Regional Saturday, with wrestling beginning at 9:30 a.m.
Team scores - Rochester 233; Plymouth 224.5; Warsaw 172; Culver Academy 166.5; Tippecanoe Valley 152; Wawasee 128; Triton 117; Bremen 81; Culver Community 72
(Individual Results for Regional Qualifiers [and Alternate])
103 - Jacob Schroder (Rochester) pinned Tyler Wetzel (Warsaw), 1:05
Ethan Harshman (Tippecanoe Valley), ff
112 - Justin Brooks (War) pinned Garth Simpson (R), 1:26
Taylor Judy (TV) pinned Ethan Starke (Bremen), 3:49 [Roach -Plymouth]
119 - Jesse Good (Culver Community) def. Bobby Marcuccilli (Wawasee), 5-4
Chuck Holmquest (P) def. Luke Huskins (R), 2-1 [Ostergren -Culver Academy]
125 - Chase Lewandowski (P) def. Steven Palladino (War), 7-1
Austin Nelson (TV) def. Josh Brown (CA), 9-3 [Purkey -R]
130 - Daniel Young (CA) def. Paul Manbu (War), 16-4
James Letsinger (P) def. Derek Nelson (R), 3-1 [Bogart -B]
135 - Zack Naas (P) def. Alex Canacci (CA, 18-3 tech fall
Artie Shidler (R) def. Jason Thompson (Triton) 10-0 maj. [Devia -War]
140 - Matt Elvidge (War) def. Andy Hacha (P), inj.
David Pitts (R) def. Dylan Senff (Tri), 14-6 maj [Yoder -TV]
145 - Blake Hoffer (Tri) def. Adam Keener (War), inj.
Kyle Horn (TV) def. Cameron Crowell (CA), 15-1 maj. [Murphy -R]
152 - Kevin Dobbyn (CA) pinned Andy Keener (War), 5:56
Josh Vallejo (Waw) def. Elijoe Yoder (TV), 6-5 [Bradley -P]
160 - Jordan Schultz (R) def. Shaun Sahlhoff (B), 4-1
Daniel Kerkhoff (TV) def. Zach Clark (Tri), 6-5 [Eastway -Waw]
171 - Branden James (CA) pinned Marc Troutman (R), 2:31
Robert Molebash (Cul Com) def. Scott Barry (P), 11-2 maj [Bauters -TV]
189 - John Popi (P) def. Chad Ulmer (Tri), 2-1
Paul Xanders (Waw) pinned Matt Kornblith (Cul Com), 1:22 [Miller -R]
215 - Braxton Riley (Waw) def. Drew Flora (P), 10-7
Nate McKenzie (B) pinned Jason Yoder (TV), 3:48 [Gambel -R]
285 - Justin Deurloo (P) pinned Ben Long (R), 3:15
Jeremy Dawson (Tri) pinned Jake Jones (Waw), 3:36 [Sheridan -Cul Com]
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