Area Wrestlers Capture Conference Titles
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Jim Brenneman-
Among the area champions, four came from Warsaw and one from Wawasee in the Northern Lakes Conference. At the Three Rivers Conference meet, Whitko produced seven champions and Tippecanoe Valley came away with two.
NLC
Elkhart Memorial finished first (239.5) in NLC team standings, blowing out the rest of the field.
A Charger placed in every single weight class, and four of the champions were from Memorial. Runner-up Goshen (173), a strong, balanced team, had no champions, but did place in every weight class except one.
Warsaw (132) finished in fifth place, equaling Memorial's champ total, while Wawasee (78) was eighth.
Warsaw
Warsaw's freshman dynamo, Jarred Brooks (103) nailed two opponents in less than a minute on his way to the championship round.
Once in the finals, on the strength of five takedowns, he beat Memorial's Mike Moore 10-3, besting Moore for the third time this season.
"I came with good focus and intensity, because I knew he would be up for the match," Jarred Brooks said.
The seven-point victory over last year's conference champ was the widest margin of the three meetings between the two.
"He wrestled like an animal," Jarred's older brother, Justin, said. "He has changed. It is the best he has wrestled all year. He just didn't stop. He has changed in the room too, becoming more intense in the way he practices. He is growing. He is starting to hit it. He stepped up today, and he really impressed me."
Warsaw's first year coach, Justin Smith seconded the motion.
"I would echo the statement that Justin made after Jarred's match, that it was probably some of the best wrestling that Jarred has done all season, a great job," Smith said.
Speaking of Justin Brooks, Smith noted, "He was dominant and this was just another arena for him to prove his skills."
At 119 pounds, Justin took his fourth NLC Championship, winning in previous years at 103 and twice at 112.
Saturday, Justin pinned all of his opponents in the first period, including his championship victory over Tim Wider of Memorial in 1:57. Prior to scoring the fall, Justin racked up a 12-5 lead by means of his relentless leg attack.
It was a first-time conference championship for Paul Manbu (135), who previously had finished in fourth and as a runner-up.
Manbu reached the finals by means of a first-period fall in his opening match and 15-4 major decision in the semi-finals.
To end the day, two takedowns and a reversal were just enough points to eke out a 6-5 win over Chase Lewandowski of Plymouth, earning Manbu the blue ribbon.
"Paul struggled a bit but he still pulled out the victory," Smith said. "He will get things shaped up next week and be ready for sectional."
The fourth Tiger champion was Adam Keener (152) of whom the coach said, "He had a low point, and some of his efforts weren't working, but he kept wrestling and he caught the kid. He got him where he wanted him and finished like a senior should."
"I felt pretty good throughout the match," Keener said. "I had some struggles and I was more frustrated than I was tired. So in aspects of conditioning I have improved a lot. It is always hard losing that first takedown, so wrestling from behind I didn't have a chance to catch my breath, but I just kept going and I got him."
After giving up that opening takedown, Keener escaped and nailed a takedown of his own to grab the lead. He stretched the advantage to 7-4 in the second period, and then in the final stanza he pinned Concord's Jose Gonzales at 4:47.
Along with the four champions, four other Tigers earned place awards.
"Any time you can have eight placers, especially four champions, that's a pretty good day," Smith said. "Our four veterans were No. 1 seeds. They came here, and they did their job. The younger kids also pulled out some great matches."
"Zac Erba (160) had a really great day, although he's been struggling as of late," noted the coach. "Today he won two tough matches and he did some shooting [for takedowns], which has been his Achilles heel for most of the season."
The Warsaw coach was also pleased with some of his other guys.
"Kyle Duzan is an interesting story," Smith said. "He didn't really get into it all day long, because he had lost again to guys he fell to earlier in the season. He comes out for his placement match though and just sticks the kid in the first period. I was happy to see him accomplish that. It will help build his confidence going into the sectional."
"Jordan Horney wrestled well, but he made some mental mistakes,"Smith added. "Sometimes he lets his emotions get ahead of his wrestling. He was well ahead in his last match and the guy tied it up, but Jordan was able to come back in overtime and win it."
Wawasee
For the Wawasee Warriors, it's been a long season, but coach Scott DeHart got some nice individual performances at the meet.
"We brought 11 kids and placed seven of them," DeHart said. "I thought we had a really good day."
Wawasee's champion was Bobby Marcuccilli (130) who had early wins by fall and major decision. In the championship, he dominated Goshen's Trey Rogers, scoring a takedown and a nearfall before locking up the fall at 1:58.
Other Warriors who placed included Josh Gohlke (112, 6th), Kyle Clevenger (125, 6th), Ryan Lindsey (135, 5th), Ethan Eastway (145, 3rd), Tom Schwartz (215, 3rd) and Dimitris Kaplanis (285, 5th).
"We have improved tremendously since the beginning of the year, keeping in mind that we are putting eight freshmen on the mat," DeHart said. "It is just a matter of getting them better each week, and I think they have done that. We are as ready as we're going to be. So we need a good week of practice and then we'll head in and roll the dice."
The final "Round Robin" NLC standings left three teams tied for fifth place. Memorial was first (13-0 overall/7-0 NLC) with 16 points, then Goshen (20-3/5-2) 13, Northridge (14-4/5-2) 12, and Concord (15-7/5-2) 11. The three-way tie for fifth was between NorthWood (7-12/3-4) 6, Plymouth (14-11/2-5) 6, and Warsaw (13-8/1-6) 6, with Wawasee finishing in eighth place (7-23/0-7) 2.
For all high school wrestling teams, competition for the State Championship begins Saturday, as Tippecanoe Valley joins Warsaw and Wawasee in heading to the Plymouth sectional, while the rest of the NLC teams will be at Elkhart Memorial. Whitko competes in the sectional at Fort Wayne Carroll.
TRC
The Whitko Wildcats ran away with the Three Rivers Conference championship, winning half of the titles.
Whitko had eleven in the finals and seven champions, including Jordan Gilbert (112), Dylan LeToruneau (119), Daniel Rothgeb (125), Nick Cox (130), Jarrod Lewis (160), Tanner Larocque (189) and Drake Brainard (285).
Tippecanoe Valley finished third behind Southwood, and two Viking grapplers came away with championships.
Isaac Yoder (152) and Daniel Kerkhoff (171) each defeated a Whitko wrestler in the finals.
ELKHART MEMORIAL 239.5, GOSHEN 173, NORTHRIDGE 167, CONCORD 150, WARSAW 132, PLYMOUTH 130.5, NORTHWOOD 106, WAWASEE 78
(NLC Championships, Area Finals Matches)
103 - Ja. Brooks (War, 1st) def. Moore (EM), 10-3; 112 - Duzan (War, 5th) pin. Gohlke (Waw), :43; 119 - Ju. Brooks (War, 1st) pin. Wider (EM), 1:57; 125 - Horney (War, 5th) def. Clevenger (WAW), 13-12 ot; 130 - Marcuccilli (Waw, 1st) pin. Rogers (G), 1:59; 135 - Manbu (War, 1st) def. Lewandowski (P), 6-5; Lindsey 5th (Waw, 5th) def. Converse (CON), 9-6; 145 - Eastway (Waw, 3rd) def. Erickson (P), 7-3; 152 - Keener (War, 1st) pin. Gonzalez (C), 4:47; 160 - Erba (War) pin. Tomasik (P), 4:35; 171 - Barry (P) def. Hoover (War, 6th), 6-1; 215 - Schwartz (Waw, 3rd) pin. Smith (NW), 2:53; 285 - Kaplanis (Waw, 5th) def. Waterman (EM), 3-1
WHITKO 281.5, SOUTHWOOD 193, TIPPECANOE VALLEY 162, NORTHFIELD 157, ROCHESTER 156.5, WABASH 118, NORTH MIAMI 108; MANCHESTER 79
(TRC Championships. Area Finals Matches)
103 - Schroder (R) pin. A. LeTourneau (Wh), 3:42; Fincher (TV, 3rd) def. Poole (N), 7-2; 112 - Gilbert (Wh) def. Simpson (R), 4-2 ot; Chamberlain (N) pin. Armstrong (TV, 6th), 2:29; 119 - D. LeTourneau (Wh) pin. Williams (Wab), 4:58; 125 - Rothgeb (Wh) major dec. Justin Louck (S), 16-6; Judy (TV, 3rd) dq. Hunt (Wab); 130 - Cox (Wh) def. Austin Nelson (TV), 7-5 ot; 135 - Tr. Bauters (TV, 3rd) major dec. Brainard (S), 13-4; Bays (Wh, 5th) pin, Bryce Pyrah (M), 1:00; 140 - Dickey (S) def. Feasby 4th (Wh, 4th), default; Niccum (Wab) pin. Cook (TV, 6th),0 :51; 145 - Shidler (R) def. Ryan Busz (Wh, 2nd), 9-8; 152 - I. Yoder (TV, 1st) pin. Cort Walter (Wh), 1:28
160 Jarrod Lewis (WK) pinned Dew Fuller (NM), 1:56; Enyeart (S) pin. TJ Bauters (TV, 6th), 2:02; 171 - Kerkhoff (TV, 1st) def. Austin Striggle (Wh), 7-3; 189 - Larocque (Wh, 1st) pin. Stout (S), 3:38; Shafer (N) pin. R. Bauters (TV, 4th), 1:57; 285 - Brainard (Wh, 1st) def. Austin Urschel (S), default[[In-content Ad]]
Among the area champions, four came from Warsaw and one from Wawasee in the Northern Lakes Conference. At the Three Rivers Conference meet, Whitko produced seven champions and Tippecanoe Valley came away with two.
NLC
Elkhart Memorial finished first (239.5) in NLC team standings, blowing out the rest of the field.
A Charger placed in every single weight class, and four of the champions were from Memorial. Runner-up Goshen (173), a strong, balanced team, had no champions, but did place in every weight class except one.
Warsaw (132) finished in fifth place, equaling Memorial's champ total, while Wawasee (78) was eighth.
Warsaw
Warsaw's freshman dynamo, Jarred Brooks (103) nailed two opponents in less than a minute on his way to the championship round.
Once in the finals, on the strength of five takedowns, he beat Memorial's Mike Moore 10-3, besting Moore for the third time this season.
"I came with good focus and intensity, because I knew he would be up for the match," Jarred Brooks said.
The seven-point victory over last year's conference champ was the widest margin of the three meetings between the two.
"He wrestled like an animal," Jarred's older brother, Justin, said. "He has changed. It is the best he has wrestled all year. He just didn't stop. He has changed in the room too, becoming more intense in the way he practices. He is growing. He is starting to hit it. He stepped up today, and he really impressed me."
Warsaw's first year coach, Justin Smith seconded the motion.
"I would echo the statement that Justin made after Jarred's match, that it was probably some of the best wrestling that Jarred has done all season, a great job," Smith said.
Speaking of Justin Brooks, Smith noted, "He was dominant and this was just another arena for him to prove his skills."
At 119 pounds, Justin took his fourth NLC Championship, winning in previous years at 103 and twice at 112.
Saturday, Justin pinned all of his opponents in the first period, including his championship victory over Tim Wider of Memorial in 1:57. Prior to scoring the fall, Justin racked up a 12-5 lead by means of his relentless leg attack.
It was a first-time conference championship for Paul Manbu (135), who previously had finished in fourth and as a runner-up.
Manbu reached the finals by means of a first-period fall in his opening match and 15-4 major decision in the semi-finals.
To end the day, two takedowns and a reversal were just enough points to eke out a 6-5 win over Chase Lewandowski of Plymouth, earning Manbu the blue ribbon.
"Paul struggled a bit but he still pulled out the victory," Smith said. "He will get things shaped up next week and be ready for sectional."
The fourth Tiger champion was Adam Keener (152) of whom the coach said, "He had a low point, and some of his efforts weren't working, but he kept wrestling and he caught the kid. He got him where he wanted him and finished like a senior should."
"I felt pretty good throughout the match," Keener said. "I had some struggles and I was more frustrated than I was tired. So in aspects of conditioning I have improved a lot. It is always hard losing that first takedown, so wrestling from behind I didn't have a chance to catch my breath, but I just kept going and I got him."
After giving up that opening takedown, Keener escaped and nailed a takedown of his own to grab the lead. He stretched the advantage to 7-4 in the second period, and then in the final stanza he pinned Concord's Jose Gonzales at 4:47.
Along with the four champions, four other Tigers earned place awards.
"Any time you can have eight placers, especially four champions, that's a pretty good day," Smith said. "Our four veterans were No. 1 seeds. They came here, and they did their job. The younger kids also pulled out some great matches."
"Zac Erba (160) had a really great day, although he's been struggling as of late," noted the coach. "Today he won two tough matches and he did some shooting [for takedowns], which has been his Achilles heel for most of the season."
The Warsaw coach was also pleased with some of his other guys.
"Kyle Duzan is an interesting story," Smith said. "He didn't really get into it all day long, because he had lost again to guys he fell to earlier in the season. He comes out for his placement match though and just sticks the kid in the first period. I was happy to see him accomplish that. It will help build his confidence going into the sectional."
"Jordan Horney wrestled well, but he made some mental mistakes,"Smith added. "Sometimes he lets his emotions get ahead of his wrestling. He was well ahead in his last match and the guy tied it up, but Jordan was able to come back in overtime and win it."
Wawasee
For the Wawasee Warriors, it's been a long season, but coach Scott DeHart got some nice individual performances at the meet.
"We brought 11 kids and placed seven of them," DeHart said. "I thought we had a really good day."
Wawasee's champion was Bobby Marcuccilli (130) who had early wins by fall and major decision. In the championship, he dominated Goshen's Trey Rogers, scoring a takedown and a nearfall before locking up the fall at 1:58.
Other Warriors who placed included Josh Gohlke (112, 6th), Kyle Clevenger (125, 6th), Ryan Lindsey (135, 5th), Ethan Eastway (145, 3rd), Tom Schwartz (215, 3rd) and Dimitris Kaplanis (285, 5th).
"We have improved tremendously since the beginning of the year, keeping in mind that we are putting eight freshmen on the mat," DeHart said. "It is just a matter of getting them better each week, and I think they have done that. We are as ready as we're going to be. So we need a good week of practice and then we'll head in and roll the dice."
The final "Round Robin" NLC standings left three teams tied for fifth place. Memorial was first (13-0 overall/7-0 NLC) with 16 points, then Goshen (20-3/5-2) 13, Northridge (14-4/5-2) 12, and Concord (15-7/5-2) 11. The three-way tie for fifth was between NorthWood (7-12/3-4) 6, Plymouth (14-11/2-5) 6, and Warsaw (13-8/1-6) 6, with Wawasee finishing in eighth place (7-23/0-7) 2.
For all high school wrestling teams, competition for the State Championship begins Saturday, as Tippecanoe Valley joins Warsaw and Wawasee in heading to the Plymouth sectional, while the rest of the NLC teams will be at Elkhart Memorial. Whitko competes in the sectional at Fort Wayne Carroll.
TRC
The Whitko Wildcats ran away with the Three Rivers Conference championship, winning half of the titles.
Whitko had eleven in the finals and seven champions, including Jordan Gilbert (112), Dylan LeToruneau (119), Daniel Rothgeb (125), Nick Cox (130), Jarrod Lewis (160), Tanner Larocque (189) and Drake Brainard (285).
Tippecanoe Valley finished third behind Southwood, and two Viking grapplers came away with championships.
Isaac Yoder (152) and Daniel Kerkhoff (171) each defeated a Whitko wrestler in the finals.
ELKHART MEMORIAL 239.5, GOSHEN 173, NORTHRIDGE 167, CONCORD 150, WARSAW 132, PLYMOUTH 130.5, NORTHWOOD 106, WAWASEE 78
(NLC Championships, Area Finals Matches)
103 - Ja. Brooks (War, 1st) def. Moore (EM), 10-3; 112 - Duzan (War, 5th) pin. Gohlke (Waw), :43; 119 - Ju. Brooks (War, 1st) pin. Wider (EM), 1:57; 125 - Horney (War, 5th) def. Clevenger (WAW), 13-12 ot; 130 - Marcuccilli (Waw, 1st) pin. Rogers (G), 1:59; 135 - Manbu (War, 1st) def. Lewandowski (P), 6-5; Lindsey 5th (Waw, 5th) def. Converse (CON), 9-6; 145 - Eastway (Waw, 3rd) def. Erickson (P), 7-3; 152 - Keener (War, 1st) pin. Gonzalez (C), 4:47; 160 - Erba (War) pin. Tomasik (P), 4:35; 171 - Barry (P) def. Hoover (War, 6th), 6-1; 215 - Schwartz (Waw, 3rd) pin. Smith (NW), 2:53; 285 - Kaplanis (Waw, 5th) def. Waterman (EM), 3-1
WHITKO 281.5, SOUTHWOOD 193, TIPPECANOE VALLEY 162, NORTHFIELD 157, ROCHESTER 156.5, WABASH 118, NORTH MIAMI 108; MANCHESTER 79
(TRC Championships. Area Finals Matches)
103 - Schroder (R) pin. A. LeTourneau (Wh), 3:42; Fincher (TV, 3rd) def. Poole (N), 7-2; 112 - Gilbert (Wh) def. Simpson (R), 4-2 ot; Chamberlain (N) pin. Armstrong (TV, 6th), 2:29; 119 - D. LeTourneau (Wh) pin. Williams (Wab), 4:58; 125 - Rothgeb (Wh) major dec. Justin Louck (S), 16-6; Judy (TV, 3rd) dq. Hunt (Wab); 130 - Cox (Wh) def. Austin Nelson (TV), 7-5 ot; 135 - Tr. Bauters (TV, 3rd) major dec. Brainard (S), 13-4; Bays (Wh, 5th) pin, Bryce Pyrah (M), 1:00; 140 - Dickey (S) def. Feasby 4th (Wh, 4th), default; Niccum (Wab) pin. Cook (TV, 6th),0 :51; 145 - Shidler (R) def. Ryan Busz (Wh, 2nd), 9-8; 152 - I. Yoder (TV, 1st) pin. Cort Walter (Wh), 1:28
160 Jarrod Lewis (WK) pinned Dew Fuller (NM), 1:56; Enyeart (S) pin. TJ Bauters (TV, 6th), 2:02; 171 - Kerkhoff (TV, 1st) def. Austin Striggle (Wh), 7-3; 189 - Larocque (Wh, 1st) pin. Stout (S), 3:38; Shafer (N) pin. R. Bauters (TV, 4th), 1:57; 285 - Brainard (Wh, 1st) def. Austin Urschel (S), default[[In-content Ad]]
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