DeGood Is Great For Wawasee
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
SYRACUSE - Two of the Northern Lakes Conference wrestling powerhouses - Warsaw and Wawasee - collided Thursday evening.
At stake: Each team entered with spotless 6-0 records. Each team wanted to stay unblemished.
Even more at stake: A conference win.
Before Thursday, Warsaw and Wawasee dusted opponents as easily as they swatted flies away. Warsaw's closest match was a 45-24 win over Whitko. Wawasee's closest match was a 66-8 win over Northridge.
This one would be different. The final score would ride on the outcome of the last match of the evening. Wawasee won 34-24.
Wawasee advanced to the state finals last season. The Warriors are ranked 14th in the latest poll. Still, a 10-point match with Warsaw did not shock Wawasee coach Scott DeHart.
"I scored it as a close match two days ago after I watched (Warsaw) wrestle," he said. "Warsaw wrestled a good match. Coming in, (Warsaw) had nothing to lose. Warsaw had everything to gain."
All Tony Boley asked of his Warsaw wrestlers was this: Put us in a position where we have a chance to win.
His wrestlers obliged, from the time shrieks of "wanting it" erupted from their pregame huddle through the last match. A 34-24 score meant Boley could pick out two or three key moments.
He did.
Warsaw's Scott Snyder took 6-2 and 9-5 leads over Josh DeGood in the 103-pound match, the first match of the evening. DeGood rallied with four points - three coming on a near fall - in the last 10 seconds to win 10-9.
The crowd roared. Boley's hand clutched the back of his neck. He stared at the ground. He paced.
"We were hoping to be able to win at 103," he said. "We were four points ahead with 10 seconds left. (Wawasee) turned us. I questioned the three-point near fall. It looked like it was out of bounds to me. (Wawasee) ended up winning the match with no time on the clock. That really gave (Wawasee) momentum."
Warsaw's Tim Roe met Chet Wortinger in the 119-pound match. Boley thought Roe had a good shot to win the match. Roe made it last all six minutes, but Wortinger beat him 11-6.
"Take those two (103, 119) weight classes," Boley said. "We win those, it's a different ballgame."
Wawasee jumped out 12-0, but Warsaw's Robbie Boley beat Travis Coy 9-1 in the 125-pound match, and Tiger teammate Greg Patrick beat Jacen Hendricks 6-0 in the 130-pound match. Those back-to-back wins made it a match again at 12-7, a fact not lost on DeHart.
"The 103-pound match was a big match, sure it was," he said. "But I also thought 125 and 130 were swing matches. (Warsaw) got both of them."
Then there was Chris Wilson. Chris Wilson. All Warsaw's Chris Wilson did was lead Kevin A. Carr - a state finalist last year - for the first 4 1/2 minutes of the 160-pound match. Wilson briefly fell behind but regained a 7-6 lead with 1:11 left. Carr spoiled the upset bid by going up 8-7 with 56 seconds left and tacking on two more points in the last 10 seconds.
"At 160, we're wrestling a kid who's been a two-time state qualifier who I think finished fifth (actually fourth) at state last year," Boley said. "We had him beat. We got beat at the end again. We should have won."
Even with two or three hard-to-swallow losses, the Tigers pulled within 28-24 with one match to go, thanks to a Steve Fribley pin. Warsaw's Fribley pinned Jesse Leonard with five seconds left in their 189-pound match, closing Wawasee's lead from 28-15 to 28-21. Warsaw teammate Steve McKinley beat Tom Bryan 3-1 in the 215-pound match. Wawasee's lead shriveled to 28-24.
The heavyweights - Jamie Salazar and Joey Navarro - would settle it. Wawasee's Salazar won several key matches as the Warriors made their tournament run last year. Warsaw offered Navarro, a 203-pound sophomore who owned a 5-1 record despite clashing with wrestlers heavier than he.
On paper, advantage Wawasee. On the mat, win Wawasee. Salazar, a junior, pinned Navarro in 2:55.
"You have to like that the heavyweight goes in there and gets the job done," DeHart said. "That's important."
DeHart left this match talking about what his Warriors didn't do.
"Our kids performed OK," DeHart said. "When you put NLC teams together, you'll have a battle. I thought there were a couple of places we would get falls but didn't. I wasn't real pleased with a couple of performances."
Boley also left this match talking about what his Tigers didn't do.
"There are many different places we should have won," Boley said. "Give (Wawasee) credit. That's what good teams do. They know how to win. They have individuals who rise to the occasion.
"We did some things that weren't very smart today. We'll talk about it."
The Warriors, 7-0 overall and 3-0 in the NLC, host No. 12 Goshen on Tuesday.
The Tigers, 6-1 overall and 1-1 in the NLC, compete in the Lake Central Invitational on Saturday.
WAWASEE 34, WARSAW 24
Weight Result Running Team Score
103 pounds Josh DeGood (WAW) def. Scott Snyder 10-9 3-0 WAW
112 Kevin M. Carr (WAW) pinned David Sumpter, :29 9-0 WAW
119 Chet Wortinger (WAW) def. Tim Roe 11-6 12-0 WAW
125 Robbie Boley (WAR) def. Travis Coy 9-1 12-4 WAW
130 Greg Patrick (WAR) def. Jacen Hendricks 6-0 12-7 WAW
135 Ryan Johnson (WAW) pinned Richard Wolfe, 2:17 18-7 WAW
140 Aaron Banks (WAR) def. Tyler Cline 7-6 18-10 WAW
145 Matt Zellers (WAR) def. Shane Heimann 25-10 (technical fall) 18-15 WAW
152 J.J. Davis (WAW) def. Isaac Perry 8-4 21-15 WAW
160 Kevin A. Carr (WAW) def. Chris Wilson 10-7 24-15 WAW
171 Jason Carr (WAW) def. Marvin Farmer 15-4 (major decision) 28-15 WAW
189 Steve Fribley (WAR) pinned Jesse Leonard, 5:55 28-21 WAW
215 Steve McKinley (WAR) def. Tom Bryan 3-1 28-24 WAW
275 Jamie Salazar (WAW) pinned Joey Navarro, 2:55 34-24 WAW
Records: Wawasee 7-0 overall, 3-0 NLC; Warsaw 6-1 overall, 1-1 NLC
JV: WAWASEE (2-0) 22, WARSAW 5
Weight Result Running Team Score
130 pounds Nathan Goldenberg (WAW) pinned Sean Patrick, 1:37 6-0 WAW
140 Chris Cline (WAW) pinned Ryan Weidenbrenner, 1:45 12-0 WAW
145 Andrew Waugh (WAW) pinned Nate Milton, 1:46 18-0 WAW
160 Kris Hueber (WAR) def. Jason Dewart (technical fall) 18-5 WAW
189 Craig Jensen (WAW) def. Ryan Brennan 16-6 22-5 WAW [[In-content Ad]]
SYRACUSE - Two of the Northern Lakes Conference wrestling powerhouses - Warsaw and Wawasee - collided Thursday evening.
At stake: Each team entered with spotless 6-0 records. Each team wanted to stay unblemished.
Even more at stake: A conference win.
Before Thursday, Warsaw and Wawasee dusted opponents as easily as they swatted flies away. Warsaw's closest match was a 45-24 win over Whitko. Wawasee's closest match was a 66-8 win over Northridge.
This one would be different. The final score would ride on the outcome of the last match of the evening. Wawasee won 34-24.
Wawasee advanced to the state finals last season. The Warriors are ranked 14th in the latest poll. Still, a 10-point match with Warsaw did not shock Wawasee coach Scott DeHart.
"I scored it as a close match two days ago after I watched (Warsaw) wrestle," he said. "Warsaw wrestled a good match. Coming in, (Warsaw) had nothing to lose. Warsaw had everything to gain."
All Tony Boley asked of his Warsaw wrestlers was this: Put us in a position where we have a chance to win.
His wrestlers obliged, from the time shrieks of "wanting it" erupted from their pregame huddle through the last match. A 34-24 score meant Boley could pick out two or three key moments.
He did.
Warsaw's Scott Snyder took 6-2 and 9-5 leads over Josh DeGood in the 103-pound match, the first match of the evening. DeGood rallied with four points - three coming on a near fall - in the last 10 seconds to win 10-9.
The crowd roared. Boley's hand clutched the back of his neck. He stared at the ground. He paced.
"We were hoping to be able to win at 103," he said. "We were four points ahead with 10 seconds left. (Wawasee) turned us. I questioned the three-point near fall. It looked like it was out of bounds to me. (Wawasee) ended up winning the match with no time on the clock. That really gave (Wawasee) momentum."
Warsaw's Tim Roe met Chet Wortinger in the 119-pound match. Boley thought Roe had a good shot to win the match. Roe made it last all six minutes, but Wortinger beat him 11-6.
"Take those two (103, 119) weight classes," Boley said. "We win those, it's a different ballgame."
Wawasee jumped out 12-0, but Warsaw's Robbie Boley beat Travis Coy 9-1 in the 125-pound match, and Tiger teammate Greg Patrick beat Jacen Hendricks 6-0 in the 130-pound match. Those back-to-back wins made it a match again at 12-7, a fact not lost on DeHart.
"The 103-pound match was a big match, sure it was," he said. "But I also thought 125 and 130 were swing matches. (Warsaw) got both of them."
Then there was Chris Wilson. Chris Wilson. All Warsaw's Chris Wilson did was lead Kevin A. Carr - a state finalist last year - for the first 4 1/2 minutes of the 160-pound match. Wilson briefly fell behind but regained a 7-6 lead with 1:11 left. Carr spoiled the upset bid by going up 8-7 with 56 seconds left and tacking on two more points in the last 10 seconds.
"At 160, we're wrestling a kid who's been a two-time state qualifier who I think finished fifth (actually fourth) at state last year," Boley said. "We had him beat. We got beat at the end again. We should have won."
Even with two or three hard-to-swallow losses, the Tigers pulled within 28-24 with one match to go, thanks to a Steve Fribley pin. Warsaw's Fribley pinned Jesse Leonard with five seconds left in their 189-pound match, closing Wawasee's lead from 28-15 to 28-21. Warsaw teammate Steve McKinley beat Tom Bryan 3-1 in the 215-pound match. Wawasee's lead shriveled to 28-24.
The heavyweights - Jamie Salazar and Joey Navarro - would settle it. Wawasee's Salazar won several key matches as the Warriors made their tournament run last year. Warsaw offered Navarro, a 203-pound sophomore who owned a 5-1 record despite clashing with wrestlers heavier than he.
On paper, advantage Wawasee. On the mat, win Wawasee. Salazar, a junior, pinned Navarro in 2:55.
"You have to like that the heavyweight goes in there and gets the job done," DeHart said. "That's important."
DeHart left this match talking about what his Warriors didn't do.
"Our kids performed OK," DeHart said. "When you put NLC teams together, you'll have a battle. I thought there were a couple of places we would get falls but didn't. I wasn't real pleased with a couple of performances."
Boley also left this match talking about what his Tigers didn't do.
"There are many different places we should have won," Boley said. "Give (Wawasee) credit. That's what good teams do. They know how to win. They have individuals who rise to the occasion.
"We did some things that weren't very smart today. We'll talk about it."
The Warriors, 7-0 overall and 3-0 in the NLC, host No. 12 Goshen on Tuesday.
The Tigers, 6-1 overall and 1-1 in the NLC, compete in the Lake Central Invitational on Saturday.
WAWASEE 34, WARSAW 24
Weight Result Running Team Score
103 pounds Josh DeGood (WAW) def. Scott Snyder 10-9 3-0 WAW
112 Kevin M. Carr (WAW) pinned David Sumpter, :29 9-0 WAW
119 Chet Wortinger (WAW) def. Tim Roe 11-6 12-0 WAW
125 Robbie Boley (WAR) def. Travis Coy 9-1 12-4 WAW
130 Greg Patrick (WAR) def. Jacen Hendricks 6-0 12-7 WAW
135 Ryan Johnson (WAW) pinned Richard Wolfe, 2:17 18-7 WAW
140 Aaron Banks (WAR) def. Tyler Cline 7-6 18-10 WAW
145 Matt Zellers (WAR) def. Shane Heimann 25-10 (technical fall) 18-15 WAW
152 J.J. Davis (WAW) def. Isaac Perry 8-4 21-15 WAW
160 Kevin A. Carr (WAW) def. Chris Wilson 10-7 24-15 WAW
171 Jason Carr (WAW) def. Marvin Farmer 15-4 (major decision) 28-15 WAW
189 Steve Fribley (WAR) pinned Jesse Leonard, 5:55 28-21 WAW
215 Steve McKinley (WAR) def. Tom Bryan 3-1 28-24 WAW
275 Jamie Salazar (WAW) pinned Joey Navarro, 2:55 34-24 WAW
Records: Wawasee 7-0 overall, 3-0 NLC; Warsaw 6-1 overall, 1-1 NLC
JV: WAWASEE (2-0) 22, WARSAW 5
Weight Result Running Team Score
130 pounds Nathan Goldenberg (WAW) pinned Sean Patrick, 1:37 6-0 WAW
140 Chris Cline (WAW) pinned Ryan Weidenbrenner, 1:45 12-0 WAW
145 Andrew Waugh (WAW) pinned Nate Milton, 1:46 18-0 WAW
160 Kris Hueber (WAR) def. Jason Dewart (technical fall) 18-5 WAW
189 Craig Jensen (WAW) def. Ryan Brennan 16-6 22-5 WAW [[In-content Ad]]