Good, Bad Day For Locals At NLC Meet
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Anthony [email protected]
Memorial had some fun at the meet, thanks to its first-place finish with 226 points, while Wawasee was fifth (112) and Warsaw rounded out the field in eighth (58).
With the tournament win, Memorial splits the overall NLC crown with Plymouth, which finished second at the meet with 222.5 points, but had the conference’s best regular season record.
For Wawasee, the host school had five wrestlers in championship matches, including freshman Tristan Ponsler (113), senior Doug Corl (138), senior Nick Rozow (160), senior Brian Clark (195) and senior Chad Eppley (285), but only Rozow pulled out a victory.
“The kids wrestled well today,” Wawasee coach Paul Meyer said. “A couple of them got shocked when they stepped in and wrestled, and that swayed the match.”
Rozow wasn’t swayed in his match.
Learning from a 6-5 loss earlier this season to Goshen’s John Trenshaw, Rozow jumped out to a 5-0 lead and held on, winning 5-3.
“I just knew his takedown,” Rozow said about the difference between this match and the one on Dec. 6 in Goshen.
The conference championship is Rozow’s first since middle school, and is even sweeter when considering the injuries he's dealt with the past two years.
“Last year, he was out almost all year with injuries,” Meyer said. “Then, to come in without almost any cardio at sectionals last year, he did OK. We’re thankful he’s here. He has a good heart and surprises us sometimes.”
The injuries carried over into this season, and actually continue with each match for Rozow.
“I dislocated my hip last weekend, then, I dislocated my shoulder about three times today,” he said.
Despite the injuries, the conference crown was something he was looking for ever since his fourth-place finish at last year’s NLC tournament.
“Last year, I probably would have done better, but I was fresh off a shoulder injury – like three days off of it,” he said. “So, last year, I didn’t do so good. This year, I had to come back. Had to.”
While Wawasee was suffering defeats in championship matches, Warsaw’s top finals match was Luis Cervantes’ third-place match at 126 pounds, where he fell 5-0 to Northridge's Devin Puckett, who was the class’s top seed.
“Cervantes ran into that tough Northridge kid that I didn't think would be in that match,” Warsaw coach Justin Smith said about Puckett, who was the top seed at 126. “I thought he’d be in the (championship match). That was kind of a surprise.”
Along with Cervantes, Warsaw has been led by Luis Munoz at 119 pounds, but an injury forced him out of the tournament, lending a hand in the Tigers’ tough day.
“We had so many kids wrestle conference matches this year, that when it came to seeding, we drew some tough seeds,” Smith said.
“It was a tough day, but they won some matches in the last round,” he added. “You make the best of it.”
Up next for both Warsaw and Wawasee is Saturday’s Plymouth Sectional, where there won’t be as many NLC teams, but that doesn’t mean the competition will be easy.
“It’s no cakewalk,” Meyer said about the sectional, which also features Plymouth and Three Rivers Conference champion Rochester. “It used to be pretty easy over at our sectional, but now, it really tightened up. We’ll see.”
NORTHERN LAKES
CONFERENCE MEET
Team Scores – Elkhart Memorial 226, Plymouth 222.5, Goshen 218, Northridge 177.5, Wawasee 112, NorthWood 107, Concord 74, Warsaw 58
(Final Round Results)
106: 1st – Scott Huff (G) dec. Cody Allmon (P), 9-3; 3rd – Eugene Moody-Neukom (EM) pin. Lucas Hochstetler (NW), 0:25; 5th – Brody Erb (Nr) won by ff.
113: 1st – Delawrence Gayfield (C) pin. Tristan Ponsler (Waw), 1:29; 3rd – Tony Vaughn (EM) pin. Osman Solis (P), 2:50; 5th – Nick Cox (G) pin. Kyle Miller (Nr), 4:36
120: 1st – Triston Rodriguez (P) dec. Todd Santiago (Nr), 10-8 (OT); 3rd – Tyler Weisweaver (EM) pin. Wilcher (G), 1:13; 5th – Javier Lopez (Waw) won by inj. Keven Devora (C)
126: 1st – Jermel Moody-Neukom (EM) maj. dec. Kam Markovich (P), 25-11; 3rd – Devin Puckett (Nr) dec. Luis Cervantes (War), 5-0; 5th – Josh Bustos (G) pin. Cody Pippen (NW), 2:13
132: 1st – Stephen Abair (P) pin. Phillip Mathiak (EM), 5:15; 3rd – Victor Flores (G) dec. Jon Yoder (Nr), 6-3; 5th – Josh Chupp (NW) pin. Seth Shroyer (C), 4:12
138: 1st – Ryan Baxter (Nr) pin. Doug Corl (Waw), 3:24; 3rd – Christian Horton (G) pin. Shimmy Sar (C), 0:43; 5th – Ronnie Longbrake (EM) maj. dec. Austin Mahoney (P), 12-2
145: 1st – Nick Vaughn (EM) pin. Nolan Wright (P), 4:13; 3rd – Caleb Reeve (NW) won by inj. Jose Ledezma (G); 5th – Michael Pena (Waw) dec. Leonardo Rodriguez (C), 10-4
152: 1st – Chris Morris (EM) dec. Travis Pickard (G), 4-3; 3rd – Tim Deters (Nr) pin. Derek Weldy (NW), 2:25; 5th – John Stillson (P) won by ff.
160: 1st – Nick Rozow (Waw) dec. John Trenshaw (G), 5-3; 3rd – Jon Osoria (EM) dec. Logan Wiegand (P), 5-4; 5th – Huntley Davis (War) pin. Nick Skwarcan (NW), 2:49
170: 1st – Evan Smith (G) pin. Jacob Pearson (P), 3:16; 3rd – Scott Kasten (Nr) pin. Scott Kern (NW), 0:58; 5th – Marcos Rodriguez (War) dec. Nick Richie (EM), 8-4
182: 1st – Zach Telschow (NW) dec. Kain Jenkins (EM), 10-8 (OT); 3rd – Aaron Houin (P) pin. Dylan Swank (Nr), 2:36; 5th – Ramiro Hernandez (G) pin. Devann Lilly (Waw), 3:35
195: 1st – Tieshawn Johnson (EM) dec. Brian Clark (Waw), 11-5; 3rd – McKenna Malcom (Nr) pin. Vincite Vasquez (P), 0:35; 5th – Rory Nolin (War) pin. Derek Paz (G), 4:15
220: 1st – DeAndre Pickford (P) dec. Chris Connell (Nr), 16-9; 3rd – Tyler Wilson (C) dec. Tyler Beasy (G), 1-0; 5th – Kody Gerger (EM) won by ff.
285: 1st – Hayden Schmucker (G) pin. Chad Eppley (Waw), 1:10; 3rd – Dan Guervara (NW) dec. Lucas Wickey (Nr), 3-1; 5th – Drew Dodson (P) pin. Ben Plummer (War), 4:51[[In-content Ad]]
Memorial had some fun at the meet, thanks to its first-place finish with 226 points, while Wawasee was fifth (112) and Warsaw rounded out the field in eighth (58).
With the tournament win, Memorial splits the overall NLC crown with Plymouth, which finished second at the meet with 222.5 points, but had the conference’s best regular season record.
For Wawasee, the host school had five wrestlers in championship matches, including freshman Tristan Ponsler (113), senior Doug Corl (138), senior Nick Rozow (160), senior Brian Clark (195) and senior Chad Eppley (285), but only Rozow pulled out a victory.
“The kids wrestled well today,” Wawasee coach Paul Meyer said. “A couple of them got shocked when they stepped in and wrestled, and that swayed the match.”
Rozow wasn’t swayed in his match.
Learning from a 6-5 loss earlier this season to Goshen’s John Trenshaw, Rozow jumped out to a 5-0 lead and held on, winning 5-3.
“I just knew his takedown,” Rozow said about the difference between this match and the one on Dec. 6 in Goshen.
The conference championship is Rozow’s first since middle school, and is even sweeter when considering the injuries he's dealt with the past two years.
“Last year, he was out almost all year with injuries,” Meyer said. “Then, to come in without almost any cardio at sectionals last year, he did OK. We’re thankful he’s here. He has a good heart and surprises us sometimes.”
The injuries carried over into this season, and actually continue with each match for Rozow.
“I dislocated my hip last weekend, then, I dislocated my shoulder about three times today,” he said.
Despite the injuries, the conference crown was something he was looking for ever since his fourth-place finish at last year’s NLC tournament.
“Last year, I probably would have done better, but I was fresh off a shoulder injury – like three days off of it,” he said. “So, last year, I didn’t do so good. This year, I had to come back. Had to.”
While Wawasee was suffering defeats in championship matches, Warsaw’s top finals match was Luis Cervantes’ third-place match at 126 pounds, where he fell 5-0 to Northridge's Devin Puckett, who was the class’s top seed.
“Cervantes ran into that tough Northridge kid that I didn't think would be in that match,” Warsaw coach Justin Smith said about Puckett, who was the top seed at 126. “I thought he’d be in the (championship match). That was kind of a surprise.”
Along with Cervantes, Warsaw has been led by Luis Munoz at 119 pounds, but an injury forced him out of the tournament, lending a hand in the Tigers’ tough day.
“We had so many kids wrestle conference matches this year, that when it came to seeding, we drew some tough seeds,” Smith said.
“It was a tough day, but they won some matches in the last round,” he added. “You make the best of it.”
Up next for both Warsaw and Wawasee is Saturday’s Plymouth Sectional, where there won’t be as many NLC teams, but that doesn’t mean the competition will be easy.
“It’s no cakewalk,” Meyer said about the sectional, which also features Plymouth and Three Rivers Conference champion Rochester. “It used to be pretty easy over at our sectional, but now, it really tightened up. We’ll see.”
NORTHERN LAKES
CONFERENCE MEET
Team Scores – Elkhart Memorial 226, Plymouth 222.5, Goshen 218, Northridge 177.5, Wawasee 112, NorthWood 107, Concord 74, Warsaw 58
(Final Round Results)
106: 1st – Scott Huff (G) dec. Cody Allmon (P), 9-3; 3rd – Eugene Moody-Neukom (EM) pin. Lucas Hochstetler (NW), 0:25; 5th – Brody Erb (Nr) won by ff.
113: 1st – Delawrence Gayfield (C) pin. Tristan Ponsler (Waw), 1:29; 3rd – Tony Vaughn (EM) pin. Osman Solis (P), 2:50; 5th – Nick Cox (G) pin. Kyle Miller (Nr), 4:36
120: 1st – Triston Rodriguez (P) dec. Todd Santiago (Nr), 10-8 (OT); 3rd – Tyler Weisweaver (EM) pin. Wilcher (G), 1:13; 5th – Javier Lopez (Waw) won by inj. Keven Devora (C)
126: 1st – Jermel Moody-Neukom (EM) maj. dec. Kam Markovich (P), 25-11; 3rd – Devin Puckett (Nr) dec. Luis Cervantes (War), 5-0; 5th – Josh Bustos (G) pin. Cody Pippen (NW), 2:13
132: 1st – Stephen Abair (P) pin. Phillip Mathiak (EM), 5:15; 3rd – Victor Flores (G) dec. Jon Yoder (Nr), 6-3; 5th – Josh Chupp (NW) pin. Seth Shroyer (C), 4:12
138: 1st – Ryan Baxter (Nr) pin. Doug Corl (Waw), 3:24; 3rd – Christian Horton (G) pin. Shimmy Sar (C), 0:43; 5th – Ronnie Longbrake (EM) maj. dec. Austin Mahoney (P), 12-2
145: 1st – Nick Vaughn (EM) pin. Nolan Wright (P), 4:13; 3rd – Caleb Reeve (NW) won by inj. Jose Ledezma (G); 5th – Michael Pena (Waw) dec. Leonardo Rodriguez (C), 10-4
152: 1st – Chris Morris (EM) dec. Travis Pickard (G), 4-3; 3rd – Tim Deters (Nr) pin. Derek Weldy (NW), 2:25; 5th – John Stillson (P) won by ff.
160: 1st – Nick Rozow (Waw) dec. John Trenshaw (G), 5-3; 3rd – Jon Osoria (EM) dec. Logan Wiegand (P), 5-4; 5th – Huntley Davis (War) pin. Nick Skwarcan (NW), 2:49
170: 1st – Evan Smith (G) pin. Jacob Pearson (P), 3:16; 3rd – Scott Kasten (Nr) pin. Scott Kern (NW), 0:58; 5th – Marcos Rodriguez (War) dec. Nick Richie (EM), 8-4
182: 1st – Zach Telschow (NW) dec. Kain Jenkins (EM), 10-8 (OT); 3rd – Aaron Houin (P) pin. Dylan Swank (Nr), 2:36; 5th – Ramiro Hernandez (G) pin. Devann Lilly (Waw), 3:35
195: 1st – Tieshawn Johnson (EM) dec. Brian Clark (Waw), 11-5; 3rd – McKenna Malcom (Nr) pin. Vincite Vasquez (P), 0:35; 5th – Rory Nolin (War) pin. Derek Paz (G), 4:15
220: 1st – DeAndre Pickford (P) dec. Chris Connell (Nr), 16-9; 3rd – Tyler Wilson (C) dec. Tyler Beasy (G), 1-0; 5th – Kody Gerger (EM) won by ff.
285: 1st – Hayden Schmucker (G) pin. Chad Eppley (Waw), 1:10; 3rd – Dan Guervara (NW) dec. Lucas Wickey (Nr), 3-1; 5th – Drew Dodson (P) pin. Ben Plummer (War), 4:51[[In-content Ad]]
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