Trio Of Tigers Still In Running For Title

July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.

By Jim Brenneman-

MISHAWAKA - The Warsaw Tigers have three wrestlers still in the running for a championship at the Al Smith Invitational at Mishawaka. Jarred Brooks (103 pounds), Justin Brooks (125) and Paul Manbu (135) each had three victories in Tuesday's opening rounds.

As a team, Warsaw is in 13th place, tied with Jasper with 74 points. Mishawaka leads the tournament with 137 points, followed in the top five by Belmont (115), Merrillville (110.5), Lawrence North (109) and Penn (106.5).[[In-content Ad]]Jarred Brooks reached the semifinals with an opening-round pin in the first period, then in the second round he had another pin in the first period.

In his quarter-final match, the younger Brooks had a bit more of a challenge, but came out the winner in a 4-1 decision over Robert Boston of Lawrence North. Brooks will meet Kyle Ayersman (17-0) of Lake Central today in the semifinals.

Senior Justin Brooks (125) also had two falls in his first two matches, and then in the quarterfinals overwhelmed Lowell's Cameryn Brady in a 20-7 major decision.

Justin Brooks had been competing at 119 pounds and remains unbeaten in that weight class.

For this event, he moved up to 125 pounds in order to face several state-ranked opponents as preparation for the postseason. This strategic move did not work out however, since two of those worthy opponents had themselves moved up to 130 pounds.

In today's semifinal match Brooks will confront Chesterton's Zach Thronton.

Paul Manbu (135) decimated his first two opponents on day one, with two first period pins. In his final match on Tuesday, Manbu battled Mishawaka's Aaron Mersich, squeezing out a 5-2 victory to reach the semifinals, where he will face Johnny Dillon of Hobart.

Adam Keener (152) had two opening-round victories, but his march toward a championship was beaten back by an 11-4 loss at the hands of Princeton's Drake Stein.

A strong showing in the consolation round kept Keener in the running toward a third-place finish. Keener will need to upend Belmont's Tyler Baker in his first match today if he is to continue toward that goal.

"It is what I expected," said first-year Warsaw coach Justin Smith. "Our experienced guys are moving on, and as a team, even though we have just four wrestlers still in it, we are still up there in the points. That is nice, impressive. Several of the younger guys pulled out some good wins to help the team."

Jordon Horney lost his opening-match to three-time state champ Josh Harper. Horney came back with a win by fall in the consolation rounds before being edged 12-11 by Grant Anglemyer of Penn.

After a round-one loss, Zac Erba came back to fight out a 5-3 overtime win in the consolations before being eliminated by Penn's Andy Wisemen. Meanwhile, in his opening match Ross Hoover (171) had a win over Goshen's Francisco Garcia by fall in 1:11, but was surprised in his second match, finding himself pinned in just 19 seconds before he was ousted in the consolation rounds.

Following his round-one loss, Bryce Barrus (215) picked up a consolation win for the Tigers, pinning Andrew Amos of Prairie Heights in 1:23.

"We wrestled well and we have a lot of good things to build on," said Smith. "And now we want see if we can get some of these experienced guys through and get some championships."

Wrestling continued today at 9 a.m., with the final-round matches projected to begin around 2 p.m.

MISHAWAKA - The Warsaw Tigers have three wrestlers still in the running for a championship at the Al Smith Invitational at Mishawaka. Jarred Brooks (103 pounds), Justin Brooks (125) and Paul Manbu (135) each had three victories in Tuesday's opening rounds.

As a team, Warsaw is in 13th place, tied with Jasper with 74 points. Mishawaka leads the tournament with 137 points, followed in the top five by Belmont (115), Merrillville (110.5), Lawrence North (109) and Penn (106.5).[[In-content Ad]]Jarred Brooks reached the semifinals with an opening-round pin in the first period, then in the second round he had another pin in the first period.

In his quarter-final match, the younger Brooks had a bit more of a challenge, but came out the winner in a 4-1 decision over Robert Boston of Lawrence North. Brooks will meet Kyle Ayersman (17-0) of Lake Central today in the semifinals.

Senior Justin Brooks (125) also had two falls in his first two matches, and then in the quarterfinals overwhelmed Lowell's Cameryn Brady in a 20-7 major decision.

Justin Brooks had been competing at 119 pounds and remains unbeaten in that weight class.

For this event, he moved up to 125 pounds in order to face several state-ranked opponents as preparation for the postseason. This strategic move did not work out however, since two of those worthy opponents had themselves moved up to 130 pounds.

In today's semifinal match Brooks will confront Chesterton's Zach Thronton.

Paul Manbu (135) decimated his first two opponents on day one, with two first period pins. In his final match on Tuesday, Manbu battled Mishawaka's Aaron Mersich, squeezing out a 5-2 victory to reach the semifinals, where he will face Johnny Dillon of Hobart.

Adam Keener (152) had two opening-round victories, but his march toward a championship was beaten back by an 11-4 loss at the hands of Princeton's Drake Stein.

A strong showing in the consolation round kept Keener in the running toward a third-place finish. Keener will need to upend Belmont's Tyler Baker in his first match today if he is to continue toward that goal.

"It is what I expected," said first-year Warsaw coach Justin Smith. "Our experienced guys are moving on, and as a team, even though we have just four wrestlers still in it, we are still up there in the points. That is nice, impressive. Several of the younger guys pulled out some good wins to help the team."

Jordon Horney lost his opening-match to three-time state champ Josh Harper. Horney came back with a win by fall in the consolation rounds before being edged 12-11 by Grant Anglemyer of Penn.

After a round-one loss, Zac Erba came back to fight out a 5-3 overtime win in the consolations before being eliminated by Penn's Andy Wisemen. Meanwhile, in his opening match Ross Hoover (171) had a win over Goshen's Francisco Garcia by fall in 1:11, but was surprised in his second match, finding himself pinned in just 19 seconds before he was ousted in the consolation rounds.

Following his round-one loss, Bryce Barrus (215) picked up a consolation win for the Tigers, pinning Andrew Amos of Prairie Heights in 1:23.

"We wrestled well and we have a lot of good things to build on," said Smith. "And now we want see if we can get some of these experienced guys through and get some championships."

Wrestling continued today at 9 a.m., with the final-round matches projected to begin around 2 p.m.
Have a news tip? Email [email protected] or Call/Text 360-922-3092

e-Edition


e-edition

Sign up


for our email newsletters

Weekly Top Stories

Sign up to get our top stories delivered to your inbox every Sunday

Daily Updates & Breaking News Alerts

Sign up to get our daily updates and breaking news alerts delivered to your inbox daily

Latest Stories


Public Occurrences 05.17.25
County Jail Bookings The following people were arrested and booked into the Kosciusko County Jail:

Court News 05.17.25
The following people have filed for marriage licenses with Kosciusko County Clerk Melissa Boggs:

1st Source Makes KBW Bank Honor Roll For Seventh Consecutive Year
SOUTH BEND – 1st Source announced that it made the annual bank honor roll by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Inc. (KBW) for the seventh consecutive year.

Like The Rules Of Driving, Here Are 10 Rules For The Retirement Road
With four sons, I’ve spent significant time helping them learn to drive. Thankfully, all of my boys were quick learners, and we had professional driver’s education teachers to do the bulk of the work.

20th Year Of Fat & Skinny Tire Festival Gets Started With Large Community Ride
Before 60 mph winds and a bit of rain paused Friday evening’s Fat & Skinny Tire Festival activities, 650 bicyclists of all ages took part in the community mass ride from The Village at Winona to downtown Warsaw.