Warsaw Wrestlers Win Sectional
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Anthony [email protected]
"When I came here, I told my athletic director that the goal was to win a sectional championship," third-year Warsaw coach Justin Smith said. "I believe in the team concept. I like the team setup and this was a goal from Day 1. Two years ago, we were second and last year we were third. So, it feels good."[[In-content Ad]]Winning the school's 20th sectional title, the entire squad will be at Jimtown High School Wednesday at 6 p.m., taking on the host Jimmies. The winner of the match will then square off against the winner of the Penn/Prairie Heights match later in the night.
The individual regional meet will be Saturday at Rochester High School, beginning at 9 a.m. The regional meet will host qualifiers from the Plymouth and Mishawaka Sectional.
In team action, Warsaw won the Plymouth Sectional with 208 points, followed by last year's champion Wawasee, which tallied 181.5. Tippecanoe Valley placed sixth with 120 points, while Triton claimed ninth with 32.5.
Warsaw garnered its point toals by receiving championships from junior Jarred Brooks (112), junior Kyle Duzan (145), senior Everardo Ahtual (160) and senior Zac Erba (171).
Of the four, Brooks (20-1), Ahtual (21-7) and Erba (27-9) were expected to challenge for titles, but Duzan's run was a little unexpected, entering the meet with a 12-18 record.
"We had a lot of boys that just stepped up and just wrestled outstanding," Smith said. "Kyle's a perfect example of that. We're going through, looking at the matchups, and Kyle's had a rough season. No one would have thought he'd come through with three wins and three pins. When you're trying to win a team championship, that's just outstanding."
Other Tigers advancing in the individual tournament with top-four finishes were sophomore Luis Munoz (119, 3rd), sophomore Javier Hernandez (130, 3rd), senior Jordan Horney (135, 3rd), freshman Steven Alvarado (140, 4th), junior Adam Becker (152, 4th) and senior Ross Hoover (189, 2nd).
"We made it a goal to get everyone qualified for regionals," Smith said. "We really felt like this was a team we could do that with, especially with our senior leadership. We brought 13 and qualified 11 - and had four champions."
The Tippecanoe Valley Vikings also had a good showing at the sectional, advancing five to the regional and seeing senior Seth Fincher (130, 28-10), senior Austin Nelson (135, 31-6) and senior Isaac Yoder (152, 35-2) claim championships.
"I'm really proud of how the kids wrestled," Valley coach Scott Smith said. "We had three champions, a runner-up and a third place. Those five individuals worked hard and earned what they got."
Other Vikings to advance were junior Trent Bauters (145, 2nd) and freshman Keaton Bell (160, 3rd).
All season long, the Vikings have struggled to get team wins with a small roster. However, instead of going for those team wins, the Valley wrestlers have been focused on the individual tournament.
"It's at the point where every match is do or die," Scott Smith said. "They understand that. We've been preaching that to them for quite a while now. You can't sit back and wait. You've got to make sure you take your best game to the mat."
Entering the meet looking to defend their title, the Wawasee Warriors failed to get a class champion, but did earn enough points to land second place.
"We had two in the finals, so I was happy for that," said Wawasee coach Scott DeHart. "I was happy for (junior) Josh Gohlke. I thought he wrestled a good match in the finals and (sophomore) Greg Newman did well too. Overall, we're pleased, but also a little disappointed."
While Gohlke (130, 16-16) and Newman (103, 14-5) were placing second, Wawasee also had junior Garrett Freel (125, 4th), sophomore Nick Rozow (135, 4th), junior Kyle Clevenger (140, 3rd), senior Raul Rodriguez (145, 4th), junior Ryan Lindsey (152, 3rd), sophomore Brian Clark (171, 4th), senior Lance Wright (189, 3rd), senior Jake Jones (215, 3rd) and junior Dimitri Kaplanis (HWT, 4th) qualify for the regional.
"We've got a good nucleus, so we'll be alright," DeHart said. "We're taking 11 to the regional. That's a good week."
It's the Tigers who are now preparing for a good week.
"We'll go in Wednesday and whatever happens, happens," Justin Smith said. "We will wrestle well. The boys are prepared. They want to wrestle Penn again, because the first time they wrestled them, it was a rough experience."
Warsaw met No. 4 Penn at the Dec. 20 Penn Invitational, losing 61-10.
Prior to facing Penn, the Tigers will first need to get through Jimtown, but Smith believes his guys can get there.
"We have some kids who may not be the most talented in their weight class, but they are the most hardworking," he said. "That's why they're holding the trophy."
WARSAW 208, WAWASEE 181.5, CULVER MILITARY ACADEMY 149, PLYMOUTH 145, BREMEN 124, TIPPECANOE VALLEY 120, ROCHESTER 118, CULVER 112, TRITON 32.5
103: 1st Place - Kayla Miracle (CMA) dec. Greg Newman (Waw) 11-4; 3rd Place - John Mills (P) dec. Tyler Fellen (B) 5-3; 5th Place - Josh Walters (C) won by ff
112: 1st Place - Jarred Brooks (War) pinned Zech Weese (R) 0:33; 3rd Place - David Zajac (CMA) pinned Allen Betts (C) 1:51; 5th Place - Kameron Markovich (P) pinned Dylan deSomer (Waw) 2:51
119: 1st Place - Garth Simpson (R) pinned Anthony McHugh (CMA) 2:56; 3rd Place - Luis Munoz (War) major dec. Clay Corsbie (P) 20-6; 5th Place - Doug Corl (Waw) pinned Scott Armstrong (TV) 0:38
125: 1st Place - Jose Rodriguez (B) dec. Carlos Salinas 7-6; 3rd Place - Austyn Lee (P) dec. Garrett Freel (Waw) 10-9; 5th Place - Zach Duplay (C) pinned Ben Horban (R) 1:40
130: 1st Place - Seth Fincher (TV) dec. Josh Gohlke (Waw) 8-4; 3rd Place - Javier Hernandez (War) major dec. Lukas Carpenter 16-7; 5th Place - Nicholas Arthur (CMA) pinned Josh Fuchs (N) 0:54
135: 1st Place - Austin Nelson (TV) major dec. Ian Randolph (C) 12-4; 3rd Place - Jordan Horney (War) pinned Nick Rozow (Waw) 0:56; 5th Place - Pascal Brun (CMA) pinned Scott Lee (P) 1:44
140: 1st Place - Luther Jacobs (CMA) dec. Justin Corl (B) 7-3; 3rd Place - Kyle Clevenger (Waw) dec. Steven Alvarado (War) 4-3; 5th Place - Jeremy Marburger (TV) pinned Cameron Hedington (P) 0:31
145: 1st Place - Kyle Duzan (War) pinned Trent Bauters (TV) 1:01; 3rd Place - Edmond Hogan (CMA) dec. Raul Rodriguez (Waw) 3-1; 5th Place - Dakota Grubbs (T) dec. Kyle Brown 4-2
152: 1st Place - Isaac Yoder (TV) dec. Jacob Schroder (R) 3-2; 3rd Place - Ryan Lindsey (Waw) tech. fall Adam Becker (War) 26-8; 5th Place - Edward Hogan (CMA) dec. John Ahlenius (C) 8-1
160: 1st Place - Everardo Ahtual (War) dec. Shawn Duff (P) 9-3; 3rd Place - Keaton Bell (TV) dec. Mark Hurford (C) 3-0; 5th Place - Wes Stevens (R) pinned Bobby Cornett (B) 4:16
171: 1st Place - Zac Erba (War) dec. Nathan Benham (P) 4-2; 3rd Place - Phil Miller (R) dec. Brian Clark (Waw) 5-3; 5th Place - Sean Hershberger (B) won by default
189: 1st Place - Matt Hurford (C) dec. Ross Hoover (War) 8-6; 3rd Place - Lance Wright (Waw) dec. Dan Stephenson (P) 2-1; 5th Place - Brock Vermillion (T) major dec. Chaz Rhoutsong (CMA) 14-5
215: 1st Place - Alan Bollenbacher (B) dec. Jacob Segraves (P) 9-3; 3rd Place - Jake Jones (Waw) pinned Miguel Delfin (War) 0:50; 5th Place - Vic Grimes (R) pinned Cody Ousley (T) 0:33
HWT: 1st Place - Damon Howe (P) pinned Abraham Hall (B) 1:43; 3rd Place - Jeremiah Harvey (C) major dec. Dimitri Kaplanis (Waw) 8-0; 5th Place - Joe Waikel (War) dec. Aaron Haines (T) 2-0
"When I came here, I told my athletic director that the goal was to win a sectional championship," third-year Warsaw coach Justin Smith said. "I believe in the team concept. I like the team setup and this was a goal from Day 1. Two years ago, we were second and last year we were third. So, it feels good."[[In-content Ad]]Winning the school's 20th sectional title, the entire squad will be at Jimtown High School Wednesday at 6 p.m., taking on the host Jimmies. The winner of the match will then square off against the winner of the Penn/Prairie Heights match later in the night.
The individual regional meet will be Saturday at Rochester High School, beginning at 9 a.m. The regional meet will host qualifiers from the Plymouth and Mishawaka Sectional.
In team action, Warsaw won the Plymouth Sectional with 208 points, followed by last year's champion Wawasee, which tallied 181.5. Tippecanoe Valley placed sixth with 120 points, while Triton claimed ninth with 32.5.
Warsaw garnered its point toals by receiving championships from junior Jarred Brooks (112), junior Kyle Duzan (145), senior Everardo Ahtual (160) and senior Zac Erba (171).
Of the four, Brooks (20-1), Ahtual (21-7) and Erba (27-9) were expected to challenge for titles, but Duzan's run was a little unexpected, entering the meet with a 12-18 record.
"We had a lot of boys that just stepped up and just wrestled outstanding," Smith said. "Kyle's a perfect example of that. We're going through, looking at the matchups, and Kyle's had a rough season. No one would have thought he'd come through with three wins and three pins. When you're trying to win a team championship, that's just outstanding."
Other Tigers advancing in the individual tournament with top-four finishes were sophomore Luis Munoz (119, 3rd), sophomore Javier Hernandez (130, 3rd), senior Jordan Horney (135, 3rd), freshman Steven Alvarado (140, 4th), junior Adam Becker (152, 4th) and senior Ross Hoover (189, 2nd).
"We made it a goal to get everyone qualified for regionals," Smith said. "We really felt like this was a team we could do that with, especially with our senior leadership. We brought 13 and qualified 11 - and had four champions."
The Tippecanoe Valley Vikings also had a good showing at the sectional, advancing five to the regional and seeing senior Seth Fincher (130, 28-10), senior Austin Nelson (135, 31-6) and senior Isaac Yoder (152, 35-2) claim championships.
"I'm really proud of how the kids wrestled," Valley coach Scott Smith said. "We had three champions, a runner-up and a third place. Those five individuals worked hard and earned what they got."
Other Vikings to advance were junior Trent Bauters (145, 2nd) and freshman Keaton Bell (160, 3rd).
All season long, the Vikings have struggled to get team wins with a small roster. However, instead of going for those team wins, the Valley wrestlers have been focused on the individual tournament.
"It's at the point where every match is do or die," Scott Smith said. "They understand that. We've been preaching that to them for quite a while now. You can't sit back and wait. You've got to make sure you take your best game to the mat."
Entering the meet looking to defend their title, the Wawasee Warriors failed to get a class champion, but did earn enough points to land second place.
"We had two in the finals, so I was happy for that," said Wawasee coach Scott DeHart. "I was happy for (junior) Josh Gohlke. I thought he wrestled a good match in the finals and (sophomore) Greg Newman did well too. Overall, we're pleased, but also a little disappointed."
While Gohlke (130, 16-16) and Newman (103, 14-5) were placing second, Wawasee also had junior Garrett Freel (125, 4th), sophomore Nick Rozow (135, 4th), junior Kyle Clevenger (140, 3rd), senior Raul Rodriguez (145, 4th), junior Ryan Lindsey (152, 3rd), sophomore Brian Clark (171, 4th), senior Lance Wright (189, 3rd), senior Jake Jones (215, 3rd) and junior Dimitri Kaplanis (HWT, 4th) qualify for the regional.
"We've got a good nucleus, so we'll be alright," DeHart said. "We're taking 11 to the regional. That's a good week."
It's the Tigers who are now preparing for a good week.
"We'll go in Wednesday and whatever happens, happens," Justin Smith said. "We will wrestle well. The boys are prepared. They want to wrestle Penn again, because the first time they wrestled them, it was a rough experience."
Warsaw met No. 4 Penn at the Dec. 20 Penn Invitational, losing 61-10.
Prior to facing Penn, the Tigers will first need to get through Jimtown, but Smith believes his guys can get there.
"We have some kids who may not be the most talented in their weight class, but they are the most hardworking," he said. "That's why they're holding the trophy."
WARSAW 208, WAWASEE 181.5, CULVER MILITARY ACADEMY 149, PLYMOUTH 145, BREMEN 124, TIPPECANOE VALLEY 120, ROCHESTER 118, CULVER 112, TRITON 32.5
103: 1st Place - Kayla Miracle (CMA) dec. Greg Newman (Waw) 11-4; 3rd Place - John Mills (P) dec. Tyler Fellen (B) 5-3; 5th Place - Josh Walters (C) won by ff
112: 1st Place - Jarred Brooks (War) pinned Zech Weese (R) 0:33; 3rd Place - David Zajac (CMA) pinned Allen Betts (C) 1:51; 5th Place - Kameron Markovich (P) pinned Dylan deSomer (Waw) 2:51
119: 1st Place - Garth Simpson (R) pinned Anthony McHugh (CMA) 2:56; 3rd Place - Luis Munoz (War) major dec. Clay Corsbie (P) 20-6; 5th Place - Doug Corl (Waw) pinned Scott Armstrong (TV) 0:38
125: 1st Place - Jose Rodriguez (B) dec. Carlos Salinas 7-6; 3rd Place - Austyn Lee (P) dec. Garrett Freel (Waw) 10-9; 5th Place - Zach Duplay (C) pinned Ben Horban (R) 1:40
130: 1st Place - Seth Fincher (TV) dec. Josh Gohlke (Waw) 8-4; 3rd Place - Javier Hernandez (War) major dec. Lukas Carpenter 16-7; 5th Place - Nicholas Arthur (CMA) pinned Josh Fuchs (N) 0:54
135: 1st Place - Austin Nelson (TV) major dec. Ian Randolph (C) 12-4; 3rd Place - Jordan Horney (War) pinned Nick Rozow (Waw) 0:56; 5th Place - Pascal Brun (CMA) pinned Scott Lee (P) 1:44
140: 1st Place - Luther Jacobs (CMA) dec. Justin Corl (B) 7-3; 3rd Place - Kyle Clevenger (Waw) dec. Steven Alvarado (War) 4-3; 5th Place - Jeremy Marburger (TV) pinned Cameron Hedington (P) 0:31
145: 1st Place - Kyle Duzan (War) pinned Trent Bauters (TV) 1:01; 3rd Place - Edmond Hogan (CMA) dec. Raul Rodriguez (Waw) 3-1; 5th Place - Dakota Grubbs (T) dec. Kyle Brown 4-2
152: 1st Place - Isaac Yoder (TV) dec. Jacob Schroder (R) 3-2; 3rd Place - Ryan Lindsey (Waw) tech. fall Adam Becker (War) 26-8; 5th Place - Edward Hogan (CMA) dec. John Ahlenius (C) 8-1
160: 1st Place - Everardo Ahtual (War) dec. Shawn Duff (P) 9-3; 3rd Place - Keaton Bell (TV) dec. Mark Hurford (C) 3-0; 5th Place - Wes Stevens (R) pinned Bobby Cornett (B) 4:16
171: 1st Place - Zac Erba (War) dec. Nathan Benham (P) 4-2; 3rd Place - Phil Miller (R) dec. Brian Clark (Waw) 5-3; 5th Place - Sean Hershberger (B) won by default
189: 1st Place - Matt Hurford (C) dec. Ross Hoover (War) 8-6; 3rd Place - Lance Wright (Waw) dec. Dan Stephenson (P) 2-1; 5th Place - Brock Vermillion (T) major dec. Chaz Rhoutsong (CMA) 14-5
215: 1st Place - Alan Bollenbacher (B) dec. Jacob Segraves (P) 9-3; 3rd Place - Jake Jones (Waw) pinned Miguel Delfin (War) 0:50; 5th Place - Vic Grimes (R) pinned Cody Ousley (T) 0:33
HWT: 1st Place - Damon Howe (P) pinned Abraham Hall (B) 1:43; 3rd Place - Jeremiah Harvey (C) major dec. Dimitri Kaplanis (Waw) 8-0; 5th Place - Joe Waikel (War) dec. Aaron Haines (T) 2-0
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