Warsaw Wrestling Duo Advances To State
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Jim Brenneman-
Brooks advances to the state finals along with teammate Adam Keener (152), who finished fourth.[[In-content Ad]]Brooks won his opening match by fall, following up with two victories by decision to reach the finals, where he met unbeaten Danny Bradley of Knox.
In a rare event, Bradley scored an opening takedown against Books to take a 2-0 lead into period two.
"Brooks kept his head in the game the whole time," said Warsaw coach Justin Smith.
Maintaining his composure, Brooks tied the score with a reversal in period two. In the final stanza, Bradley was in the down position, but a confident Brooks intentionally allowed an escape to gain an opportunity to score a takedown. In short order, he got control to take a 4-3 lead.
Bradley was not finished, however, and nearly squirmed out of the Warsaw senior's leg-ride.
Brooks maintained control and was able to take advantage of the situation, snapping in a headlock.
"As soon as the opening presented itself, Justin capitalized on it and put the kid on his back," said Smith.
Brooks scored a three-point nearfall, sealing the 7-3 win to secure the title.
Brooks holds on to the only perfect record statewide in the 119-pound class and is slated to face Marquis Williams (30-6) of Fort Wayne Snider on Friday at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Warsaw's Adam Keener (152) started the day with a bang, winning his two opening matches by fall. Then in the semifinal he was edged in a disappointing 7-5 overtime loss to Anthony Quiroz of Chesterton.
Keener then took on Munster's Aaron Estrada in the consolation round. With just five seconds remaining Estrada was awarded a takedown at the mat's edge. The call was disputed but the referee's decision stood. Estrada added to his lead with a reversal in period two.
Keener countered with his own reversal and was on his way to locking up a pinning combination, but came away with no points when Estrada managed an escape, upping his lead to 5-2.
In the final period, Keener was in the down position and quickly scored a reversal. Keener then granted an intentional release to his opponent in hopes of scoring a tying takedown, but Estrada fought off the attacks and held on for the narrow 6-4 victory.
"Adam wrestled two great opening matches to qualify for state," said Smith. "Even in his losses he wrestled well and was in contention in both matches right to the end."
Keener is bracketed in his Friday bout at Conseco against Yorktown's unbeaten senior Kyle Mosier (42-0), formerly a Warsaw area resident.
Out of the Fort Wayne Semistate, the only area wrestler to advance was Whitko's Daniel Rothgeb (125). The Wildcat junior boasts a record of 30-8 and is on tap to tangle with Timothy Martin (42-6) of New Albany, also a junior.
Warsaw's two other semistate qualifiers, Jarred Brooks (103) and Paul Manbu (135), both lost in the quarter finals.
Other area wrestlers who suffered losses in the quarter finals included Blake Hoffer (171) of Triton and Bobby Marcucilli of Wawasee, who lost to Frankie Porras of Hobart.
Marcuccilli was beaten by the eventual champion, so he qualifies as the alternate in the event any of the qualifiers are unable to compete at state.
Wawasee's Tom Schwartz (215) also lost in the ticket round, while Triton's Matt Lindsey (103) lost in round one, as did Austin Nelson (130) of Tippecanoe Valley.
Brooks advances to the state finals along with teammate Adam Keener (152), who finished fourth.[[In-content Ad]]Brooks won his opening match by fall, following up with two victories by decision to reach the finals, where he met unbeaten Danny Bradley of Knox.
In a rare event, Bradley scored an opening takedown against Books to take a 2-0 lead into period two.
"Brooks kept his head in the game the whole time," said Warsaw coach Justin Smith.
Maintaining his composure, Brooks tied the score with a reversal in period two. In the final stanza, Bradley was in the down position, but a confident Brooks intentionally allowed an escape to gain an opportunity to score a takedown. In short order, he got control to take a 4-3 lead.
Bradley was not finished, however, and nearly squirmed out of the Warsaw senior's leg-ride.
Brooks maintained control and was able to take advantage of the situation, snapping in a headlock.
"As soon as the opening presented itself, Justin capitalized on it and put the kid on his back," said Smith.
Brooks scored a three-point nearfall, sealing the 7-3 win to secure the title.
Brooks holds on to the only perfect record statewide in the 119-pound class and is slated to face Marquis Williams (30-6) of Fort Wayne Snider on Friday at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Warsaw's Adam Keener (152) started the day with a bang, winning his two opening matches by fall. Then in the semifinal he was edged in a disappointing 7-5 overtime loss to Anthony Quiroz of Chesterton.
Keener then took on Munster's Aaron Estrada in the consolation round. With just five seconds remaining Estrada was awarded a takedown at the mat's edge. The call was disputed but the referee's decision stood. Estrada added to his lead with a reversal in period two.
Keener countered with his own reversal and was on his way to locking up a pinning combination, but came away with no points when Estrada managed an escape, upping his lead to 5-2.
In the final period, Keener was in the down position and quickly scored a reversal. Keener then granted an intentional release to his opponent in hopes of scoring a tying takedown, but Estrada fought off the attacks and held on for the narrow 6-4 victory.
"Adam wrestled two great opening matches to qualify for state," said Smith. "Even in his losses he wrestled well and was in contention in both matches right to the end."
Keener is bracketed in his Friday bout at Conseco against Yorktown's unbeaten senior Kyle Mosier (42-0), formerly a Warsaw area resident.
Out of the Fort Wayne Semistate, the only area wrestler to advance was Whitko's Daniel Rothgeb (125). The Wildcat junior boasts a record of 30-8 and is on tap to tangle with Timothy Martin (42-6) of New Albany, also a junior.
Warsaw's two other semistate qualifiers, Jarred Brooks (103) and Paul Manbu (135), both lost in the quarter finals.
Other area wrestlers who suffered losses in the quarter finals included Blake Hoffer (171) of Triton and Bobby Marcucilli of Wawasee, who lost to Frankie Porras of Hobart.
Marcuccilli was beaten by the eventual champion, so he qualifies as the alternate in the event any of the qualifiers are unable to compete at state.
Wawasee's Tom Schwartz (215) also lost in the ticket round, while Triton's Matt Lindsey (103) lost in round one, as did Austin Nelson (130) of Tippecanoe Valley.
Have a news tip? Email [email protected] or Call/Text 360-922-3092