Whitko Finishes In Third Place
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
NORTH MANCHESTER - It was business as usual for the Northfield wrestling team Saturday. For the fifth consecutive year, the Norsemen won a sectional, narrowly defeating Peru and Whitko for the right to move on to the regional Wednesday. Northfield ended with 201 points, while Peru had 187.5 and Whitko had 178.
For Whitko and Manchester, the results were a bit disappointing. The Wildcats had seven individuals move on to the regional, but they needed a few more to attain the team championship. Manchester had just one wrestler, junior Eric Sommer, advance to the regional.
For Whitko, the problem was a combination of forfeits and just plain bad luck. The Wildcats had no entry in the 103-pound weight class, which put them in a hole from the beginning. Also, Whitko was without Jimmy Linn in the 189 weight class because of an injury. Finally, a couple of upsets dashed the Wildcats' hopes in the semifinals.
"Northfield came today, they turned it up, and they got the job done," Whitko head coach Brian Balsmeyer said. "We just didn't have the matches to catch up in points and that got us last year like it did this year."
In the 119 weight class, Whitko's Ben Watson rolled to the championship with a 15-2 win in the semifinals and a pin in the championship at 3:18.
In the 125 weight class, Keith Bird took third after a hard-fought 6-3 loss to Peru's Justin Brown in the second round.
At 130, sophomore Jordan Schrader placed second. At 135, James Baumgartner ended third.
That was a pivotal point for the Wildcats. Northfield already had one champion and three runners-up and Peru had four champions and one runner-up. The Wildcats had just one champion and one runner-up.
The next five weight classes are where Whitko made up ground. In all of those, the Wildcats took either first or second. Andy Wright placed second at the 145 weight class, while Brock Waterson, Ivan Hathaway, Todd Grube and Robbie Nieto were all champions.
Ivan Hathaway won three matches in his weight class, concluding with a 3-0 decision over Northfield's D.J. Ross in the championship. That match was tied at 0-0 heading into the final period.
Grube moved to 32-0 on the year after pinning Dan Rhodes and picking up a 10-1 win over Peru's Zac Willis in the championship.
Robbie Nieto moved to 30-2 on the season after a semifinal round pin and a 5-4 win over Peru's Mason Elrod in the finals.
Whitko made up a lot of ground in those weight classes, but the final three classes is where the bad luck really kicked in.
At 189, Linn was out with a rib injury. Trent Burelison took his place and finished third, which was what head coach Brian Balsmeyer was hoping for, but Linn may have been able to finish better.
At 215, Jeremiah Rakoczy pinned his first opponent before meeting Manchester's Eric Sommer in the semifinals. Sommer defeated him, and Rakoczy went on to finish third.
The heavyweight class was the one that really hurt. Mark Christian, at 25-3 on the season, met Northfield's James Davis. Davis was just 11-16 on the year. Christian held a lead on Davis in the semifinals and seemed to be poised for a shot at the championship. But, the match turned in a split second and Davis pinned Christian.
"We were definitely counting on Mark to get through," Balsmeyer said. "That was a 10- or 15-point swing. It would have brought Northfield a lot closer. Most everything else went according to plan. I didn't expect us to win all of our finals matches like we did at conference."
Northfield will compete on Wednesday at Huntington North against the winner of the Huntington North sectional. The first- and second-place individuals will compete at Fort Wayne Snider on Saturday.
NORTHFIELD 201, PERU 187.5, WHITKO 178, MANCHESTER 61, WABASH 56.5, NORTH MIAMI 56
103 - 1. Matt Birner 36-1 (Peru), 2. Parker Beauchamp 21-9 (Wabash), 3. Adam Werner 16-13 (N. Miami), 4. Joseph Planer 12-17 (Manchester)
112 - 1. Nathan Hartinger 34-4 (Peru), 2. Chris Webb 26-11 (Northfield), 3. Gabe Halverson 18-10 (Manchester), 4. Aaron McCoart 17-10 (Wabash)
119 - 1. Ben Watson 16-2 (Whitko), 2. T.J. Ross 18-18 (Northfield), 3. David Graham 13-20 (Peru), 4. C.J. Brown 13-9 (Manchester)
125 - 1. Justin Brown 18-11 (Peru), 2. Kris Clark 27-7 (Northfield), 3. Keith Bird 20-14 (Whitko), 4. Andy McKain 7-18 (N. Miami)
130 - 1. David Hoover 31-4 (Peru), 2. Jordan Schrader 20-13 (Whitko), 3. Josh Snow 17-14 (N. Miami), 4. James Sorg 17-15 (Wabash)
135 - 1. Chad Sparling 24-6 (Northfield), 2. Jerrod Carmichael 30-6 (Peru), 3. James Baumgartner 12-16 (Whitko), 4. Nick Werner 6-19 (N. Miami)
140 - 1. Brock Waterson 21-14 (Whitko), 2. Teancum Clark 21-15 (Peru), 3. Cameron Harmon 18-17 (Northfield), 4. Zac Fitzpatrick 9-18 (Manchester)
145 - Todd Mowery 32-3 (Northfield), 2. Andy Wright 23-5 (Whitko), 3. Carl Yonker 21-15 (Peru), 4. Nate Hippensteel 11-19 (Manchester)
152 - 1. Ivan Hathaway 26-6 (Whitko), 2. D.J. Ross 7-8 (Northfield), 3. Ryan Hahn 16-11 (Wabash), 4. Adam Brehmer 5-10 (Peru)
160 - 1. Todd Grube 32-0 (Whitko), 2. Zac Willis 28-10 (Peru), 3. Shane Haecker 23-11 (Northfield), 4. Dan Rhodes 9-10 (Manchester)
171 - 1. Robbie Nieto 31-2 (Whitko), 2. Mason Elrod 26-12 (Peru), 3. Kevin Barr 5-8 (Northfield), 4. Brandon Whitcraft 3-20 (Manchester)
189 - 1. Brad Smith 24-2 (N. Miami), 2. J.T. Diener 24-10 (Northfield), 3. Trent Burelison 7-8 (Whitko), 4. Brian Faust 21-14 (Peru)
215 - 1. Matt Holmes 33-2 (Northfield), 2. Eric Sommer 22-5 (Manchester), 3. Jeremiah Rakoczy 15-7 (Whitko), 4. Joe Bowman 10-16 (N. Miami)
275 - 1. Tim LaMar 7-0 (Wabash), 2. James Davis 12-17 (Northfield), 3. Mark Christian 26-4 (Whitko), 4. Rich Steg 8-15 (Peru) [[In-content Ad]]
NORTH MANCHESTER - It was business as usual for the Northfield wrestling team Saturday. For the fifth consecutive year, the Norsemen won a sectional, narrowly defeating Peru and Whitko for the right to move on to the regional Wednesday. Northfield ended with 201 points, while Peru had 187.5 and Whitko had 178.
For Whitko and Manchester, the results were a bit disappointing. The Wildcats had seven individuals move on to the regional, but they needed a few more to attain the team championship. Manchester had just one wrestler, junior Eric Sommer, advance to the regional.
For Whitko, the problem was a combination of forfeits and just plain bad luck. The Wildcats had no entry in the 103-pound weight class, which put them in a hole from the beginning. Also, Whitko was without Jimmy Linn in the 189 weight class because of an injury. Finally, a couple of upsets dashed the Wildcats' hopes in the semifinals.
"Northfield came today, they turned it up, and they got the job done," Whitko head coach Brian Balsmeyer said. "We just didn't have the matches to catch up in points and that got us last year like it did this year."
In the 119 weight class, Whitko's Ben Watson rolled to the championship with a 15-2 win in the semifinals and a pin in the championship at 3:18.
In the 125 weight class, Keith Bird took third after a hard-fought 6-3 loss to Peru's Justin Brown in the second round.
At 130, sophomore Jordan Schrader placed second. At 135, James Baumgartner ended third.
That was a pivotal point for the Wildcats. Northfield already had one champion and three runners-up and Peru had four champions and one runner-up. The Wildcats had just one champion and one runner-up.
The next five weight classes are where Whitko made up ground. In all of those, the Wildcats took either first or second. Andy Wright placed second at the 145 weight class, while Brock Waterson, Ivan Hathaway, Todd Grube and Robbie Nieto were all champions.
Ivan Hathaway won three matches in his weight class, concluding with a 3-0 decision over Northfield's D.J. Ross in the championship. That match was tied at 0-0 heading into the final period.
Grube moved to 32-0 on the year after pinning Dan Rhodes and picking up a 10-1 win over Peru's Zac Willis in the championship.
Robbie Nieto moved to 30-2 on the season after a semifinal round pin and a 5-4 win over Peru's Mason Elrod in the finals.
Whitko made up a lot of ground in those weight classes, but the final three classes is where the bad luck really kicked in.
At 189, Linn was out with a rib injury. Trent Burelison took his place and finished third, which was what head coach Brian Balsmeyer was hoping for, but Linn may have been able to finish better.
At 215, Jeremiah Rakoczy pinned his first opponent before meeting Manchester's Eric Sommer in the semifinals. Sommer defeated him, and Rakoczy went on to finish third.
The heavyweight class was the one that really hurt. Mark Christian, at 25-3 on the season, met Northfield's James Davis. Davis was just 11-16 on the year. Christian held a lead on Davis in the semifinals and seemed to be poised for a shot at the championship. But, the match turned in a split second and Davis pinned Christian.
"We were definitely counting on Mark to get through," Balsmeyer said. "That was a 10- or 15-point swing. It would have brought Northfield a lot closer. Most everything else went according to plan. I didn't expect us to win all of our finals matches like we did at conference."
Northfield will compete on Wednesday at Huntington North against the winner of the Huntington North sectional. The first- and second-place individuals will compete at Fort Wayne Snider on Saturday.
NORTHFIELD 201, PERU 187.5, WHITKO 178, MANCHESTER 61, WABASH 56.5, NORTH MIAMI 56
103 - 1. Matt Birner 36-1 (Peru), 2. Parker Beauchamp 21-9 (Wabash), 3. Adam Werner 16-13 (N. Miami), 4. Joseph Planer 12-17 (Manchester)
112 - 1. Nathan Hartinger 34-4 (Peru), 2. Chris Webb 26-11 (Northfield), 3. Gabe Halverson 18-10 (Manchester), 4. Aaron McCoart 17-10 (Wabash)
119 - 1. Ben Watson 16-2 (Whitko), 2. T.J. Ross 18-18 (Northfield), 3. David Graham 13-20 (Peru), 4. C.J. Brown 13-9 (Manchester)
125 - 1. Justin Brown 18-11 (Peru), 2. Kris Clark 27-7 (Northfield), 3. Keith Bird 20-14 (Whitko), 4. Andy McKain 7-18 (N. Miami)
130 - 1. David Hoover 31-4 (Peru), 2. Jordan Schrader 20-13 (Whitko), 3. Josh Snow 17-14 (N. Miami), 4. James Sorg 17-15 (Wabash)
135 - 1. Chad Sparling 24-6 (Northfield), 2. Jerrod Carmichael 30-6 (Peru), 3. James Baumgartner 12-16 (Whitko), 4. Nick Werner 6-19 (N. Miami)
140 - 1. Brock Waterson 21-14 (Whitko), 2. Teancum Clark 21-15 (Peru), 3. Cameron Harmon 18-17 (Northfield), 4. Zac Fitzpatrick 9-18 (Manchester)
145 - Todd Mowery 32-3 (Northfield), 2. Andy Wright 23-5 (Whitko), 3. Carl Yonker 21-15 (Peru), 4. Nate Hippensteel 11-19 (Manchester)
152 - 1. Ivan Hathaway 26-6 (Whitko), 2. D.J. Ross 7-8 (Northfield), 3. Ryan Hahn 16-11 (Wabash), 4. Adam Brehmer 5-10 (Peru)
160 - 1. Todd Grube 32-0 (Whitko), 2. Zac Willis 28-10 (Peru), 3. Shane Haecker 23-11 (Northfield), 4. Dan Rhodes 9-10 (Manchester)
171 - 1. Robbie Nieto 31-2 (Whitko), 2. Mason Elrod 26-12 (Peru), 3. Kevin Barr 5-8 (Northfield), 4. Brandon Whitcraft 3-20 (Manchester)
189 - 1. Brad Smith 24-2 (N. Miami), 2. J.T. Diener 24-10 (Northfield), 3. Trent Burelison 7-8 (Whitko), 4. Brian Faust 21-14 (Peru)
215 - 1. Matt Holmes 33-2 (Northfield), 2. Eric Sommer 22-5 (Manchester), 3. Jeremiah Rakoczy 15-7 (Whitko), 4. Joe Bowman 10-16 (N. Miami)
275 - 1. Tim LaMar 7-0 (Wabash), 2. James Davis 12-17 (Northfield), 3. Mark Christian 26-4 (Whitko), 4. Rich Steg 8-15 (Peru) [[In-content Ad]]