Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
MISHAWAKA -ÊFive area wrestlers will advance to semistate competition in Merrillville after placing among the top three at the Mishawaka regional.
Eracleo Vallejo of Wawasee captured the championship at 112 pounds and teammate Grant Gibson (160) came away with a third place. Lance Bailey (135) was the lone qualifier for Tippecanoe Valley, achieving runner up honors. Two from Triton are still in the running: Tim Zick (125) was a runner up and Tate Chapman (152) took third.
The season is over for Warsaw's grapplers, although two may be called upon as alternates. Jacob Boots (275) and Brandon Cordell (152) were forced to settle for fourth-place finishes. Fifteen other wrestlers from the area lost in round one and were eliminated from any possibility of additional wrestling in this season.
Wawasee
Senior Eracleo Vallejo (112) had a strong showing in marching to his championship, first pinning James Rizzo of South Bend Riley in 2:50, and then beating up on Brandon Bettcher of LaVille in a 16-5 major decision. In the championship Vallejo nailed Rochester's Cory Fornal in 3:01.
Grant Gibson (160) started out by defeating John Albert of LaVille, 5-0, but then lost 10-6 to eventual runner-up, Adam O'Neil of Clay. In the consolation match, Gibson came back in the consolation match, quickly scrunching Nathan Bieszka of Plymouth in 1:13, to secure third place.
Wawasee's seven other regional entrants were eliminated in opening round losses. Travis Blackburn (119) lost to runner up Tim Jordan of Adams and then Deme Vallejo (125) lost 7-1 to the champion, Gary Landuyt of Washington. Brandon Davis (135) and Brice List (140) also lost to champions, Davis to Aaron Shearer of Penn and List to Roshawn Hill of Adams. After first round losses, Trevor Brown (171) will be forced to wait till next year, while the high school careers are over for seniors Nick Hanlin (189) and Mike Hall (215).
Triton
Sierra Mitchell's (103) noteworthy appearance in the regional ended when she was pinned in the opening round by Andy DeSimone of Penn.
Tim Zick advanced to the finals with two wins, a 7-0 decision of Jason Francis of Mishawaka and a 14-6 victory over Tommy Hale of Clay. In the championship match, Zick was pinned in 3:00 by Gary Landuyt of Washington.
Tate Chapman (152) will travel to Merrillville on the strength of a third place finish. After beating Andrew Cameau of Washington 6-3, Chapman was defeated 5-1 by Plymouth's Matt Read.
Chapman secured third place by edging Warsaw's Brandon Cordell, 3-2.
Tippecanoe Valley
Senior Lance Bailey outscored Ryan Kronewitter of LaVille and then Jimmy Summerfield of Clay in the semifinal. In the finals Bailey lost a major decision to Aaron Shearer of Penn.
Josh VanCleeve (145) and Chris Reeser (275) were both bumped out in round one losses and the two juniors must look forward to the coming year.
Warsaw
Jacob Boots (275) recorded a fall in 3:22 against Morris Smith of Washington, but succumbed in 2:38 to the size of Penn's Tom Bemenderfer in the semi-final. In the consolation match, Boots was summarily dispatched by Matt Overman of Mishawaka in forty-four seconds. The Tiger football standout will have another opportunity next year when he will be bigger and stronger.
Another wrestler well-known on the Warsaw gridiron is Brandon Cordell, who faced very tough competition this season in the middle weights at 152 pounds. After winning in the first round by a 16-0 tech fall over Luke Willis of St. Joe, Cordell lost to Mishawaka's Scott Gann who went on to take first place. In the battle for third place and a semistate berth, Cordell was edged 3-2 by Triton's Tate Chapman.
Round one losses spelled the end of the season for five of Warsaw's regional entrants. Mixio Gaytan was nailed in 1:03 by Penn's Tom Ginter, the eventual champion. Ryan Walenga (189) was also ousted by a champion, suffering a tech fall as the buzzer sounded at the hands of 39-1 Mark Markham of South Bend Riley. Robert Raymer (135) lost in round one, as did Matt Palladino (140) and Bobby Derbyshire (145).
Upcoming Semi-States
Wrestlers advancing from the Mishawaka regional will compete in the semistate at Merrillville on Saturday, February 15. Meanwhile twenty wrestlers from the Northern Lakes Conference will be advancing out of the Goshen Regional to the Fort Wayne Semistate.
All the Semi-state events are loaded with ranked wrestlers, many with unblemished records, and many returning state champions, going head to head for the right to appear in the finals at Conseco Field House the following weekend February 21 and 22.
Mishawaka Individual Wrestling Regional
(Top three places advance to Semistate)
103 Frank Galos 34-6 (Bremen 10) pinned Steve Salinas 34-7 (S. Bend Clay 9), 2:30
Andy Desimone (Penn) def. Scott Versyp (Mishawaka), 11-4
112 Eracleo Vallejo 32-2 (Wawasee 12) pinned Cory Fornal 31-9 (Rochester), 3:01
Brandon Bettcher (LaVille) def. Benji Dolly (Mish), 6-0
119 Tom Ginter 39-8 (Penn 10) pinned Tim Jordan 28-14 (S. Bend Adams), 3:19
Tony Forte (Bre) def. Jeremy Burnside (Clay), 10-9
125 Gary Landuyt 36-4 (S. Bend Washington 11) pinned Tim Zick 36-7 (Triton 11), 3:00
Tommy Hale (Clay) def. Steve Nyikos (Penn), 14-1 maj.
130 Kevin Hartman 38-1 (Clay 12) pinned Derrick Mersich 20-9 (S. Bend Adams 11), 1:54
J.D. Showley (Roch) pinned Elliot Steward (Culver Military), 3:42
135 Aaron Shearer 36-7 (Penn 12) def. Lance Bailey 34-4 (Tippecanoe Valley 12), 11-3 maj.
Shane Kohler (Wash) def. Jimmy Summerfield (Clay), 3-2
140 Roshawn Hill 36-2 (Adams 11) def. Dylan Eberhart 16-8 (Mish 11), 20-5 tech fall
Kenny DeLee (Wash) pinned Lucas Bolin (Penn), 4:55
145 Joe Urednick 38-3 (LaV 11) def. Ryan Bonek 33-10 (Penn 12), 9-2
Shawn Kuhl (Clay) def. Alfredo Garcilazo (Wash), 11-3 maj.
152 Scott Gann 35-1 (Mish 12) def. Matt Read 24-6 (Plymouth 12), 2-1
Tate Chapman (Triton) def. Brandon Cordell (Warsaw), 3-2
160 Jimmy Schultz 33-0 (Mish 12) def. Adam O'Neil 35-5 (Clay 11), 9-3
Grant Gibson (Waw) pinned Nathan Bieszka (Ply), 1:13
171 Alex Dolly 37-0 (Mish 12) def. Derrick Whitbeck 39-2 (Roch 12), 2-1
Rodney Sleepers (S. Bend Riley) def. Clayton Clemer (S. Bend St. Joe), 3-1
189 Mike Markham 39-1 (Riley 12) def. Brett Miller 35-5 (Roch 12), 7-1
Shawn Tribley (LaV) def. Billy Lucas (Mish), 4-1
215 Nick Nicodemus 37-2 (Mish 12) def. Patrick Harmon 15-8 (Adams 11), 3-0
Gavin Mack (Riley) def. Tony Glenn (Wash), 7-5
275 Tom Bemenderfer 35-6 (Penn 10) pinned Keri Foster 20-4 (Clay 12), 4:55
Matt Overman (Mish) pinned Jacob Boots (War), :44
Final Matches of other area wrestlers eliminated in first round
103 Andy DeSimone 3rd (Penn) pinned Sierra Mitchell (Tri), 1:19
119 Tom Ginter 1st (Penn) pinned Mixio Gaytan (War), 1:03
119 Tim Jordan 2nd (Adams) def. Travis Blackburn (Waw), 15-0 tech fall
125 Gary Landuyt 1st (Wash) def. Deme Vallejo (Waw), 7-1
135 Jimmy Summerfield 4th (Clay) def. Robert Raymer (War), 11-1 maj.
135 Aaron Shearer 1st (Penn) def. Brandon Davis (Waw), 14-5 maj
140 Roshawn Hill 1st (Adams) def. Brice List (Waw), 12-2 maj
140 Dylan Eberhart 2nd (Mish) pinned Matt Palladino (War), 2:46
145 Ryan Bonek 2nd (Penn) def. Bobby Derbyshire (War), 7-0
145 Shawn Kuhl 3rd (Clay) def. Josh Van Cleeve (TV), 13-3 maj
171 Rodney Sleepers 3rd (Riley) def. Trevor Brown (Waw), 3-0
189 Billy Lucas 4th (Mish) pinned Nick Hanlin (Waw), 4:35
189 Mike Markham 1st (Riley) def. Ryan Walenga (War), 6:00 tech fall
215 Gavin Mack 3rd (Riley) pinned Mike Hall (Waw), 2:30
275 Tom Bemenderfer 1st (Penn) pinned Chris Reeser (TV), 3:50
