ROCHESTER — Following multiple postponements and a near cancellation, the Three Rivers Conference wrestling tournament finally took place Thursday at Rochester, with the host winning its second-straight crown. Garnering seven individual champions, the Rochester Zebras finished the tournament with 256 points, while Tippecanoe Valley (201.5) and Southwood (200.5) rounded out the top three teams. The Manchester Squires finished seventh with 103 points and the Whitko Wildcats were last with 64. Manchester and Whitko may have been the bottom two teams at the meet, but finishing high didn’t seem to be a huge concern for either. With the sectional coming up Saturday, as Whitko travels to Carroll and Manchester to Peru, the respective coaches allowed top wrestlers to take the conference tournament off. “We brought six guys,” Whitko coach Frank Bumgardner said, as eight others didn’t compete in the meet. “We gave our guys the option of coming tonight or focusing on sectionals. A majority of them said their goals were not here, but their goals were to advance in the (postseason) tournament. So, that’s why the majority of them stayed at home – be it for the weight, prep or whatever it was.” Manchester coach Jerimiah Maggart also gave that option to some of his guys, including 195-pound senior Neil Snep and 132-pound junior Clayton Moore, who won the 126-pound TRC title last year. “We’re focused on the sectional and a state run, that is what we’re after,” Maggart said. “This tournament doesn’t factor that much into it. We’d love to win it, because conference is a big deal, but we were kinda focused on the sectional.” A run at a conference crown wasn’t going to be in the cards for Manchester or Whitko, but Tippecanoe Valley had a chance to compete, so coach Scott Smith didn’t hold anyone out. “I think our kids wrestled well tonight,” Smith said. “They were ready to wrestle tonight. They wanted to wrestle instead of just having another practice. They wanted the opportunity to be the best in the conference.” Smith also wanted to get the meet in just so his guys could get back on the mat, as they hadn’t competed since Jan. 17. “If we hadn’t gotten this one in, it would have been two weeks see we had had a meet,” Smith said about preparing for Saturday’s Plymouth Sectional. “This is a pretty good to get the fire started for us and get the competitive juices going for Saturday.” Valley had three individual champions, as Devin Childers defended his 152-pound title with a 9-2 victory over Rochester’s Justin Schroder. The title is Childers third, as he also won at 120 pounds in 2012. Also for Valley, Wyatt Nelson pinned Manchester’s Brennan France in 4:36 at 138 pounds and Garrett Bell posted an 11-3 major decision over Whitko’s Zach Baughman at 170 pounds. The most surprising match of the night may have been at 182 pounds, where Valley’s Keaton Bell held a 6-2 lead in the second period, before being pinned by Wabash’s Tony Hough at the 3:22 mark of the match. “He doesn’t remember it,” Smith said of Bell. “The kid put him in a cradle, and when he did, he came across his carotid artery. He blacked out. It’s unfortunate the way it happened.” Smith said Bell will be ready for the Plymouth Sectional, where he won the 170-pound title in 2012. Smith was predictably pleased with his team’s second-place finish, but Maggart and Bumgardner also applauded their short-handed squads. “We didn’t have a very good final round, but I was pretty impressed with some matches,” Maggart said, as Bryce Zook (120) and Brennan France (138) each reached championship matches. “They did well with practicing just once since last week.” Bumgardner also liked how his six guys performed, as Cole Findley (152) and Zach Baughman (170) reached championships matches. “All six of them came and wrestled well, he said. “I’m pleased how they performed.”
THREE RIVERS CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT Team Scores – 1. Rochester 256, 2. Tippecanoe Valley 201.5, 3. Southwood 200.5, 4. Northfield 129, 5. North Miami 121, 6. Wabash 118, 7. Manchester 103, 8. Whitko 64. (Finals) 106: 1st – Brandon Simpson (Sw) pin. Gideon Gipson (Wab), 5:36; 3rd – Ben Gehrich (R) maj. dec. Tyler Walters (Wab), 14-3. 113: 1st – Josh Heckathorn (R) pin. Drew Clark (Nf), 4:39; 3rd – Colton Dawes (Sw) won by forfeit. 120: 1st – Skyler Hall (Wab) pin. Bryce Zook (Man), 5:12; 3rd – Aaron Orr (R) dec. Adam Smalley (Nf), 4-3; 5th – Austin Nault (TV) pin. Eduardo Espinilla (NM), 1:55. 126: 1st – John Hunting (R) pin. William Mikesell (NM), 3:42; 3rd – Jared Gable (Man) pin. Matthew Carey (Nf), 2:34; 5th – Asher Teague (Sw) won by forfeit. 132: 1st – Devin Childers (TV) dec. Justin Schroder (R), 9-2; 3rd – Logan Carey (Nf) dec. Trey Addair (Man), 9-4. 138: 1st – Wyatt Nelson (TV) pin. Brennan France (Man), 4:36; 3rd – Will Bumbaugh (Wh) dec. Dustin Curless (Sw), 6-4 (OT); 5th – Warren Russo (NM) dec. Thomas Rensberger (R), 7-3. 145: 1st – Ben Horban (R) pin. Cody Runyon (TV), 4:31; 3rd – Chance Enyeart (Sw) pin. Quentin Moore (Man), 4:24; 5th – Dominick Hubbard (Wab) pin. Kris Kraning (NM), 2:13. 152: 1st – Braxton Lee (R) maj. dec. Cole Findley (Wh), 9-0; 3rd – Nick Rebholz (Sw) dec. Arron Heller (TV), 5-4; 5th – Ryan Kendall (Man) pin. Ben Dillon (Wab), 1:29. 160: 1st – Tyler Downhour (R) pin. Adam Strickler (Wab), 5:25; 3rd – Gary Long (TV) pin. Brenden Schlening (Sw), 1:58; 5th – Blake Sapp (Wh) won by forfeit. 170: 1st – Garrett Bell (TV) maj. dec. Zach Baughman (Wh), 11-3; 3rd – Josh Bickel (Nf) dec. Nathan McCown (Sw), 16-11; 5th – Jacob Clingman (NM) dec. Elijah Robinson (Wab), 5-2. 182: 1st – Tony Hough (Wab) pin. Keaton Bell (TV), 3:22; 3rd – Lane Eckrote (NM) pin. Landon Tharp (Man), 0:48; 5th – Taylor Pugh (R) pin. Chris Adams (Sw), 3:54. 195: 1st – Wes Beck (R) pin. Josh Back (TV), 0:37; 3rd – Dylin Porter (Sw) pin. Austin Towner (NM), 2:26; 5th – Austin Hiatt (Wab) won by forfeit. 220: 1st – Jordan Shafer (R) dec. Nick McCown (Sw), 9-5; 3rd – Jaron Kidd (TV) pin. Dayton Waldron (Nf), 0:55. 285: 1st – Jake Smith (Sw) dec. Evan Beech (NM), 7-4; 3rd – Jake Stephan (Nf) pin. Lane Coffing (R), 2:03; 5th – A.J. Long (TV) dec. Dylan Sims (Wh), 8-3.
