Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
PLYMOUTH - Five individual champions led the way for the Warsaw wrestling team to win the Plymouth Sectional Saturday.
The Tigers won 21 individual matches to earn the championship, 18 of which came by way of pins, two by technical fall, and one by a decision.
En route to its second straight sectional title, Warsaw finished with 207 points, followed by runner-up Plymouth with 194.5.
Culver Military finished third with 191 points, followed by Triton (179.5), Culver Community (168.5), Rochester (137.5), Bremen (133), Wawasee (102.5) and Tippecanoe Valley (42).
Through the first round of the Plymouth Sectional, all of the Tigers who advanced did so by fall and suddenly the team had a chance to win the event.
"I'm pretty happy about two sectional championships in a row," said Warsaw assistant coach Scott Hutcherson. "The kids wrestled well. They weren't thinking about the possibility of winning, and then all of the sudden it was there. Then they kicked it into gear and decided to take it. We put it all in their hands and said 'you can either go take it or let someone else walk out of here with your championship.'"
With only six in the field at 103 pounds, Warsaw freshman Justin Brooks wrestled just twice.
He won both matches in short order with quick first-period falls.
Freshman Steven Palladino (112 pounds) steadily improved throughout the season.
In the championship, a pumped up Palladino pinned No. 1 seed, Cody Caudill of Culver Community in 61 seconds.
Matt Elvidge (135) seemed to use each of his matches to work on his technique, racking up points through takedowns and near falls before determining the exact moment he wanted to score the fall.
In the finals, Elvidge amassed a 14-3 lead before squashing Josh Workman of Culver Academy in 4:35.
Andy Keener (145) pinned his way to the finals. However, in a personal critique of his performance the Tiger sophomore said, "I've gotta keep working on my shot (the penetration move for a takedown). I need to get that down to advance."
Keener took the championship on the strength of a 15-0 tech fall drubbing of Bremen's Stephen Court at the 4:12 mark.
Seventh-ranked Tom Lowe overpowered all three of his opponents with two pins in the early rounds, both in 58 seconds. In the finals, he racked up three takedowns before dispatching Triton's Chad Ulmer in 3:49
Another outstanding effort was given by Tiger freshman Adam Keener (140), who pinned his way to the finals. Both of his pins came late, one at 5:19 and the second in overtime at 6:38.
Keener lost to third-ranked Cory Fornal of Rochester in the finals.
"He wrestled very well against Cory Fornal," Hutcherson said of Keener's effort in the finals.
Hutcherson went on to say, "Adam went six strong minutes with no rests, but he went out with his offense, and I told him that I was proud of him."
Two other Warsaw wrestlers advanced to the regional with fourth-place finishes, Taylor Julian (189) and Hans Sale (275).
"Every point counted," said Warsaw head coach Tony Boley. "It was a real team effort again, to win the sectional for the second year in a row."
Boley was jubilant about the win and went on to say, "It was really nice to see some kids rise to the occasion. For example, Palladino wrestled some of his best matches and he wins the sectional. One of our guys was sore and hadn't really practiced all week. He didn't know if he was going to be able to wrestle, but he put forth the effort and is advancing to the individual regional."
Boley agreed, however, that traveling to the team regional takes away from concentrated practice for individuals. Warsaw will face Penn, the second-place team from the Mishawaka Sectional.
"We will treat that event just like a practice, we will go hard and we will go long with them as best as we can," said Warsaw assistant coach Brian Elvidge. "No matter what the outcome is, we have a lot of kids on our team that have stepped up this year. These are the kinds of kids that you'd want to go to war with. Representing this sectional will be like going to war, and these are the kids I would want take with me to war."
Wawasee
"We brought seven (wrestlers) and four are going on, with two firsts," said Wawasee coach Scott DeHart. "A few more numbers would be OK, but with what we had, we're working hard. The guys we have are doing what they are supposed to do."
One of Wawasee's two champions was Chase Davis (119), who was on the mat for the least time of any of the winners who wrestled three matches. He won his three matches in a combined time of 2:31. He pinned Dominic Sheets of Culver Community in the finals in just 32 seconds.
Richard Lechlitner (275) was all business as well. He won on the mat by fall in all three matches in a total time of just 3:21. He pinned Bremen's Billy Eggert in 1:47 to take the championship.
Justin Wegener (160) advanced with a third-place finish, while Ethan Jessie (145) advanced, settling for fourth place.
Triton
Callie Prater won the championship, pinning Stephan Vantwoud of Culver Community in 1:14.
Earlier, Prater scored a tech fall over Jared Miller of Bremen and he took a hard fought 9-7 decision against Kevin Dobbyn of Culver Academy.
Triton's Harold Lemler (215) won the championship on the strength of two falls, pinning Rochester's Ryan Secrist at 3:28 in the finals.
As a team, Triton finished a respectable fourth, with eight wrestlers advancing to the individual regional competition.
Adam Ulmer (152) was runner-up after he was pinned in the championship round by Plymouth's David Read. Chad Ulmer (171) lost to Warsaw's Tom Lowe in the finals and also wound up with runner-up honors.
Triton's Matt Woodward (135), after a loss to champion Elvidge, came back to win third place.
Richard Heiman (140) was bumped out in the early going but fought through three wins in the consolation rounds for a third-place finish.
Lee Bragg (275) advanced with a third-place finish, while Travis Gallinger (125) moved on with a fourth-place finish.
Tippecanoe Valley
For Valley, Kyle Horn (135) was the lone Viking to advance to the regional, finishing fourth after a pair of losses to Triton's Matt Woodward.
Individuals who placed fourth or better advance to the individual regional Saturday at Rochester.
Meanwhile Warsaw, with a dual record of 11-9, will travel to South Bend Clay Wednesday for the team regional, where it will face Penn.
Team standings - Warsaw 207, Plymouth 194.5, CMA 191, Triton 179.5, Culver Comm. 168.5, Rochester 137.5, Bremen 133, Wawasee 102.5, Tippecanoe Valley 42
(Championship round and area finishers)
103 - Justin Brooks (Warsaw) pinned Alex Sage (Culver Community), 1:23
Ethan Starke (Bremen) pinned Taylor Judy 6th (Tippecanoe Valley), 2:28
112 - Steven Palladino (War) pinned Cody Caudill (Cul Com), 1:00
119 - Chase Davis (Wawasee) pinned Dominic Sheets (Cul Com), :32
Jason Thompson 5th (Triton) def. James Letsinger (Plymouth), 4-3
125 - John Girard (Culver Military Academy) def. Dallas Berger (Bremen), 17-12
Andy Hacha (Ply) def. Travis Gallinger 4th (Tri), 5-1
Jerry Belcher 5th (War) def. Zech Albert (Cul Com), 9-4
130 - Callie Prater (Tri) pinned Stephan Vantwoud (Cul Com), 1:14
Zach Naas (Ply) pinned Nick Missos 6th (War), 3:36
135 - Matt Elvidge (War) pinned Josh Workman (CMA), 4:35
Matt Woodward (Tri) def. Kyle Horn 4th (TV), 6-2
140 - Cory Fornal (Rochester) def. Adam Keener (War), 11-0 maj.
Richard Heiman 3rd (Tri) def. Alex Morris (Ply), 12-0
Mike Hurford (Cul Com) def. Josh Vallejo 6th (Waw), 16-6 maj.
145 - Andy Keener (W) def. Stephen Court (Bre), 15-0 tech fall
Derrick White (Ply) pinned Ethan Jessie 4th (Waw), 4:48
Greg Looney (Cul Com) def. Tyson Horter 6th (Tri), 9-7
152 - David Read (Ply) pinned Adam Ulmer (Tri) 3:33
160 - Aaron Fornal (Roch) def. Jake Clough (Ply), 9-5
Justin Wegener 3rd (Waw) def. Jake Urednik (Bre), 21-12 maj.
Devyn Vantwoud (Cul Com) pinned Miles Reichard (Tri), 2:27
171 - Tom Lowe (War) pinned Chad Ulmer (Tri), 3:49
Jason Beer 5th (Waw), ff
189 - Austin Rausch (Roch) def. Dan Warren (CMA), 10-7
Drew Flora (Ply) pinned Taylor Julian 4th (War), 1:54
Andy Holloway 5th (TV) pinned Shaun Sahlhoff (Bre), 2:17
215 - Harold Lemler (Tri) pinned Ryan Secrist (Roch), 3:28
John Popi (Ply) pinned Jason Yoder 6th (TV), 4:28
275 - Richard Lechlitner (Waw) pinned Billy Eggert (Bre), 1:47
Lee Bragg (Tri) pinned Hans Sale 4th (W), 1:59
