Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Chet Wortinger may be in the smallest wrestling weight class, he may have the biggest job for Wawasee. His performance to start a match can set the tone for the rest of his teammates.
To start the dual match against Warsaw Thursday, Wortinger pinned Warsaw's Scott Snyder with just 1:11 gone in the match. From that start, the Warriors went onto crush their Kosciusko and Northern Lakes Conference rival Tigers, 55-15, in the WCHS' Career Center Gym.
"We came out and wrestled well," Wawasee coach Scott DeHart said. "We stressed all week that we had to go in and take control of the match from the opening period to the end.
"It is so crucial," he said. "Our whole philosophy is to come out and get physical. These kids are doing a heck of a job of doing that."
Coming into the match, both teams were coming off successful turns at hosting tournaments last weekend with Wawasee going 4-1 in its own tourney Friday with the only loss coming to No. 3 Bellmont. Warsaw blew through the competition in its own tournament Saturday and ended up winning the tourney with a 5-0 record.
The difference in this dual match was the experience of the Warriors against the youth of the Tigers.
"They are a very good team," first-year Warsaw coach Tony Boley said. "They have a lot of upperclassmen, and we are young. We have a lot of inexperienced wrestlers who are working hard. Hopefully, we will learn from this. We will watch and learn from good teams."
The matchup had new meaning with the first appearance of the Carr brothers - Kevin, Darrell and Jason - on the Wawasee roster a year after wrestling in this same matchup for the Tigers. The Carrs transfered to Wawasee from Warsaw at midseason last year and have made the Warriors a very talented and tough team. Add that to the fact that the Carrs father, Darrell Sr., is a longtime friend of Boley, this rivalry took on some added incentive.
"It is your backyard," DeHart said. "It is one of those get in your face and smack you around and let's get after it. Some of these kids only leave a few miles apart. It is a good backyard brawl for everybody."
The Carrs return to the Warsaw mats didn't last very long as Kevin (130) pinned Tim Rice in :31; Darrell (135) pinned Joe Wildman in 2:31 and Jason (152) pinned Matt Zellers in 2:21.
Other Wawasee wins came from Troy Hendricks (125), John Merchant (145), Shaun Belin (160), Rob Burke (171), Jesse Leonard (189) and Jamie Salazar (275). Only Hendricks and Burke did not pin their Warsaw opponents.
Warsaw got its wins from Adam Harter (112), Greg Patrick (119), Aaron Banks (140) and Steve McKinley (215). Only McKinley pinned his Wawasee opponent.
"Even though we have been working through 35 practices, it is difficult to drill the kids, and they go back on the mat and do the old stuff," Boley said. "It takes a lot of time.
"You try to simulate it in practice, but you can't," he said. "The intensity that is involved and the atmosphere, you can't simulate it in practice. We have made tremendous bounds. We are 10-1, and we have beaten some teams. But the level of competition is a lot better. We just have to keep improving. The kids have to believe in the system, and they do."
Warsaw suffered its first loss of the season, while Wawasee improved to 3-0 in the NLC.
"They are working awfully hard," DeHart said. "That is the key. They are working hard in the wrestling room, and they take what they learn there to the mat. We are pleased with the progress we are making it. We still have a long season ahead of us.
"The kids are wrestling with a lot of confidence right now," he said. "We are pleased to be 3-0 in the conference. That is a good start. It gives us a leg up."
Wawasee (6-1) is at Goshen Tuesday, while Warsaw is at the Elkhart Memorial Invitational Dec. 14.
WAWASEE 55, WARSAW 15
103 - Chet Wortinger (Waw) pinned Scott Snyder, :49
112 - Adam Harter (War) def. Travis Coy, 9-2
119 - Greg Patrick (War) def. Shane Heiman, 9-6
125 - Troy Hendricks (Waw) def. Robbie Boley, 7-5
130 - Kevin Carr (Waw) pinned Tim Rice, :31
135 - Darrell Carr (Waw) pinned Joe Wildman, 2:31
140 - Aaron Banks (War) def. Ben Heiman, 4-3
145 - John Merchant (Waw) pinned Carl Hartwell, 5:28
152 - Jason Carr (Waw) pinned Matt Zellers, 2:21
160 - Shaun Belin (Waw) pinned Chris Wilson, 3:58
171 - Rob Burke (Waw) def. Steve Fribley, 13-2
189 - Jesse Leonard (Waw) pinned Joe Wood, 3:36
215 - Steve McKinley (War) pinned Tom Bryan, 1:40
275 - Jaime Salazar (Waw) pinned Jeremy Flores, :58
