DANE FUELLING
WZBD.com
A dual meet fitting for the occasion.
Two of the top teams in 2A in Indiana competed against each other in mutual respect and friendship Saturday, honoring the legacy of coach Paul Gunsett with an excellent, back-and-forth match that ended in a 44-35 for the #1 Delta Eagles over the #3 Bellmont Braves.
The crowd was large in response to the school’s offer to allow everyone in attendance free admission in exchange for a donation to the memorial for Gunsett. A check from the Delta Wrestling Club in the amount of $100 was followed by the announcement of a match of up to $5000 by an anonymous donor. By the time the night was over, the event had raised $16,000+ to honor the former Bellmont state champion.
A moment of silence was held for Gunsett, who died in January of 2023, and the evening progress thereafter to the varsity contest.
With a starting weight of 138 and with Bellmont missing Ethan Curtis at 126 and missing weight at 113, the program with probable lineups for the two squads was not worth the paper it was printed on, as both coaches made multiple moves, both in response to the other and preemptively.
Delta bit first by bumping Jensen Boyd up a weight to 138. The Braves choose to start the night with one of their forfeits, saving Henry Faurote for 144 and falling behind early, 6-0.
The move paid off when Faurote won by tech fall and gave the team some momentum. Ultimately, however, the move backfired, because senior Will Franze was unable to overcome the bump up and was pinned in the first period at 150.
Knowing they were going to need everything to fall their way after dropping a 50/50 match at 150, the Braves came out relentlessly in the next three weight classes, scoring quick falls and building a 23-12 lead. Sam Wolpert, Austin Manley and Gavin Davis each handled the increase in weight without trouble.
The next decision for the Bellmont coaching staff came at 190, where Delta reported Kaeb Stebbins, a state medalist last year, first. Coach Tim Myers chose to go with Ryne Fawbush, pushing undefeated Xavior Palacios to 215.
Palacios was only able to offset Stebbins after the Delta big man dispatched Fawbush in 30 seconds, maintaining the Bellmont lead at 11 points at 29-18.
The Braves’ only other likely victory looking at the remaining matchups was at 285 and Grady Baker took care of business with a first-period fall, but the 35-18 advantage was never going to be enough with five bouts remaining and one of them set to be a forfeit.
Bellmont tried to gain an advantage by moving Jacob Binegar away from freshman phenom Reed Wicker, but Binegar only saved one point when he was teched by Brayden Saleem at 113.
By the time senior Ayden Bollinger took care of the Braves at 126, the home team was going to require a full six points from Gabe Myers at 132 against #10 Sam Mosier. That dream did not materialize and, despite Myers’ best efforts against a very good opponent, he fell 13-2 to Mosier to round out the night.
The Braves will take solace in the fact that it was Delta who lost the dual between the two sides last year but rebounded to take the Team State title. Coach Myers and coach Faurote will hope that the team has another shot at the Eagles in January.
Bellmont will wrestle again next weekend at Columbia City in the NE8 Duals.
#1 Delta 44 #3 Bellmont 35
138-Jensen Boyd (D) WBF
144-Henry Faurote (B) t.f. Brayden Swain, 18-2
150-Zeke Witter (D) p. Will Franze, 1:31
157-Sam Wolpert (B) p. Cole Porter, 3:37
165-Austin Manley (B) p. Lincoln Mann, 1:11
175-Gavin Davis (B) p. Wyatt Berry, :50
190-Kaeb Stebbins (D) p. Ryne Fawbush, :29
215-Xavior Palacios (B) p. Jackson Hawk, :34
285-Grady Baker (B) p. Caleb Thurston, 1:49
106-Reed Wicker (D) WBF
113-Brayden Saleem (D) t.f. Jacob Binegar, 16-0
120-Kaid Jackson (D) t.f. Ben Mills, 19-3
126-Ayden Bollinger (D) p. Landon Sielschott, :14
132-Sam Mosier (D) m.d. Gabe Myers, 13-2
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