DANE FUELLING
WZBD.com
Bellmont took advantage of winning the coin toss and made the moves they needed to take care of business Thursday, beating Adams Central 40-33 in a dual meet that certainly did not deter either team from their goal of winning Team State titles in eight more days.
The two teams split the 14 bouts at 7-7, but it was Bellmont’s ability to end each of their wins earlier than six minutes that made the difference. The visitors also used their lineup to perfection, bumping around and maximizing their potential.
The Braves were able to insert a freshman into the lineup and bump senior Ethan Curtis up two weights to accept a forfeit at 138 from the Jets, while the other six wins amounted to four pins and two tech falls to give coach Tim Myers’ team a 40-point tally.
While the Jets won their own seven matches to equal their opponents, it was a young freshman who ultimately decided the match. Jacob Bleeke wrestled an outstanding match against Myles Kaehr and lost 4-1. Those three team points saved were enough to win the match once Ben Mills came through with an expected fall and Gabe Myers took care of business with a 16-1 tech fall at 132.
By the time Curtis had his hand raised, the Braves had already won the dual, rendering the final four bouts as pure entertainment for the wrestling faithful in attendance.
As good as those four bouts ended up being, it will never be known what they could have been like if the match had started at 138 instead of 175.
The Braves chose to bump up Henry Faurote, one of their state qualifiers from a year ago, to take on unbeaten Dylan Ogg at 144, perhaps with an eye on a later tournament clash between the two.
Ogg showed just how strong he has become this season with a big second period against Faurote, building an eight-point lead with a takedown and nearfall. Coming off a freshman season with ten losses and a fourth-place finish at sectional, Ogg has catapulted into the state rankings with his 25-0 record – despite going up three weight classes.
Trailing 8-0 heading into the final period, Faurote chose neutral and was taken down by Ogg, leading to an 11-0 final and bringing the Adams Central crowd to a roar.
That match was just a precursor to the best match of the night, which saw two of the top 150s in the area square off with Brason Schortgen taking on Sam Wolpert. Schortgen seized the momentum from his teammate and jumped out to a lead with takedowns in both of the first two periods. An accidental eye poke allowed both wrestlers and the crowd to catch their breath for a thrilling third period, which saw Wolpert win a scramble and knot the match at 6-6.
The Bellmont junior chose to let Schortgen go and attempt to find the winning takedown, but it was Schortgen who scored the final three points of the night and, with it, a 10-6 victory.
The beauty of the night for a wrestling fan was that neither match at 144 or 150 lost its luster or intensity despite the fact that Bellmont had already won the dual. Split as usual with the home fans on the east half of the gym and the crowd from Decatur on the west half, both bouts were well worth the wait as the two teams reached the unofficial finish line for the first half of the season with the traditional dual.
The Braves were handed a huge advantage from the start when the home team drew 175 out of the bag of official Josh Howard and the Bellmont captains won the toss and chose to report first in the even matches.
That left Adams Central responsible for checking in with Phil Arnold at the table first at 175 and they went with senior Matt Heiser, 22-1 coming into the night, while Bellmont answered with the first move of the night, changing their initial lineup by inserting their senior leader, Gavin Davis, into the bout.
Davis dominated Heiser, taking him down four times and putting him on his back in the second period en route to a 16-1 tech fall. In retrospect, Bellmont’s decision to get off to a quick start by bumping Davis may have been the biggest decision of the night.
Mismatches followed for both teams in the subsequent bouts, with Bellmont’s Xavior Palacios cradling Max Nussbaum and Ethan Funk turning a tech fall into a pin with three seconds remaining at 215 for the Jets. Grady Baker won by fall at 285 and so did Jacob Binegar at 106.
That set the table for Bleeke to wrestle the biggest match of his career and, while it may be a bit exaggerated, to win the match for the Braves by losing by decision.
Kaehr found just one takedown against the freshman, whose only point came on a full-nelson penalty. Bleeke bent but did not break and the math was squarely in the visitors’ favor thereafter.
Ben Mills took care of business for the Braves at 120 and Kale Beer answered for the Jets at 126, allowing Gabe Myers the opportunity to clinch the dual meet with a tech fall or pin at 132.
The freshman did just that, racking up eight takedowns in an exhibition of offense in a 24-8 victory.
For Bellmont, the win was the last act ahead of Sunday’s bracket reveal for 2A Team State. It continued a run against Adams Central that has seen the Braves win all but one dual meet against the Jets since 1990.
For Adams Central, they lose little by dropping a 7-7 match with one of the top five teams in 2A. Among the other teams competing for the top spot in 1A, none have a win as consequential as beating Bellmont would have been for the Jets. Coach Tony Currie’s team will wrestle one more time after the brackets come out for team state when they travel to Homestead on Tuesday to take on a 4A Team State team.
The Jets are the hosts for 1A on January 11th. Listen to Sunday’s edition of High School Wrestling Weekly for coverage of the bracket reveal and for fan information for both 1A and 2A fans.
Bellmont 40 Adams Central 33
175-Gavin Davis (B) t.f. Matt Heiser, 16-1
190-Xavior Palacios (B) p. Max Nussbaum, 1:00
215-Ethan Funk (AC) p. Ryne Fawbush, 5:57
285-Grady Baker (B) p. Gavin Rumple, 1:12
106-Jacob Binegar (B) p. Ezra Liechty, 1:56
113-Myles Kaehr (AC) d. Jacob Bleeke, 4-1
120-Ben Mills (B) p. Coltan Everett, 2:30
126-Kale Beer (AC) p. Landon Sielschott, 1:41
132-Gabe Myers (B) t.f. Jackson Bingham, 24-8
138-Ethan Curtis (B) WBF
144-Dylan Ogg (AC) m.d. Henry Faurote, 11-0
150-Brason Schortgen (AC) d. Sam Wolpert, 10-6
157-Mav Dubach (AC) t.f. Austin Manley, 16-1
165-Max Byerly (AC) p. Landon Rich, 4:59
Junior Varsity
190-Kaleb Hackenjos (AC) p. Xavier Bodle, 5:20
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