DANE FUELLING
WZBD.com
Photos by Dane Fuelling, August Fuelling & Kristen Kaehr
FORT WAYNE – It was a good day to be a Brave Saturday.
Already enjoying a record-breaking state tournament series, with a record number of regional qualifiers (14) and semi-state qualifiers (12), the Braves were able to push more wrestlers into the State Finals than any other team in the Coliseum with six.
Xavior Palacios claimed the individual title at 190 and the Braves placed third overall, losing the overall lead to Delta midway through the day. The Eagles simply could not have wrestled better on their way to the team title – they won all 20 matches – and they’ll take a 30-bout winning streak into Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Returning to state along with Palacios was Henry Faurote, who will make his third trip in his junior season. Palacios will be joined by senior teammates Sam Wolpert and Grady Baker, while Faurote will be joined by his little (well, younger) brother, Charlie in Indy. Gabe Myers will provide the sophomore class with representation as the Braves put wrestlers from all four grades into next weekend.
While that means the Braves will graduate a great class, they’ll also next year with three returning state qualifiers and nine guys who have wrestled at semi-state already in their careers.
Team Scores: Delta 142.5, North Miami 119, Bellmont 114, Garrett 99, Adams Central 68.5, East Noble 62, Homestead 52.5, Wawasee 50.5, Carroll (FW) 47.5, Leo 45, New Haven 43, Cowan 42, Maconaquah 33.5, Angola 32, Eastside 29.5, Concord 23, South Adams 22, Western 22, Yorktown 22
In this advanced stage of the tournament, we will summarize the Bellmont day by individuals.
106 – Jacob Binegar
Binegar hadn’t seen Nevins this year, but he had no issues in the opening round, moving one step farther than he did last season as a freshman.
The matchup was much tougher in the ticket round, but Binegar turned a tech fall against Joey Warner back in January into a very nervy match for the #1 guy in the semi-state at 106.
Warner had two takedowns and then chose top in the third to shut out the Bellmont sophomore. It won’t be a surprise if Binegar is right back in the ticket round in 2027.
106-Jacob Binegar t.f. Grady Nevins (DeKalb), 16-0
106-Joey Warner (Carroll (FW)) d. Jacob Binegar, 6-0
113 – Bradley Baker
Baker’s freshman campaign came to an end against a tough senior in Ramon Sierra. The ninth grader will likely move up a weight class or two (or more) for next year and look to build on his 30-win campaign.
113-Ramon Sierra (Garrett) m.d. Bradley Baker, 10-2
120 – Oliver Faurote
Faurote backed up his win over Huston Smith at the conference meet with a convincing win in the opening round. Coupled with Kaiden Braden’s surprise win over defending semi-state champion Bakari Cooper in the bout prior, it opened a major door for either Braden or Faurote to take advantage of a big opportunity.
Faurote started out with a five-point move in the first period against Braden in the ticket round, but the Concord wrestler came storming back with two takedowns and two reversals. Faurote had one last chance to win with a minute to go in the third, but he could not get the turn for nearfall.
Oliver will, like his classmate Bradley Baker, look to build on this season and use his 28 wins this year as a starting point for a return to the ticket round for another taste of state glory to follow in his father’s footsteps.
120-Oliver Faurote d. Huston Smith (Hunt. No.), 9-3
120-Kaiden Braden (Concord) d. Oliver Faurote, 11-8
126 – Ben Mills
Mills was taken to his back at the start of the first and again in the third, leaving him without many chances to compete in his opening-round match. Ben will be one of the senior leaders on next year’s team.
126-Keegan Tedder (Western) d. Ben Mills, 14-9
138 – Henry Faurote
Faurote’s history of success in the Coliseum continued Saturday as he went 3-1 again on the day. The junior made it three-for-three in ticket round bouts in his career and did it without much fuss. Two tech falls put him up against an old rival in Hunter Douglas, but Faurote had to settle for third place as Douglas took him down three times on his way to the title.
Faurote beat Dane Pippenger for the third time this season in his placement match for his 46th win of the season. He’ll take his best shot at a Friday win at state for his first state medal. Faurote is also well-positioned for a run at second place all-time in Bellmont history in career victories. He needs just 43 more wins between next weekend and next season to pass Randy Baker and Matt Irwin, who both ended their careers with 164.
138- Henry Faurote t.f. Max Mirelez (Heritage), 18-3
138-Henry Faurote t.f. Glen Baldwin (Peru), 17-2
138-Hunter Douglas (Homestead) m.d. Henry Faurote, 12-4
138-Henry Faurote t.f. Dane Pippenger (East Noble), 20-4
144 – Gabe Myers
Gabe will make his first trip to the IHSAA State Finals after beating #5 Brycen Brosamer of Concord in the ticket round and #7 Parker Barnes in the semis.
It was a hug-worthy moment for coach Tim Myers, who first hugged assistant Nick Koons on the final whistle in the ticket round, then his son in one of the best moments of the day for Braves fans.
Myers did not give up a takedown in his three bouts on the way to the finals. Sam Mosier, a state semifinalist a year ago, was impressive in the final, teching Myers.
The state berth was certainly well-deserved for Myers, who holds a 4-6 record against the other 144s in the state bracket.
144-Gabe Myers p. Tannor Ellis (Columbia City), 3:48
144-Gabe Myers m.d. Brycen Brosamer (Concord), 13-2
144-Gabe Myers m.d. Parker Barnes (Bluffton), 20-7
144-Sam Mosier (Delta) t.f. Gabe Myers, 21-6
150 – Sam Wolpert
32 years after his father qualified for the State Finals, Sam Wolpert joined Eddie as a Bellmont state streeter with a smart and calculated 4-3 win in the ticket round.
Wolpert was all over Owen Tolle in the opening round and his opening takedown against Homestead’s Ian Hutchinson wasn’t necessarily what won him the state berth – it was more likely what happened in the minute of riding time afterwards that made the difference.
Hutchinson got his own takedown late in the second period, but when it came time for his choice, Hutchinson went neutral, despite needing the point to tie it up. There was simply no way Wolpert was going to be taken down or hit with stalling with a state berth on the line.
While Wolpert couldn’t come up with a win in his last two bouts, it won’t diminish the amount of pain and injury Sam went through in accomplishing his goal. Wolpert’s win was the second in a run of four bouts that saw sons of Bellmont state streeters follow their dads.
150-Sam Wolpert d. Owen Tolle (Eastern (Greentown)), 12-6
150-Sam Wolpert d. Ian Hutchinson (Homestead), 4-3
150-Dallas Davidson (Angola) m.d. Sam Wolpert, 9-1
150-Ashton Goney (Cowan) d. Sam Wolpert, 5-2
157 – Charlie Faurote
Most wrestlers who would have drawn an opponent like Patrick Flowers, who had already beaten Chuck Faurote twice this year, might have shrugged off their chances and showed up to the Coliseum with a care-free attitude.
Charlie Faurote did the opposite, practicing all the week with the attitude of relishing a third shot at Flowers of Huntington North. And he made it count.
Faurote was an absolute animal in the opening two rounds, scoring a pair of mirror-image tech falls to join his brother, father, uncle, great uncles and all the other Faurotes as a state qualifier for BHS.
Charlie and Henry will be one of just a handful of brothers to compete together at Gainbridge.
Faurote actually looked to have taken down #1 Linkin Carter in the first period, but did not get the call. Carter went on to get the fall and finish second.
157-Charlie Faurote t.f. Patrick Flowers (Hunt. No.), 19-3
157-Charlie Faurote t.f. Blake Perl (Concordia Lutheran), 19-4
157-Linkin Carter (Eastside) p. Charlie Faurote, 2:53
157-Evan Oglesby (Maconaquah) p. Charlie Faurote, 2:05
165 – Austin Manley
Austin Manley nearly pulled off a shock win over Noah Bowser, taking the Carroll senior to his back with a “Faurote” (see sequence below) and holding him there for more than 30 seconds (coming dangerously close to a fall) to take an 8-3 lead.
Another takedown by Manley gave the Bellmont sophomore a lead heading into the third, but Bowser scored the winning takedown on his way to a 15-12 win.
165-Noah Bowser (Carroll (FW)) d. Austin Manley, 15-12
175 – Owen Shane
Owen Shane’s great postseason run came to an end Saturday. Wrestling up several weights, the freshman’s advancement from sectional and regional was key to the trophy-winning efforts of the Braves.
175-Jacob Bemiller (Concord) p. Owen Shane, :40
190 – Xavior Palacios
Palacios won the semi-state crown and tied his head coach, Tim Myers, in career wins (155) at the same time, pinning Jordan Simon of North Miami for an emphatic ending.
The senior and returning state medalist was just one takedown in the semifinals away from ending all four of his matches early. He needed just 29 seconds to win in the ticket round.
Palacios barely allowed Jordan Simon the space to breathe in the final, building a 5-0 lead before the fall and getting a stalling call from the official as Simon did not want to engage in the match.
190-Xavior Palacios p. Jaden Cochran (Carroll (FW)), 3:16
190-Xavior Palacios p. Jared Prickett (Oak Hill), :29
190-Xavior Palacios m.d. Jax Litchfield (Heritage), 13-0
190-Xavior Palacios p. Jordan Simon (North Miami), 3:27
285 – Grady Baker
A pair of 2-1 wins on Saturday showed just how smart and well-coached of a heavyweight Grady Baker has become for Bellmont. After dispensing of a familiar opponent in Braxton Vaught in the opening round, Baker did all the pushing and created all the action in the opening minute, garnering a stalling warning against Cail Dunphy (Northfield).
Baker seized on that moment and Dunphy’s hesitant choice of neutral to start the third to take control of the match. After four minutes of no points in the biggest match of their lives, Baker confidently went down in the third, grabbed a reversal with his agility, and held on for a big 2-1 win.
Grady was somewhat perturbed at a questionable fall call at the very end of the first period against his nemesis, Isaiah Coolman, but he moved on from that moment and gave himself a real chance to win a state medal by not finishing fourth. He had to beat Kyle Sommer for the second time this year and just like his ticket round match, Baker scored the winning points with a late reversal from his choice of bottom in the third.
285-Grady Baker p. Braxton Vaught (Columbia City), 3:04
285-Grady Baker d. Cail Dunphy (Northfield), 2-1
285-Isaiah Coolman (Leo) p. Grady Baker, 2:00
285-Grady Baker d. Kyle Sommer (Elkhart), 2-1
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