A large crowd gathered on the Madison Street Plaza to watch the Bellmont Braves wrestling team set its lineup for the first week of the season with a series of challenge and exhibitions matches Thursday.
Dropping temperatures did not seem to keep anyone home as the crowd was very similar to last year’s inaugural event. Head coach Tim Myers pulled out as many stops as he could think of to bring the community and the team closer together.
Mayor Dan Rickord even sat at the head table and helped administrate throughout the night.
“Next year we will go even bigger,” predicted Myers, who is already thinking of things to add for next year’s event. “We need food options and more of a reason for people to come out and stay. Overall, thought, it was a good night and we are excited for the season to begin.
In weights where there were more than two healthy wrestlers, the team held preliminary matches, with the winner advancing to the final wrestle-off.
The highlight of those matches was the battle of senior Devin Gephart and junior Ryne Fawbush at 190, the most competitive weight in this year’s Bellmont room. Gephart scored five takedowns before turning Fawbush in the third period.
With the Braves short on wrestlers in a few weight classes, Myers took it upon himself to set up exhibition matches that would be competitive.
In the end, it was the most entertaining part of the night as all the matches featured two future varsity wrestlers pitted against each other.
The first of those exhibitions was between the Braves’ 113, Ethan Curtis, and their 106, freshman Ben Mills. After a scoreless first period, Curtis chose top and rode the much smaller Mills out for two full minutes. Mills had no choice but to start in neutral and his junior teammate scored the only points in the bout with a takedown to win 2-0.
The crowd also got a good look at freshman Henry Faurote, who had a good enough offseason and middle school career to find his way into the preseason state rankings on IndianaMat this week. Faurote is set to begin the year unchallenged at the 120 spot and he was pitted against returning varsity man Will Franze, who will be the 126 to begin the season.
Faurote controlled Franze throughout, scoring nearfall in two different situations in the second period to win 13-1.
In the final exhibition, Sam Wolpert (144) pinned Chandler Thomas (138).
Varsity spots were won with first period falls by Keven Loshe (132), Landon Rich (157), Duke Myers (165), Xavior Palacios (175) and Keagan Martin (215).
Two wrestle-offs were more competitive, with the 190 match providing the most intrigue. Devin Gephart had to get past Cole Mendez in a battle of seniors. Mendez took down his classmate and scored nearfall to build a 5-0 lead before pinning his man with 20 seconds in the second period.
The heavyweight bout featured two sophomores who both had legitimate aspirations of making the lineup in Grady Baker and Luke Heyerly. Baker was better on his feet and used his strength and leverage and scored a second-period fall.
The Braves begin the season Friday, the 17th, at Wawasee. The match will be broadcast live on WZBD’s YouTube channel.
Results
Preliminary Matches
132-Joel Franklin p. Cole Sipe, 2:24
165-Isaiah Herman p. Jared Franklin, 1:47
175-Xavior Palacios d. Joe Hakes, :27
190-Devin Gephart p. Ryne Fawbush, 5:09
215-Keagan Martin p. Aiden Miller, 1:26
215-Douglas Hamilton p. Jayden Zamora, 1:29
Exhibition Matches
Ethan Curtis d. Ben Mills, 2-0
Henry Faurote d. Will Franze, 13-1
Sam Wolpert p. Chandler Thomas, 1:40
Final Spot Wrestle-Offs
106-Ben Mills wins by forfeit
113-Ethan Curtis wins by forfeit
120-Henry Faurote wins by forfeit
126-Will Franze wins by forfeit
132-Keven Loshe p. Joel Franklin, :52
138-Chandler Thomas wins by forfeit
144-Sam Wolpert wins by forfeit
150-Blake Luginbill wins by forfeit
157-Landon Rich p. Kegan Clifton, 1:31
165-Duke Myers p. Isaiah Herman, 1:24
175-Xavior Palacios p. Connor Miller, :32
190-Cole Mendez p. Devin Gephart, 3:39
215-Keagan Martin p. Douglas Hamilton, :25
285-Grady Baker p. Luke Heyerly, 3:45
About the Author
