DANE FUELLING
WZBD.com
SYRACUSE – Taking nine out of 14 matches Friday night, the #5 Bellmont Braves wrestled to their potential and perhaps even beyond it in a satisfying 50-27 victory at Wawasee. Having won last year’s dual 36-34 at home, the Braves looked ready and motivated for the upcoming season.
The Braves scored seven falls and added a tech fall and both freshmen in the lineup, Ben Mills & Henry Faurote, were victorious.
One of the top performances of the night actually came in a loss for the Braves. Senior Cole Mendez wrestled state-streeter Donovan Blair at 190 and was in the match until the very end, falling 6-3.
“He walked off the match and had lost, but I was smiling,” noted coach Tim Myers. “He wrestled extremely well.”
The dual meet was interrupted after Sam Wolpert’s cradle victory at 144 when his opponent, Ethan Rodriguez, did not come to his feet after the fall was called. Rodriguez spent 15+ minutes with his head immobilized by a trainer as the gym sat in silence waiting on paramedics to arrive.
Thankfully, just a few hours after the meet was over, a message was posted on social media from Wawasee stating that Rodriguez had not suffered any serious injuries and was going to be ok.
Sophomore Grady Baker made his debut at heavyweight and looked good on his feet, scoring a couple of takedowns and winning 7-2 over Derek Morrison in the second bout of the night.
The Braves got falls from the usual suspects in Keagan Martin, Blake Luginbill, Keven Loshe and Xavior Palacios. Duke Myers also got a fall after building a 20-5 lead with a great display of his talents on his feet at 165.
Wawasee’s three returning state qualifiers accounted for three of the team’s five wins.
The Braves are set to wrestle in a two-day event at Goshen in the two days following Thanksgiving.
#5 Bellmont 50 #7 Wawasee 27
215-Keagan Martin (B) p. Trayvon Sanders, 1:09
285-Grady Baker (B) d. Derek Morrison, 7-2
106-Ben Mills (B) p. Karlee Clevenger, :59
113-Kaleb Salazar (W) p. Ethan Curtis, 3:12
120-Henry Faurote (B) t.f. Jaxon Senter, 16-1
126-Cameron Senter (W) p. Will Franze, 1:10
132-Keven Loshe (B) p. Jay Miller, 4:56
138-Titus Taylor (W) p. Chandler Thomas, 1:27
144-Sam Wolpert (B) p. Ethan Rodriguez, 1:49
150-Blake Luginbill (B) p. Brody Young, 1:34
157-Carson Nine (W) p. Landon Rich, 2:26
165-Duke Myers (B) p. Benji Brace, 3:54
175-Xavior Palacios (B) p. Will Hoy, 1:09
190-Donovan Blair (W) d. Cole Mendez, 6-3
Junior Varsity
132-Cavan Tom (W) p. Joel Franklin, 3:23
165-Alexander Tibble (W) p. Isaiah Herman, 3:26
165-Jared Franklin (B) p. Dominic Brown, 2:53
