The #4 Bellmont Braves flexed their muscles at home Thursday night in the home opener for coach Tim Myers’ team, beating Bishop Dwenger 69-6.
The match marked the first time Gavin Davis had stepped onto the mat to wrestle for Bellmont this year after a shoulder injury kept him out of the first two weeks of action. Davis wasted no time when his weight finally came up, sticking his man in less than 45 seconds.
The Braves got off to a big start with quick falls by Keagan Martin and Grady Baker as the match started at 215 and the home team quickly led 12-0.
Martin’s win was his 100th for his storied career.
Then the home crowd got a first look at 106 freshman Ben Mills, who has just one loss on the year so far. Mills wasted no time and got the fall in the first period and that was followed by a pin by Ethan Curtis.
That set up what was expected to be the most exciting bout and another Braves freshman, Henry Faurote, did not disappoint, moving to 12-0 on the year and showing why he holds a statewide ranking of #14 already in his young career. Faurote scored two takedowns and defeated Simon Cornewell, 4-2.
The Braves took the next two matches at 126 and 132 with wins by Will Franze and Keven Loshe before Dwenger got on the board at 138. It ended up being the Saints’ only victory in the match.
Then came Sam Wolpert at 144, who put the Braves back on track with a fall.
Blake Luginbill showed maturity and the senior did what he needed to do to move to 11-1 this year with a one-point win over Grant Hilger, who entered the night 5-0.
With the match in hand on the team board, the crowd was treated to Davis’ return and they saw a quick fall. Davis was the feature interview of WZBD’s postmatch coverage.
The Braves continued to roll with falls from Duke Myers, Xavior Palacios and Cole Mendez.
Join WZBD on Saturday night on our YouTube channel as the Braves challenge the #1 team in 2A, renewing their rivalry with the Delta Eagles.
#4 Bellmont 69 Bishop Dwenger 6
215-Keagan Martin (B) p. Nick Pelkington, 1:59
285-Grady Baker (B) p. Landon Sorg, 1:01
106-Ben Mills (B) p. Isaiah Henry, 1:42
113-Ethan Curtis (B) p. Noah Gallager, 2:29
120-Henry Faurote (B) d. Simon Cornewell, 4-2
126-Will Franze (B) p. Harrison Schenkel, 1:56
132-Keven Loshe (B) Xavier Garrett, 14-8
138-Connor Phillips (BD) p. Chandler Thomas, 1:58
144-Sam Wolpert (B) p. Aaron Quinn, 2:41
150-Blake Luginbill (B) d. Grant Hilger, 5-4
157-Gavin Davis (B) p. Isaac Pflueger, :43
165-Duke Myers (B) p. Luca Hubley, 2:36
175-Xavior Palacios (B) p. AJ Shefferley, 3:18
190-Cole Mendez (B) p. Jonathon Holly, 1:00