DANE FUELLING
WZBD.com
The most disappointing thing to come from Thursday’s high school wrestling extravaganza held at Bellmont High School between the top-ranked Braves and their fellow #1 (in 1A) Adams Central was the fact that local fans won’t be able to see a rematch in a dual format between the two teams.
1200 fans packed the Bellmont gymnasium on a night when nearly every state champion in Bellmont history was in attendance to be honored and those legendary figures may have given the home team the edge as the Braves won 38-32 in a thrilling dual meet, with both teams winning seven bouts.
Three straight wins near the end of the meet for the visitors put the match in doubt for the large home crowd, but a fall by Henry Faurote at 120 was what undefeated Bellmont needed to secure the victory in the final dual meet before Team State in two weeks for the team.
There will be plenty of Jets fans who will be asking themselves what could have been after the Jets warmed up both Keegan Bluhm (ranked in the top five in the semi-state) and the top-ranked heavyweight in this corner of the state, Zac Wurm. Neither wrestler ultimately took to the mat and the Jets gave up six points to Keagan Martin at 215 and only won by decision at heavyweight. The insertion of both Bluhm and Wurm could have produced a different result, but both wrestlers figure to be back before Team State.
One of the featured matches of the night went the way of the Jets as Trevor Currie remained unbeaten with a 6-0 win over senior Cole Mendez, who had won 16 matches in a row coming into the night. Currie scored two takedowns and fended off any attack Mendez had to give his team the crucial victory.
The match started in a perfect spot for the Jets, who had to sit around and wait for a long time before the varsity action finally got underway just after 8 p.m. Brason Schortgen fought off an early attack by Keven Loshe and then scored a third-period fall, then Maverick Dubach pinned Chandler Thomas and the Jets were immediately up 12-0 and rolling.
Bellmont did not find it as easy to get to the number 12 and they needed three wins at the next three weights to lead for the first time. Blake Luginbill repeated his win against Max Byerly from last year’s dual and Sam Wolpert and Gavin Davis each delivered six points to fire up the home crowd.
The Jets seemed to score a victory by only giving up a major decision to Duke Myers at 165 and that brought up what looked like a real toss-up at 175 between Xavior Palacios and Max Kaehr.
Palacios grabbed the opening takedown and rode out Kaehr in the first period, then chose neutral in the second and scored two more points before locking up a half-nelson near the end of the period. With over a thousand cheering, there was no way official Roger Griffith was going to hear the horn, but after discussion with his assistant referee and despite protests from the Adams Central bench, the official determined that Palacios had flattened Kaehr in time. It turned out to be a crucial call in the match.
By the time the match got to the heavyweights, it was evident that Adams Central was going to need the bout to have a chance to pull off the upset. Wyatt McAfee, who bumped up to wrestle heavy from 215, scored an escape in the second period and received an extra point after two stalling warnings against Grady Baker for the only points in the bout and a victory for the Jets.
Adams Central’s chances of a win increased greatly over the next five minutes, with Myles Kaehr seemingly having no problem taking down Ben Mills and scoring the fall. The sophomore showed more emotion than perhaps ever before in his career in his 51-second fall.
That spurred Kale Beer to a dominating and quick tech fall of Ethan Curtis at 113 with two bouts remaining in the hot Bellmont gym.
After Faurote’s fall, Dylan Ogg claimed a consolation prize with a 4-0 win over Will Franze at 126.
The Jets will travel to Lafayette Jeff for a two-day ten-dual tournament next week at the same time the Braves are competing in the Al Smith at Mishawaka. Pay attention to WZBD.com for coverage of both tournaments over the holidays.
#1 Bellmont 38 #1 Adams Central 32
132-Brason Schortgen (AC) p. Keven Loshe, 4:22
138-Maverick Dubach (AC) p. Chandler Thomas, 2:55
144-Sam Wolpert (B) p. Xander Schwartz, 3:24
150-Blake Luginbill (B) m.d. Max Byerly, 13-3
157-Gavin Davis (B) p. Jaret Smith, 2:45
165-Duke Myers (B) m.d. Matt Heiser, 16-6
175-Xavior Palacios (B) p. Max Kaehr, 4:00
190-Trevor Currie (AC) d. Cole Mendez, 6-0
215-Keagan Martin (B) p. Ethan Funk, 1:51
285-Wyatt McAfee (AC) d. Grady Baker, 2-0
106-Myles Kaehr (AC) p. Ben Mills, :51
113-Kale Beer (AC) t.f. Ethan Curtis, 16-0
120-Henry Faurote (B) p. Jackson Bingham, 1:45
126-Dylan Ogg (AC) d. Will Franze, 4-0
Junior Varsity Matches
138-Joel Franklin (B) d. Lucas Rumple, 9-4
150-Nick Smith (AC) p. Kegan Clifton, 1:57
157-Landon Rich (B) p. Ethan Smith, 3:26
190-Ryne Fawbush (B) p. Damyyn Vergara, :34