DANE FUELLING
WZBD.com
An outstanding day in the “big-boy gym” on the opening day of the Al Smith Classic helped the Bellmont Braves to an impressive seventh-place finish with four placers and one finalist.
Finishing higher than any other 1A or 2A school, the Braves advanced wrestlers in four consecutive weight classes to finish higher than three different teams who will be at Franklin for 3A Team State this weekend.
Keagan Martin’s run to the championship match electrified the Bellmont crowd and his victory over Devin Kendrex in the semifinals has to be one of the most satisfying wins for a Bellmont fan this season. The senior was defeated by the defending state champion Will Clark, who is likely to become a repeat champion this February if he wrestles like he did this weekend in Mishawaka.
Another key victory on the second day came from Xavior Palacios on Saturday morning at 175. He beat Prairie Heights’ Matt Levitz on his feet and advanced in the consolation bracket with a 6-4 victory. Palacios received a bit of good fortune by receiving a forfeit in his placement match from the state’s #1-ranked wrestler, allowing the sophomore to stand on the fifth-place spot of the podium.
Duke Myers survived a first-day scare against a familiar opponent in Marques Young, but despite his takedown shortcomings, he still managed to grind out two very impressive wins without a takedown. He defeated Will Kennedy of Mishawaka to advance to the championship match of the consolation bracket before losing to Evan Roudebush of Bloomington South, 5-0, and settled for fourth place.
Cole Mendez used his impressive record to gain the fifth seed and won three matches on the first day to reach the semifinals at 190. While he did not win a match and finished sixth on the second day, he certainly gained confidence heading into Team State this weekend.
For more coverage of Bellmont’s efforts at Mishawaka, check out our live blogs from the event here:
Bellmont Placements and Point Totals at Al Smith in last decade
2023-7th Place (118 Points)
2022-14th Place (93.5 Points)
2021-6th Place (173.5 Points)
2019-15th Place (86 Points)
2018-18th Place (85 Points)
2017-22nd Place (65 Points)
2016-11th Place (119 Points)
2015-5th Place (146 Points)
2014-6th Place (146 Points)