
A pair of last-second takedowns in championship bouts highlighted an outstanding day at the Jay County wrestling regional for Adams County wrestlers as the three county schools advanced a total of 19 individuals to next week’s semi-state in Fort Wayne.

Colt Bollenbacher took the title with a clinching two points with seconds remaining at 144 pounds, beating Wyatt Hoppes of Yorktown to give himself the best chance of representing the Starfires at the State Meet in Evansville in two weeks.


15 minutes later, it was Bellmont’s Duke Myers who electrified the crowd with a takedown at the buzzer to avenge an earlier loss in the season to Kaeb Stebbins of Delta, winning the title at 165 pounds and becoming only the fifth wrestler in Bellmont history to win four regional titles.

The Adams Central Jets also had a champion as Trevor Currie defeated Bryce Wenk for the third straight week to set himself up for another run at the State Finals.

Saturday’s regional, however, was dominated by the Delta Eagles, who won their first regional title since 1996 with nine semi-state qualifiers and a trio of champions.
That number of champions – three – was also achieved by the Bellmont Braves, who claimed their trio of champions with three repeat victories. Along with Myers’ fourth title came a second title for both Keagan Martin (215) and Gavin Davis (157).



Bellmont finished the team race in a solid second place, missing out on the team title by 21.5 points and beating Jay County by 15.

The attention now turns to the semi-state at the Coliseum, where the top five teams at the regional will all be contenders for the team title. The Braves have not won a semi-state title since 2008, while Delta has not won a semi-state since 1991. Rochester won the last two semi-states but were moved to the northwest semi-state this season and will compete at East Chicago Saturday instead of Fort Wayne.

As we’ve been doing, here is a weight-by-weight look at Saturday’s action, along with highlights and photos from a great day of wrestling:
106 pounds

1st-Jensen Boyd-Delta
2nd-Griffin Byrum-Jay County
3rd-Myles Kaehr-Adams Central
4th-Titus Loshe-South Adams

Boyd & Byrum, the two sectional champions, both advanced by fall, but the other two matches in the blood round were barnburners. Kaehr was taken down by Daigan Barbosa twice in the match and was on his back for a moment late in the second period, but a big five-point move midway through the third period sealed the deal for Kaehr in a 12-8 win.

Titus Loshe was taken down twice in the opening minute by Jackson Webb, but Webb never scored again, as Loshe was able to get a second-period reversal and ride his man out. A takedown with 30 seconds to go in the bout for Loshe gave him a 6-4 victory.
The rest of the matches at 106 later in the day all ended by fall. This group should be very competitive at the semi-state.
113 pounds

1st-Ayden Bollinger-Delta
2nd-Levi Johns-Bluffton
3rd-Kale Beer-Adams Central
4th-Zac Reno-Wes-Del
The only close match in the blood round here was between Kale Beer and Nathan Spears of Muncie Central. Beer and Spears both got their escapes in regulation and the match went to overtime. Beer scored the winning two points with seconds remaining to advance to semi-state as a freshman.
Johns and Bollinger were easily the top two here, winning handily in the semis, with Bollinger showing why he finished third in the state last year with a major decision in the finals.
Beer wrestled well in his final match, beating Reno 7-3 to take third place.
120 pounds

1st-Hunter Douglas-Norwell
2nd-Henry Faurote-Bellmont

3rd-Kaid Jackson-Delta
4th-Bowen Keith-Cowan
Henry Faurote used a two-point nearfall at the start of the third period and a takedown with four seconds left to beat Quentin Keen of Winchester 6-4 in the blood round.
South Adams’ Dakota Sprunger had his excellent sophomore season come to an end in a 4-2 loss to Bowen Keith of Cowan.

In the semifinals, Faurote avenged an earlier loss in the season to Kaid Jackson of Delta, scoring a reversal after choosing down to start the third period and riding his opponent out for the win.

Faurote met Douglas for the third successive Saturday, but it was a four-point move by Douglas in the second period that put too much distance between Henry and a regional title. Faurote will have a competitive chance to advance to the State Finals with his second-place regional finish.
126 pounds

1st-Cody Rowles-Jay County
2nd-Bradin Daniels-Union City
3rd-Neal Mosier-Delta
4th-Jason Prough-Norwell
Adams Central’s Dylan Ogg wrestled an outstanding match against Neal Mosier in the opening round, but fell to the undefeated senior 5-0.
Jason Prough of Norwell trailed by a wide margin but scored a fall at the buzzer of the third period to shock Isaiah Spurlin of Winchester.

Cody Rowles hit a mean headlock in the second period and stuck Mosier, handing the Delta senior his first loss of the season. Rowles went on to avenge last week’s loss against Bradin Daniels with another fall.
132 pounds
1st-Jackson Bradley-Cowan
2nd-Sam Mosier-Delta
3rd-Cole Stuffel-Yorktown
4th-Brason Schortgen-Adams Central

Schortgen was the lone survivor from the Jay County sectional at 132, settling for fourth place against three talented wrestlers from the Delta sectional. Jackson Bradley beat Sam Mosier in the finals with a fall in just 60 seconds.
138 pounds

1st-Tony Wood-Jay County
2nd-Justin Boone-Yorktown
3rd-Maverick Dubach-Adams Central

4th-Jarin Frauhiger-Southern Wells

Tony Wood became a four-time regional champion for Jay County by pinning Justin Boone of Yorktown in the championship bout.
Mav Dubach was in line to meet Wood in the finals for a third straight week before yielding a late takedown to Boone. Dubach took care of business against Jarin Frauhiger with an 8-2 decision for third place.
144 pounds

1st-Colt Bollenbacher-South Adams

2nd-Wyatt Hoppes-Yorktown
3rd-Kolton Rhonemus-Delta
4th-Sam Wolpert-Bellmont
Bollenbacher used a three-point nearfall in the second period and a late reversal to score a big upset over Rhonemus, who went to state last year for Delta. Colt was equally as impressive in the finals, knocking off Wyatt Hoppes with that late takedown.
Sam Wolpert became a semi-state qualifier for the first time with a first-period fall in the blood round.
150 pounds

1st-Jayden Jett-Cowan
2nd-Blake Luginbill-Bellmont
3rd-Max Byerly-Adams Central

4th-Jacob Robinson-Jay County
Blake Luginbill dominated in his first two bouts to reach the finals, while Jayden Jett scored a fall and tech to reach the championship bout. Jett used a pair of throw-bys to take Luginbill down for a 4-0 win.

Max Byerly of Adams Central beat Zeke Witter of Delta in the blood round 4-1, then took third with a 3-1 win against Jacob Robinson of Jay County.
157 pounds

1st-Gavin Davis-Bellmont
2nd-Isaiah Meyer-South Adams
3rd-Reazon Davenport-Daleville
4th-Evan Duncan-Winchester
After only getting to wrestle once last week at sectional, Davis was a bit of an unknown, but he won his second regional title for the Braves. The junior had a bit of a scare in the opening round, using up his injury time against Devin Grow. His shoulder held up after that, however, and he picked up two falls to reach the finals, where he defeated Meyer for the second time this year (third if you count last week’s forfeit).

165 pounds

1st-Duke Myers-Bellmont

2nd-Kaeb Stebbins-Delta
3rd-Levi Abbott-Cowan
4th-Cody Cox-Norwell
With 90 seconds left in the semifinal between Levi Abbott and Duke Myers, the score was tied 1-1 and both wrestlers were on their feet. Myers then kicked it into another gear and secured three straight takedowns to clinch his spot in the finals.
Myers and Stebbins could certainly meet for a third time Saturday at the Coliseum.
175 pounds

1st-Braxton Russell-Delta
2nd-Eli Behning-Norwell
3rd-Xavior Palacios-Bellmont

4th-Juaquin Flores-Jay County
All four first-round matches ended in pins within a minute, but the semifinals were outstanding bouts, with Eli Behning beating Palacios on his feet to win 5-3 and Russell controlling a 3-0 decision against Flores.
Russell won by fall in the finals, while Palacios came from behind to beat Flores, 8-4.
190 pounds

1st-Trevor Currie-Adams Central

2nd-Bryce Wenk-Jay County
3rd-Jerimiah Ullom-Monroe Central
4th-Dallas Godby-Wes Del
For the third straight week, Trevor Currie defeated Bryce Wenk to reach the top spot on the corresponding podium. They remain Wenk’s only three losses of the year.
The only bout in the first two rounds at this weight not to end with a fall was a 3-1 win by Dallas Godby over Cole Mendez in the blood round, ending the Bellmont senior’s season.
215 pounds

1st-Keagan Martin-Bellmont

2nd-Keegan Bluhm-Adams Central

3rd-Alan Ortiz-Jay County
4th-Ethan Michael-Norwell
Michael was the only wrestler to knock off a sectional champion when he defeated Luke Powers 14-9 in the opening round.
Keagan Martin won each of his matches by fall to move to 41-1 on the season.
Ortiz took third place with a takedown in overtime to beat Michael, 8-6.
285 pounds

1st-Juan Cruz-Bluffton
2nd-Zac Wurm-Adams Central

3rd-Isaac Moss-Delta
4th-Grady Baker-Bellmont
Grady Baker had no issues getting past his first-round opponent, reaching semi-state with a 7-0 win over senior Chris Walters of Daleville. Isaac Moss won an exciting match over Peyton Long of Southern Wells, while Zac Wurm and Juan Cruz continued to dominate the postseason with first-round wins.
Cruz blasted right through Baker and pinned him in just 11 seconds, while Wurm systematically broke down Moss for a fall late in the second period.
Cruz led Wurm 2-1 in the finals in the third period before turning him and scoring the fall for a third straight win over the AC senior.
Grady Baker could not find a takedown against Moss and had to settle for a 3-0 loss and fourth place. Regardless, it was still a great result for the sophomore.