DANE FUELLING
WZBD.com
NEW HAVEN – The Bellmont Braves won four individual titles at this weekend’s middle school conference meet for the NE8 and finished in third place as a team, with East Noble claiming the team title.
The Braves were hamstrung in their efforts to win the team title with two eighth graders, Jacob Binegar and Luke Ruble, on crutches and in the bleachers instead of on the mat for what would have been the final event in a BMS singlet.
Here is a quick rundown of each varsity wrestler and their results:
75 lbs. – Jayce Neuenschwander showed some toughness in his final match of the day to score big team points when the Braves were still an outside contender for the team title. “Pickle”, a seventh grader, won his fifth-place match by fall to finish 2-2 on the night.
80 lbs. – Zayne Snyder followed Neuenschwander’s lead and also scored a fall for fifth place to finish 2-2 on the night.
85 lbs. – Camron Barger opened the night with a takedown in overtime to beat Dominic Shaw of New Haven, then won again in the consolation semis to take fourth place, finishing 2-2.
90lbs. – Jaxen Monnier was moved up to varsity with Binegar’s absence and scored points in the consolation bracket by taking a forfeit. He finished in sixth place.
95 lbs. – Bradley Baker dominated this weight class and scored a fall in less than a minute to claim the first title for Bellmont on the night. Baker missed practice earlier in the week after suffering an injury at ISWA State, but gutted out two big wins for a conference title.
102 lbs. – Jacob Bleeke scored two falls to reach the finals and stand next to six other teammates in the face-offs.
He fell behind early but scored two nearfall at the buzzer to force overtime. He was taken down by Gunner Smithson of East Noble, however, and had to settle for second place.
110 lbs. – Oliver Faurote took care of business in the early rounds to set up an expected final with Griffin Kline of East Noble, but also had to settle for second as Kline was simply too good on his feet, winning 7-4 in the championship bout.
117 lbs. – Landon Sielschott, an eighth grader, won his first two matches and reached the finals, where he faced Jacob Langford of New Haven.
Langford got the opening takedown in what looked to be a fairly competitive bout and then caught Sielschott and scored the fall.
125 lbs. – Charlie Faurote was the best wrestler in this weight class and showed it with a 14-8 decision against Norwell’s Royce Merrill in the finals. The seventh grader finished the season 17-2 for BMS.
132 lbs. – The Braves won another title at 132 with 8th grader Gabe Myers, who finished off a perfect season with a 20-7 major of previously-unbeaten Noah Workman.
Myers finishes the year 15-0 as a conference champ.
140 lbs. – Liam Simon had some tough luck and ended up scoring just sixth-place points.
After grinding out a tough win in the first round, Simon looked set to have a spot in the finals and make it eight finalists in a row for the Braves, but a freak collision of heads resulted in a stoppage of action and the trainer was quickly summoned. Simon was not allowed to continue after the trainer’s assessment and the DeKalb wrestler was awarded the victory, ruling out the Bellmont eighth grader for the rest of the event.
150 lbs. – Austin Manley won another title for the Braves with three wins, including a 5-2 decision against Norwell’s Colton Huss in the finals.
Manley finished his 8th grade campaign at 19-1.
160 lbs. – Kade Cutler won his quarterfinal match and then took fifth place by forfeit to score 11 team points for the Braves.
175 lbs. – Kyle Shaffer scored a fall in the consolation round and eventually took sixth place.
195 lbs. – Xavier Bodle showed major heart in his match for fifth place, pinning Henry Schilb of Leo to finish his middle school wrestling career. Bodle ended the year with a 7-7 record.
The Braves forfeited at heavyweight.
Team Scores
East Noble 233.5
Indian Springs 226
Bellmont 216.5
DeKalb 205
Norwell 175
Leo 156
New Haven 148
Huntington 69
Harding 44.5
