It will be seven duals in 24 hours for the Bellmont Braves this weekend up at Columbia City, as they face all seven of their conference opponents, bringing their season total of matches up to 21 with next Thursday’s home dual against South Adams the only remaining fixture before Christmas, the two-pound weight allowance, and the Al Smith seeding meeting.
The Z Team will be on hand to cover the first two rounds on Friday night, when the Braves face Leo, followed by DeKalb.
WZBD.com will provide coverage of Saturday’s events as the Braves look for a 7-0 sweep.
The draw for the event pits the Braves against some of the lower teams in the conference before handing the team the two opponents who are most likely to cause them trouble – New Haven and East Noble.
The schedule for the weekend is as follows:
Round 1 (6 p.m. start) vs. Leo
Round 2 vs. DeKalb
Saturday
Round 1 vs. Norwell
Round 2 vs. Huntington North
Round 3 vs. Columbia City
Round 4 vs. New Haven
Round 5 vs. East Noble
Leo has been weakened by a couple of transfers, but they still return four semi-state qualifiers and state qualifier Isaiah Coolman, who will take on undefeated heavyweight Grady Baker. Coolman is ranked #4 in the entire state.
DeKalb has undergone a period of uncertainty after a mid-season coaching change last season and the team is 4-3 this season. Returning state qualifier Drew Waldon has not been seen in a DeKalb singlet this year and likely will not feature. The same is true for two ticket rounders – Graham Blythe and Jadon Teague – for the Barons.
Head coach Jimmy LaRowe has an extremely young team, filled with varsity newcomers. Top returners are Cody Cox at 165 and Carson Powell, who is every bit of 285 pounds for the Knights.
Huntington North has just five returning varsity wrestlers, with none of them reaching the semi-state level a year ago. The Vikings have had just two duals so far this year and they’ve dropped both of them to 1A Team State participants.
120-pounder Ian Berry leads the Columbia City contingent after reaching the ticket round last season. The Eagles also have solid wrestlers at 150 (Izaac Driver) and heavyweight (Isaiah Yeiser).
The matchup against New Haven, who enter Friday night ranked #9 in the state in 3A as a team, will likely be the most difficult matchup for the Braves. Senior Julianna OCampo is #1 in the state at 106, but has been at 113 for much of the year so far. Timmy Rocha (126) and Sean Harris (132, went to Leo last year) are both ticket rounders from the Coliseum last season.
The Bulldogs feature three more semi-state qualifiers and state champion Easton Doster in the middle of the lineup and they pack an extra punch up top in the heavyweights with some big strong kids with experience. New Haven just beat Garrett 47-24 and Homestead 48-26. Coach Jimmy Linn’s program is as strong as ever, already clinching a spot at 3A Team State for this coming January and winning the girls’ state title last season. This should be the dual of the weekend at this event.
No one on the Braves coaching staff was alive the last time the program (Decatur) lost to a New Haven side in a dual and that will be a point of pride for the Bellmont faithful Saturday when they battle the Bulldogs.
Bellmont will finish with East Noble. The Knights are in the running for an at-large bid to 3A Team State, but a big football season has seen them wrestle just one dual so far this season, a win over a good Northridge team. Three-time ticket rounder Kealen Fuller is at 120, while Rylee Biddle and Dallas Plattner were also a match away from Evansville last year. Biddle was at 165 against the Raiders, while Plattner was not in the lineup. Dylan Krehl (190) will give the Braves a good match, as well.
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