An opening-round drubbing of Mount Vernon (Posey) did not give the Bellmont Braves enough momentum to overcome eventual champions Garrett in the semifinal or New Prairie in the third-place match, leaving the team with a fourth-place finish at Saturday’s 2A Team State tournament at Jay County.
With Will Franze, Ben Mills and Ethan Curtis all dropping down to wrestle new weight classes for the first time this season, the Braves hoped to have enough firepower to compete with the state’s top teams in 2A.
The lineup shift worked to perfection as all three boys won by fall against Mount Vernon and the Braves won easily, 68-9.
The team then looked on as the other three top seeds all faced more difficult challenges and won by smaller margins. Coming into the day as the #4 seeds with head-to-head losses against the three teams in front of them, the Braves had a challenge if they wanted to reach the final.
Their semifinal opponent was the Garrett Railroaders, who beat Bishop Chatard (49-21) in the quarterfinals.
Head coach Tim Myers had the first decision to make in the very first bout with the dual starting at 144, and he chose correctly, sending out Will Franze. After a scoreless first period, Franze scored the takedown in the second and then got the fall.
Bellmont then bumped away from Carter Fielden, this year’s Al Smith runner-up at 144, at 150, conceding the six points by inserting freshman Kade Cutler and moving Sam Wolpert up to 157.
A late reversal by Brian Barrett turned a win for Wolpert into an overtime match and Barrett secured the takedown for a 10-7 decision.
That win gave the Railroaders the momentum they needed, taking the first real toss-up of the dual ahead of a run of bouts that featured mismatches on either side and Garrett were heavy favorites in six of the next nine.
The Braves did their parts in the matches they were supposed to win, with Gavin Davis, Xavior Palacios and Grady Baker all scoring solid victories, but it left the team down 16 points with just three bouts remaining.
Garrett won the dual meet and advanced to the finals with first-minute falls at 126 and 132, leaving Henry Faurote to wrestle for himself in the final bout. That bout was a terribly important one for Faurote, however, with Ryan Kochendorfer one of the very best 138s in the local semi-state.
With Garrett up 49-21, Faurote and Kochendorfer were hit with double stalling midway through a scoreless first period. Henry found his groove in the second, scoring a pair of takedowns and pinning Kochendorfer after building a 6-2 lead.
The loss put Bellmont up against New Prairie, who somehow gave up a 33-7 lead to Delta in the other semifinal. The Eagles won the final six bouts to upset the #2 seed.
Wrestling the Cougars for third place, the Braves got top-notch wins from Austin Manley at 157 and Xavior Palacios at 190 over high-quality opponents, while Gavin Davis moved up to 175 to score six points.
New Prairie, however, had their hammers, with state-ranked Jayden Lewis, Matthew Staples and Devin Kendrex giving their team an 18-14 lead.
Grady Baker tied the dual meet at 18-18 after seven weights, but New Prairie won three of the next four bouts by major decision, with only Ben Mills scoring points for the Braves.
That left Bellmont with a 30-24 lead with three bouts remaining. Gabe Myers scored a big fall in the first period at 132, but Henry Faurote and Will Franze were both defeated, leaving the Braves with their fourth-place finish.
#4 Bellmont 68 #5 Mt. Vernon (Posey) 9
138-Will Franze (B) p. Cael Collins, :47
144-Henry Faurote (B) t.f. Jayden Stillwagoner, 20-2
150-Sam Wolpert (B) t.f. Monroe Harris, 17-1
157-Austin Manley (B) t.f. Logan Mitchell, 15-0
165-Gavin Davis (B) p. Colten Schneider, :40
175-Ira Muller (MV) d. Landon Rich, 13-9
190-Xavior Palacios (B) p. Eastin Hall, 1:15
215-Ryne Fawbush (B) p. Trevan Bell, 1:19
285-Grady Baker (B) p. Louis Allyn, :46
106-Jacob Binegar (B) t.f. Daniel Bazan, 17-2
113-Ben Mills (B) p. Jackson Meinschein, :39
120-Ethan Curtis (B) p. Tristan Rumley, 2:46
126-Landon Sielschott (B) p. Hunter Anslinger, 2:33
132-Brendan Hubbard (MV) p. Gabe Myers, 3:26
#1 Garrett 49 #4 Bellmont 27
144-Will Franze (B) p. Eli Wright, 3:03
150-Carter Fielden (G) p. Kade Cutler, :19
157-Brian Barrett (G) d. Sam Wolpert, 10-7, OT
165-Gavin Davis (B) p. Jackson Endley, :37
175-Nate Wells (G) p. Landon Rich, :32
190-Xavior Palacios (B) p. Chase Egly, 1:14
215-Aiden Hunt (G) p. Ryne Fawbush, 2:34
285-Grady Baker (B) d. Jacob Reynolds, 6-1
106-Ramon Sierra (G) m.d. Jacob Binegar, 10-0
113-Abrum Swathwood (G) p. Ben Mills, :51
120-Caleb Asa (G) p. Ethan Curtis, 3:09
126-Kameron Baker (G) p. Landon Sielschott, :47
132-Brock McCartney (G) p. Gabe Myers, :58
138-Henry Faurote (B) p. Ryan Kochendorfer, 3:43
#2 New Prairie 40 #4 Bellmont 30
150-Jayden Lewis (NP) p. Sam Wolpert, :49
157-Austin Manley (B) m.d. Henry Klein, 12-4
165-Matthew Staples (NP) p. Landon Rich, 1:05
175-Gavin Davis (B) p. Ethan Mechling, :24
190-Xavior Palacios (B) m.d. Hayden Whitenack, 12-4
215-Devin Kendrex (NP) p. Ryne Fawbush, 2:44
285-Grady Baker (B) m.d. Lee Atherton, 10-1
106-Michael Skaggs (NP) m.d. Jacob Binegar, 14-2
113-Ben Mills (B) p. Nathan Scott, 1:28
120-Caleb Halfacre (NP) m.d. Ethan Curtis, 17-9
126-Rocco Ieraci (NP) m.d. Landon Sielschott, 13-1
132-Gabe Myers (B) p. Colton Newgent, 1:17
138-Preston Hammond (NP) m.d. Henry Faurote, 14-3
144-Jeffrey Huyvaert (NP) p. Will Franze, :22
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