
DANE FUELLING
WZBD.com
PORTLAND – “We don’t think about seeds, we don’t think about team score. We preach to remember why you love playing sports as a kid.”

That’s how head coach Tim Myers summed up the team talk he had to give to his Bellmont squad during the lunch break and leading up to the championship round of Saturday’s Jay County wrestling sectional.
His team talk worked and the Bellmont Braves lengthened their lead against rival Adams Central, never giving up their advantage in the final round on their way to a 47th sectional title in program history.


The Braves certainly gave full effort in the final round, wrestling like the defending champions and taking advantage of a lineup that placed all 14 wrestlers and advanced twelve of those to next week’s Jay County Regional.

The highlight for the Braves was winning four individual titles, with all of the wins in the championship bouts coming by bonus points – one major decision and three falls.

The Braves had three top-seeded wrestlers and claimed all three weights, along with an additional title at 285 with Grady Baker.


Not a bad day in the bunch
A long-time Bellmont fan and former state placer himself who was in attendance Saturday may have had the best perspective on the Braves’ day and title efforts.
“No one had a bad day. Sometimes, that’s all it takes.”

Knowing that Adams Central had slightly better seeds, the Braves knew that they would have to outperform their own spots in the bracket to bring home the title, but also not let up when they were favored.
Some may criticize the seeding process and criteria used, but they were rather accurate when it came to the Braves.
Bellmont won four matches where they were underdogs:
-Will Franze was seeded fifth after losing to Norwell’s Chace Behning last week at the NE8 and the Bellmont senior opened his day with some revenge. (Behning, however, had the last laugh, beating Franze for 3rd/4th).
-Gabe Myers also exacted a measure of revenge on the Norwell Knights, beating Connor Fojtik for third place. Fojtik was seeded third and Myers fourth after Fojtik won the first meeting last week at the NE8.
-Austin Manley entered the day unseeded at 157 and moved into the sixth seed after a wrestler dropped out late. His win in the fifth-place match over Caleb Sibray, the fifth seed, made Manley the alternate.
-Grady Baker’s win in the finals at heavyweight was a 2-seed over the top seed, Alan Ortiz of Jay County.


More remarkable, though, is the fact that the Braves did not lose a single match to a lower-seeded wrestler until they had already clinched the team title. They defended their seeds in every single opportunity except one bout.
A total team effort
While the Braves had their champions, it was also a team effort, with each varsity member picking up memorable wins to score big team points.
Jacob Bleeke won his final match of the day to take fifth place at 113 and serve as the alternate for next week.
Ben Mills pinned an old rival in Titus Loshe in the semifinals at 120 on his way to a runner-up finish.
Ethan Curtis entered the day unlikely to advance based on the bracket, but ended up putting 13 points on the board with a fourth-place finish.
Austin Manley’s most memorable moment actually came in a loss, despite the fact that he still managed to score 9.5 team points for the Braves. Trailing by double digits in the third period, Manley threw Austin Roth to his back in the blood round and nearly pulled off a big upset.
Ryne Fawbush became a regional qualifier with a fall, keeping his high school wrestling career alive.
Bonus point poachers
One of the keys for success coming into the tournament was going for bonus points. Not only did the Braves go for the fall when the tech fall was available, but they also scored some late third-period points in several matches to lock up the extra team point for a major decision or half point for the tech fall.
Jacob Binegar did just that in the championship bout at 106, winning 10-1 against Corbin Lothridge of Jay County. Binegar’s tournament is a great example of the way a season can be reset with the postseason. The freshman will have a great shot at qualifying for semi-state in the first round Saturday.

Sam Wolpert won his semifinal with points in the final minute at 150 to give him the tech fall, setting up a showdown with Brason Schortgen. Wolpert led early, then gave up a reversal to the AC wrestler, only to reverse fortunes at the buzzer and get the reversal back – at least that’s what the Bellmont crowd felt. Instead, Wolpert was awarded an escape and missed out on a point.

Schortgen scored the winning takedown in the third period, but if Wolpert continues to wrestle in the fashion that he did Saturday, the two will undoubtedly meet again at Regional.
Landon Rich scored big team points for the Braves, as well, building on an early fall with a final-minute tech fall in the blood round at 175. His pin of Cole Carpenter in the third-place match drew a big celebration from the junior and effectively ended the team race in favor of Bellmont.

Team Scores: Bellmont 250.5; Adams Central 230; Jay County 208; South Adams 193; Bluffton 141.5; Norwell 105.5; Union City 83.5; Southern Wells 29; Blackford 4
Championship Bouts
106-Jacob Binegar (Bell) m.d. Corbin Lothridge (JC), 10-1

120-Levi Johns (Blf) t.f. Ben Mills (Bell), 15-0

138-Dylan Ogg (AC) d. Henry Faurote (Bell), 5-3

150-Brason Schortgen (AC) d. Sam Wolpert (Bell), 6-5

165-Gavin Davis (Bell) p. Max Byerly (AC), 1:32




190-Xavior Palacios (Bell) p. AJ Myers (JC), 1:44

285-Grady Baker (Bell) p. Alan Ortiz (JC), 2:56

Third-Place Bouts
126-Gabe Myers (Bell) d. Connor Fojtik (Nor), 7-3

132-Jackson Bingham (AC) p. Ethan Curtis (Bell), 3:41

144-Chace Behning (Nor) p. Will Franze (Bell), 1:57

175-Landon Rich (Bell) p. Cole Carpenter (JC), :53

215-Brice Coy (JC) p. Ryne Fawbush (Bell), 2:36

Fifth-Place Bouts
113-Jacob Bleeke (Bell) d. Christian Herrada (Bluf), 10-6

157-Austin Manley (Bell) t.f. Caleb Sibray (JC), 16-1

Consolation Semifinals (Blood Round)
113-Max Adams (SA) m.d. Jacob Bleeke (Bell), 14-0
126-Gabe Myers (Bell) t.f. Orien Kahn (Bluff), 17-2
132-Ethan Curtis (Bell) med. for. Jarin Frauhiger (SW)
144-Will Franze (Bell) p. Colton Boone (SW), 1:36
157-Austin Roth (UC) m.d. Austin Manley (Bell), 20-8
175-Landron Rich (Bell) t.f. Rodney Sickels (UC), 24-9
215-Ryne Fawbush (Bell) p. Ayden Frederick (Nor), :24
Semifinals
106-Jacob Binegar (Bell) p. Will Frettinger (Bluf), :23
120-Ben Mills (Bell) p. Titus Loshe (SA), 2:19
126-Dakota Sprunger (SA) p. Gabe Myers (Bell), 3:44
138-Henry Faurote (Bell) t.f. Parker Barnes (Bluf), 17-1
144-AJ Heskett (JC) p. Will Franze (Bell), 3:25
150-Sam Wolpert (Bell) t.f. Luke Dreiband (Nor), 18-3
165-Gavin Davis (Bell) p. Nathan Plattner (SA), :45
175-Wes Summersett (SA) t.f. Landon Rich (Bell), 17-2
190-Xavior Palacios (Bell) p. Xavier Hill (UC), 1:11
215-Jake Boots (Bluff) p. Ryne Fawbush (Bell), 1:20
285-Grady Baker (Bell) p. Connor Landis (Bluff), 1:37
Consolation Round 2
113-Jacob Bleeke (Bell) WBF
132-Ethan Curtis (Bell) p. Kendrick Lairson (UC), :37
157-Austin Manley (Bell) WBF
Quarterfinals
106-Jacob Binegar (Bell) p. Eli Thomas (Nor), :53
113-Joseangel Perez (UC) m.d. Jacob Bleeke (Bell), 15-6
120-Ben Mills (Bell) WBF
126-Gabe Myers (Bell) p. Cooper Glassford (JC), 3:25
132-Will Patterson (SA) p. Ethan Curtis (Bell), 1:19
138-Henry Faurote (Bell) t.f. Jace Johnson (Nor), 17-2
144-Will Franze (Bell) d. Chace Behning (Nor), 9-6
150-Sam Wolpert (Bell) p. Landon Gearheart (Bluff), 1:28
157-Cody Cox (Nor) t.f. Austin Manley (Bell), 18-3
165-Gavin Davis (Bell) t.f. Caleb Clouse (Blk), 21-6
175-Landon Rich (Bell) p. Easton Gotschall (Bluff), 1:27
190-Xavior Palacios (Bell) p. Lincoln Moyer (Nor), :32
215-Ryne Fawbush (Bell) p. Blayden Schomber (SW), :16
285-Grady Baker (Bell) WBF