DANE FUELLING
WZBD.com
The third installment of the renewed edition of the Bellmont vs. Wawasee rivalry in high school wrestling is set to be held Friday evening at Wawasee, with the Bellmont Braves eager to continue their winning streak against the Warriors after narrowly escaping last year’s opener with a 40-35 victory.
Forget about last year’s match? Here is the link to our story from last season’s dual meet at Bellmont.
Forfeits played a major role in last year’s dual, with the two teams trading six points at the end of the dual at the two lightest weights.
Something similar is likely to happen, as the initial Warrior roster shows just three wrestlers eligible at the four lightest weights.
The highlight of that light group for the home team will certainly be senior Cameron Senter, who was a state qualifier back in his freshman season. His attempts to return to State have ended at semi-state in the last two seasons.
Cylus Melching is listed at 132 for the Warriors. The sophomore had a solid freshman campaign last year, qualifying for regional, but he was beaten by the Braves’ Jordan Burkholder in the JV undercard last season.
The Warriors offer little in terms of experience in the middle weights, where Bellmont head coach Tim Myers said in Sunday’s appearance on HSWW on WZBD that the Braves simply do not have enough weight classes to put all their studs.
The one name that will be recognizable for fans is Cavan Tom. The junior was pinned last year by Will Franze in the Teepee, but he bounced back and had an outstanding season that ended at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. He enters the year ranked in the state at 150.
The Braves, meanwhile, will also have their fair share of newbies with four ninth graders cracking the opening lineup. They’ll kick off with freshmen at the lightest three weights as the Class of 2029 attempts to cover for the absence of Jacob Binegar, who will miss much of the year with a broken arm.
Camron Barger will wrestle 106, while Bradley Baker will be at 113. Oliver Faurote was unchallenged in the 120 wrestle-offs.
Charlie Faurote captured the varsity spot at 150 in a Wednesday wrestle-off over classmate Owen Shane, a transfer from Adams Central who has added another layer of depth in the Bellmont middle weights.
Grady Baker was the hero in last year’s win over Wawasee and a win for the Bellmont senior captain would be an impressive one if he takes on Derek Morrison, a state qualifier at 215 last year. Many in the area have high hopes for Baker and his chances at reaching the State Finals this year. He’ll be put to the test immediately Friday night if he gets the chance to take on Morrison.
For the Braves, the matchup looks favorable, but they’ve experienced two tough duals with this Wawasee program in the last two seasons. They’ll need to be on weight and ready for the challenges that come and they’ll need to turn right around and do it again Tuesday on the road at Snider, where the Braves simply have not performed well in the last five years.
The Braves will then move their attention to the two days after Thanksgiving, where they’ll take on ten different teams at the Goshen RedHawk Super Duals. The lineup of teams announced by head coach Jim Pickard should keep the list of ten Braves opponents the same as it was in 2024.
Broadcast Note: Bellmont wrestling fans can hear coverage of this match live on WZBD, 92.7 FM, WZBD.com and our YouTube channel beginning at 6 p.m. Coverage on 92.7 FM will switch over to semi-state football at 7:40 p.m., but the remainder of the match will continue on YouTube.
Note: Records listed are available varsity record from the 2024-25 season.
#5 (2A) Bellmont Braves vs. Wawasee Warriors
| Reese Steg (9) | (0-0) | 106 lbs. | Camron Barger (9) | (0-0) |
| FORFEIT | 113 lbs. | Bradley Baker (9) | (0-0) | |
| Cameron Senter (12) | (34-7) | 120 lbs. | Oliver Faurote (9) | (0-0) |
| Isaac Ruff (10) | (18-20) | 126 lbs. | Ben Mills (11) | (22-16) |
| Cylus Melching (10) | (13-9) | 132 lbs. | Luke Ruble (10) | (1-3) |
| Briant Young (9) | (0-0) | 138 lbs. | #5 Henry Faurote (11) | (41-9) |
| Jayden Park (11) | (0-0) | 144 lbs. | Gabe Myers (10) | (34-12) |
| #17 Cavan Tom (11) | (33-11) | 150 lbs. | Charlie Faurote (9) | (0-0) |
| Kingston Sanchez (10) | (0-0) | 157 lbs. | #21 Sam Wolpert (12) | (25-9) |
| Moses Howard (10) | (18-12) | 165 lbs. | Austin Manley (10) | (19-19) |
| Brody Young (11) | (5-6) | 175 lbs. | Landon Rich (12) | (16-22) |
| Blake Rolston (11) | (0-0) | 190 lbs. | #6 Xavior Palacios (12) | (47-6) |
| #5 Derek Morrison (12) | (35-7) | 215 lbs. | Douglas Hamilton (12) | (1-0) |
| Mason McKibben (9) | (0-0) | 285 lbs. | #18 Grady Baker (12) | (39-6) |
Link to last year’s broadcast:
About the Author
