DANE FUELLING
WZBD.com
Note: Photos courtesy of Kristen Kaehr – WZBD & supported by the advertisers you see below and the Joe Edgell family.
A hotly-contested 1A Team State tournament went the way of North Miami for the second year in a row Saturday, with Adams Central falling just short of the upset after another thrilling run to the finals as the Jets settled for second place at the IHSWCA Team State event.
A dramatic conclusion to the first round saw Alexandria and South Adams come down to the very final bout to determine who would face AC in the quarterfinal. The Tigers led 33-32 and Wes Summersett, one of the top Starfires, was called for an illegal mat return and subsequently forced to forfeit the match after the Alexandria 190 could not continue.
Summersett was later disqualified from the tournament by officials after a follow-up skin check revealed that he should not have been cleared to wrestle in the opening round. Summersett was the second Adams County wrestler held out of the Team State tournament, with Bellmont’s Austin Manley also being handed an undeserved ban.
Now facing the opponent the Jets figured they’d take on from the start (instead of their county rival), the Jets were saved by freshman Owen Macklin, whose pin at 113 stood out as the only AC win in the opening five bouts. Had Macklin succumbed to his Alex opponent, the deficit might have simply been too big to overcome.
Instead, the Jets had life and Kale Beer started a run that saw Adams Central win seven of the next eight matches to clinch victory, allowing the team to simply forfeit the final bout rather than risk an injury to freshman Ryan Beer at 215.
With all four of the top four seeds advancing to the semifinals, the atmosphere grew in the gym at Franklin Community High School and the Jets were immediately pushed against the wall by #1 Southmont. Much like the Alexandria match, the Jets fell in a big hole to start. This time, the Jets were saved by Myles Kaehr, who, like Macklin in the round before, kept the team from defeat ultimately with his win at 138, stopping an opening run by the Mounties of five triumphs worth 26 team points.
Southmont popped off another win, though, at 144 and the outlook was bleak with the scoreboard reading 32-6 at the midway point of the semifinal dual.
A triad of falls by Mav Dubach, Dylan Ogg and Brason Schortgen were probably expected, or perhaps anticipated, by the Jets and all three came through, quickly closing the gap to 32-24, but a toss-up loomed at 175.
That toss-up was ultimately the difference in the dual meet, with Xander Schwartz pushing his record to 24-2 with a 9-5 decision over Carlos Jimenez at 175.
A pin by Max Nussbaum gave Ethan Funk the opportunity to take the pressure off young Ryan Beer, and he did just that, taking a close match in the second period (scoreless after one) and turning it into a victory-clinching fall at 215, culminating with a thunder-slap from official Troy Hahn.
The Starfires faced more heartbreak and controversy in their consolation bracket loss to Milan, losing 40-39 without Summersett and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty cost them a team point, as well.
That dropped the Stars into the 11th-place match, where they avoided finishing last thanks to a gutsy performance by David Flores-Santos, who replaced Summersett at 190. Flores-Santos clinched victory for the team by scoring a huge six-point move at the start of the third period while trailing 9-1. Although he lost by a 12-8 decision, it kept the Starfire lead at 19 with three to go and the team needed every point, because they gave up six in all three bouts, holding on for a 38-37 victory for 11th place against Madison-Grant.
The rematch of last year’s 1A final was so close to being a reversal of last year’s North Miami title, but the Jets dropped two key matches where they scored the opening takedown and looked poised to go down to the wire with a 7-7 split in matches.
Instead, North Miami maintained an expected 8-6 advantage and the Jets found themselves in an unfortunate situation of needing a fall from freshman Cruz Bowers, who is still returning to full strength from injury and also just a 106 pounder. In a bout that he would have been tickled just to win by a one-point decision, it was too much to ask of the freshman to get the pin, and the Warriors celebrated their title with a fall in the third period, pouncing on the Jets’ desperation for bonus points.
With his victory in the finals, Dubach maintained Adams County’s only unbeaten record for a varsity wrestler, claiming his 130th career victory. He will seek a victory against Delta Thursday night that will land him in the school’s all-time Top Ten for career victories. Barring an extreme upset, he will pass the likes of Hunter Bates, Cody Walburn and Anthony Mosser on Saturday in the AC Invite.
IHSWCA Team State – 1A at Franklin Community High School
First Round
#8 Rensselaer Central 55 Milan 21
#5 Alexandria 39 South Adams 32
215-Camden Shelton (A) p. Cooper Affolder, :22
285-Haydon Standlee (A) WBF
106-Brian Reifel (A) p. William Foust, :07
113-Brock Sprunger (SA) p. Holton Oldham, 5:35
120-Max Adams (SA) p. Jayden Mcphearson, 1:12
126-Dakota Sprunger (SA) p. Tyler Huffman, 1:17
132-Will Patterson (SA) m.d. Bryan Rowland, 11-2
138-Braxtyn Hough (SA) d. Jonvee Hughes, 7-4
144-Wyatt Thompson (A) p. Titus Loshe, 3:13
150-Carter Blackmon (A) p. Gabe Steiner, 3:40
157-Wyatt Mann (SA) d. William Rowland, 4-2
165-Nathan Plattner (SA) m.d. Garrett Smith, 9-1
175-Lyncoln Burcharts (A) d. Nic Brewster, 6-0
190-David Egan (A) inj. def. Wes Summersett, 2:39
#6 Eastside 46 Madison-Grant 33
#7 Northfield 48 Rossville 28
Quarterfinals
#1 Southmont 55 #8 Rensselaer Central
#4 Adams Central 40 #5 Alexandria 30
285-Haydon Standlee (A) d. Ethan Funk, 7-0
106-Brian Reifel (A) p. Ezra Liechty, :44
113-Owen Macklin (AC) p. Holton Oldham, 3:31
120-Jayden McPhearson (A) t.f. Jaden Feasel, 16-1
126-Tyler Huffman (A) p. Coltan Everett, 1:59
132-Kale Beer (AC) t.f. Bryan Rowland, 18-0
138-Myles Kaehr (AC) d. Jonvee Hughes, 4-1
144-Carter Blackmon (A) m.d. Jackson Bingham, 20-7
150-Maverick Dubach (AC) p. Langdon Ashby, 3:10
157-Dylan Ogg (AC) m.d. William Rowland, 9-1
165-Brason Schortgen (AC) p. Griffin Smith, 1:39
175-Xander Schwartz (AC) p. Garrett Smith, :56
190-Max Nussbaum (AC) m.d. Lyncoln Burcharts, 14-0
215-Camden Shelton (A) WBF
#3 North Miami 49 #6 Eastside 18
#2 Rochester 48 #7 Northfield 30
Semifinals
#4 Adams Central 39 #1 Southmont 35
106-Lukas Scott (S) m.d. Cruz Bowers, 10-1
113-Hunter Chieppo (S) p. Ezra Liechty, 2:36
120-Jackson Ward (S) p. Owen Macklin, 1:55
126-Bryce Glaze (S) p. Coltan Everett, 1:17
132-Gavin Mason (S) m.d. Kale Beer, 10-0
138-Myles Kaehr (AC) p. Samuel Haslam, 5:02
144-Camden Laney (S) p. Jackson Bingham, :47
150-Maverick Dubach (AC) p. Tyson Kelsey, 2:43
157-Dylan Ogg (AC) p. Kasen Bushong, 1:44
165-Brason Schortgen (AC) p. Paxton Gentry, 2:47
175-Xander Schwartz (AC) d. Carlos Jimenez, 9-5
190-Max Nussbaum (AC) p. Kai Lewin, 1:48
215-Ethan Funk (AC) p. Kooper Charles, 4:11
285-Diego Castillo (S) d. Ryan Beer, 5-1
#3 North Miami 41 #2 Rochester 28
Placement Matches
Championship: #3 North Miami 44 #4 Adams Central 34
120-Braylon McIntire (NM) p. Jaden Feasel, :44
126-Rex Moore (NM) p. Coltan Everett, 1:07
132-Kale Beer (AC) t.f. Tyler Tacheny, 19-3
138-Santiago Silva (NM) d. Myles Kaehr, 13-7
144-Eli Winters (NM) t.f. Jackson Bingham, 18-3
150-Maverick Dubach (AC) p. Cooper Pattison, 1:18
157-Dylan Ogg (AC) p. Jension Carr, 1:20
165-Brason Schortgen (AC) p. Andrew Hawkins, 2:22
175-Xander Schwartz (AC) t.f. Jayce Burns, 17-2
190-Jordan Simon (NM) p. Max Nussbaum, :44
215-Hartley Hoover (NM) p. Ryan Beer, :43
285-Logan Smith (NM) p. Ethan Funk, 4:53
106-Ezra Liechty (AC) p. Mason Bent, 1:06
113-Hunter Duncan (NM) p. Cruz Bowers, 5:26
3rd: #1 Southmont 39 #2 Rochester
5th: #6 Eastside 40 #5 Alexandria 35
7th: #8 Rensselaer Central 44 #7 Northfield 31
9th: Milan 45 Rossville 34
11th: South Adams 38 Madison-Grant 37
113-Brock Sprunger (SA) p. Traevon Walls, :36
120-Max Adams (SA) p. Lucas Seward, :35
126-Dakota Sprunger (SA) p. Carson Hendey, :45
132-Tripp Haisley (MG) t.f. Daniel Rupp, 16-1
138-Kayden Simpson (MG) p. Braxtyn Hough, :46
144-Gabe Steiner (SA) d. Grady Haisley, 7-3
150-Wyatt Mann (SA) t.f. Calvin Vanmatre, 16-0
157-Eli Loshe (SA) p. Jeremiah Phillips, 2:22
165-Nathan Plattner (SA) p. Ben Case, 1:31
175-Grant Howard (MG) t.f. Nic Brewster, 18-2
190-Landon Freer (MG) d. David Flores Santos, 12-8
215-Gannon Turner (MG) p. Cooper Affolder, 3:25
285-Logan Gillespie (MG) WBF
106-Liam Clouse (MG) p. William Foust, :50
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