DANE FUELLING
WZBD.com
NEW HAVEN – The Bellmont Braves were the class of the NE8 in 2025-2026, no matter how you looked at it.
Winning the Duals in December with a perfect 7-0 day, the Braves were favorites to re-take the conference crown from New Haven, and they delivered with nine finalists and four champions, finishing comfortably ahead of host New Haven by 31.5 points.
Individually, Xavior Palacios etched his name into NE8 history with a fourth conference title, putting him in elite company in his final season as a Brave.
By putting nine into the finals, the Braves remained consistently in front of the rest of the field. Jacob Binegar dropped a tough match in the semifinals and had to settle for third place with a fall at 106.
Blake Christner took a forfeit in the consolation round and then beat his Norwell opponent for a fifth-place finish.
Landon Rich won his quarterfinal match by fall at 175 and then took sixth. Rich was inserted back into the lineup with Owen Shane on the recovery from a lengthy illness.
Two Braves freshmen reached the finals in the lightweights less than a year after wrestling for conference titles as middle schoolers in the same gym last March. Bradley Baker was pinned by Columbia City’s Brayden Atkins, just moments after Baker had scored nearfall to start the second period.
Oliver Faurote was beaten by Brayden Juday of Leo by tech fall at 120.
The Braves finally got their first champ at 126, when Ben Mills put it all together and won his first varsity tournament as a Brave. He pinned New Haven’s Landon Lawhorne for the title.
Mills credited his hard work in the offseason for his breakthrough, noting that he has plenty of goals yet to achieve this season. The victory in the finals was also a special one – his 75th career triumph.
Henry Faurote became a two-time champ, with the junior handling Dane Pippenger of East Noble without much fuss. Faurote leads the Braves with 37 victories heading into the state tournament.
One of the most-anticipated matches of the day was the final at 144, which was always going to be a rematch between Malachi Thullner and Gabe Myers, representing the top two teams. Myers fought off attacks from Thullner until the Bulldog sophomore scored three points with 15 seconds left in the opening period. Myers wanted to stay on his feet and the second period was identical to the first, with Thullner ready to choose top in the third and ride Myers out for a victory.
Bellmont bounced back at 150, though, and Sam Wolpert looked like a man on a mission from the get go, overcoming a rough and tumble day where he was dropped on his head and kneed in the chin to win a second conference title in his career.
Wolpert trailed 6-0 midway through the championship bout, but his attitude and grit led him to a takedown at the end of the second.
Another takedown in the third and a beautiful cradle with 20 seconds left gave him a four-point nearfall and the come-from-behind victory.
Wolpert noted in his post-championship interview that he simply wanted it more than Andrew Wilson of East Noble, his opponent. His victory in the finals pushed him past former state champion, Paul Baker, who was in attendance for the meet, on the all-time wins list in program history. A trip to semi-state for Wolpert would give him enough wins to finish his career in the Top 20.
Charlie Faurote was hoping for revenge against Patrick Flowers of Huntington North in the finals, but fell for the second time this season to the Viking. He fought his way back into the bout, but Flowers had the last laugh with a late takedown to break a 7-7 tie.
There wasn’t nearly as much drama at 190, where Xavior Palacios faced little competition. He needed just 53 seconds and a second cradle attempt to wrap up his fourth NE8 title.
Palacios spoke with WZBD about the occasion.
The final bout of the day was a display of courage from Grady Baker, taking on the monstrous Isaiah Coolman of Leo. Baker used every ounce of energy he had to fight Coolman and stay in the match.
It was still 1-0 with 45 seconds remaining in the bout when Coolman finally snapped Baker down and spun around for three points. The Lions heavyweight went on to the 4-0 victory.
Baker continues to be on a path that would lead him to seeking his 100th career victory potentially in a ticket round match, adding extra drama and excitement to some Bellmont fans’ attempts to “Make Bellmont Wrestling Grady Again.”
The Braves will now turn their sights on the immediate goal: to advance all fourteen boys to the regional. If they do that, the team title should take care of itself.
Team Scores: 1st-Bellmont 223.5; 2nd-New Haven 192; 3rd-Huntington North 178; 4th-East Noble 170; 5th-Columbia City 161; 6th-Leo 126; 7th-DeKalb 84; 8th-Norwell 81.5
Championship Bouts
106-Konnor Cleaveland (EN) d. Jaxson Harris (NH), 4-2
113-Brayden Atkins (CC) p. Bradley Baker (B), 2:54
120-Brayden Juday (L) t.f. Oliver Faurote (B), 17-1
126-Ben Mills (B) p. Landon Lawhorne (NH), 3:36
132-Sean Harris (NH) t.f. Connor Fojtik (Nor), 16-0
138-Henry Faurote (B) m.d. Dane Pippenger (EN), 12-4
144-Malachi Thullner (NH) d. Gabe Myers (B), 6-0
150-Sam Wolpert (B) d. Andrew Wilson (EN), 12-8
157-Patrick Flowers (HN) d. Charlie Faurote (B), 10-7
165-Rylee Biddle (EN) p. Korbin Kalhoefer (HN), 3:05
175-Christian Jemison (HN) d. Paul Woods (L), 4-1, OT
190-Xavior Palacios (B) p. Craig Rowley (HN), :53
215-Tayden Getts (EN) p. Chase Cline (NH), 3:26
285-Isaiah Coolman (L) d. Grady Baker (B), 4-0
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