DANE FUELLING
WZBD.com
PORTLAND – The heart of the BAGUBA lineup held strong in Saturday morning’s elimination round and the Adams Central Jets cruised to a solid second-place effort in a tough Jay County regional, collecting two individual titles along the way.
Wrestling in the toughest of the four regionals in the Fort Wayne semi-state, the Jets put eight individuals through to the next Saturday. That is a number that very few 1A teams will match across the state.
The Jets were miles ahead of Delta, who took third with just five qualifiers.
Adams Central coaches were hopeful for a ninth qualifier, but a takedown in the first period for Ben Nygard of Yorktown held up as the only points in the bout with Cruz Bowers at 106. Bowers will certainly be pushing for a semi-state berth next year as a sophomore.
Once that heart of the order took to the mat, it was big win after big win. Seven of the eight wins did not last six minutes. Max Nussbaum (see below) made it three Adams County 190s at semi-state with a pair of takedowns against Parker McCord of Randolph Southern for an 8-4 win.
In the semifinals, the Jets could not have wrestled better. Outside of a loss by Nussbaum to Xavior Palacios, the Jets won all seven of the other semifinals, highlighted by yet another win by Ethan Funk over Alan Ortiz of Jay County. The other six Jet wins were by fall.
After Nussbaum gave county 190s another 1-2-3 finish with a win in the Jets’ lone third-place bout, it was time for Adams Central to shine in the finals.
Dylan Ogg answered any questions that some may have had about who was the best 150 in the area with a shutout win against Wyatt Hoppes of Yorktown, repeating as champion.
The Jets’ worst moment of the day followed in the 150 final. Entering into a scramble with returning medalist Jackson Bradley, Maverick Dubach appeared to have injured his knee in a serious way. Choosing not to default, Dubach toughed out the rest of the bout, but falling 15-7.
Brason Schortgen answered back for the Jets with a dominating effort against Nathan Plattner of South Adams, taking his regional crown with a tech fall win.
Adams Central also had runner-up finishes by Kale Beer, Myles Kaehr, Xander Schwartz and Ethan Funk. Schwartz came agonizingly close to adding another champion for the Jets when he threw Wesley Hendrickson to his back in the second period, but he was unable to come away with the fall (see gallery below).
All eight semi-state qualifiers will compete Saturday at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.
Fans of the Jets will be able to listen to the tournament in its entirety for free via WZBD.
Team Scores: 1st-Bellmont 183; 2nd-Adams Central 139.5; 3rd-Delta 112.5; 4th-South Adams 110; 5th-Yorktown 53; 6th-Jay County 52; 7th-Cowan 42; 8th-Winchester 39; 9th-Wes-Del 30; 10th-Bluffton 29.5; 11th-Muncie Burris 10; 12th-Norwell 7; 13th-Blackford 6
Quarterfinals
106-Ben Dygard (Yorktown) d. Cruz Bowers, 3-0
113-Kaid Jackson (Delta) p. Ezra Liechty, 1:33
120-Reed Wicker (Delta) p. Owen Macklin, :41
126-Kale Beer t.f. Jonathan Conrad (Burris), 17-1
138-Myles Kaehr p. Brogan Long (Wapahani), 1:11
150-Dylan Ogg t.f. Jackson Teal (Delta), 16-1
157-Maverick Dubach p. Cole Porter (Delta), :36
165-Brason Schortgen p. Clayton Reed (Yorktown), :30
175-Xander Schwartz p. Lars Bergstrom (Cowan), 1:07
190-Max Nussbaum d. Parker McCord (RS), 8-4
215-Ethan Funk t.f. Malachi Johnson (Wapahani), 17-1
285-Matthew Alberson (Winchester) p. Ryan Beer, 4:33
Semifinals
132-Kale Beer p. Connor Fojtik (Norwell), 5:01
138-Myles Kaehr p. Jacob Unger (Cowan), 1:25
150-Dylan Ogg t.f. Ashton Goney (Cowan), 18-2
157-Maverick Dubach p. Eli Loshe (SA), 3:02
165-Brason Schortgen p. Austin Manley (Bellmont), 1:24
175-Xander Schwartz p. Owen Shane (Bellmont), 1:26
190-Xavior Palacios (Bellmont) p. Max Nussbaum, :37
215-Ethan Funk d. Alan Ortiz (JC), 7-2
Third-Place Matches
190-Max Nussbaum d. Brady Bannister (Blackford), 6-4
Championship Matches
132-Jensen Boyd (Delta) t.f. Kale Beer, 23-4
138-Henry Faurote (Bellmont) t.f. Myles Kaehr, 19-3
150-Dylan Ogg d. Wyatt Hoppes (Yorktown), 6-0
157-Jackson Bradley (Cowan) m.d. Maverick Dubach, 15-6
165-Brason Schortgen t.f. Nathan Plattner (SA), 18-3
175-Wesley Hendrickson (Winchester) d. Xander Schwartz, 14-8
215-Luke Powers (Wes-Del) m.d. Ethan Funk, 13-0
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