{"id":13197,"date":"2024-02-14T09:09:45","date_gmt":"2024-02-14T14:09:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/?p=13197"},"modified":"2024-02-14T10:12:50","modified_gmt":"2024-02-14T15:12:50","slug":"martin-headed-back-to-state-with-confidence-dreams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/2024\/02\/14\/martin-headed-back-to-state-with-confidence-dreams\/","title":{"rendered":"Martin headed back to State with confidence, dreams"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Bellmont senior Keagan Martin won in just about every way possible Saturday, scoring three victories in three different ways to secure his spot in the championship bout at 215 pounds at the Fort Wayne Semi-State at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Keagan Martin fires up the Bellmont crowd after becoming the fourth Brave to qualify for State. (Photo by Kristen Kaehr)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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It was the third victory of the day that Martin will remember the most. To understand the significance, one would have to rewind the tape back to last season. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Martin entered this season’s tournament at the Coliseum with a nearly identical CV as last season – 40+ wins, a lone loss suffered at the Al Smith, and three straight weeks of winning titles to prepare. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The defining moment of his junior year was a 1-0 loss to Brady Beck of Rochester in last year’s semifinals. The two state medal hopefuls never found a takedown against each other and Beck was able to ride out Keagan in the second period. A quick escape by Beck led to Martin chasing the Zebra 220 around the mat for the final 90 seconds without any help from the officials with stalling. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Keagan Martin takes down his man during the ticket round Saturday. (Photo by Kristen Kaehr)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

That loss was ultimately the obstacle that kept Martin from reaching his goals last season – winning a state medal. Beck went on to have the better draw at the State Finals, winning on Friday and taking seventh place. Martin, instead, wrestled a familiar face in Devin Kendrex of Mt. Vernon, who went on to beat Beck in the bracket and take fifth place. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Listen to WZBD’s upcoming Radio Auctions to purchase discounted gift cards for upcoming movies.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The man who won the title at the Coliseum last season was Julante Hinton of Northrop. There was no doubt that Martin and Hinton would clash at some point this season and when the IHSAA released the semi-state brackets, the fixture was set for the semifinals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Bellmont’s upper weights had a phenomenal season in 2023-24 with help from young coaches like Carter Friedt (far left) and Jon Ruble (center). (Photo by Kristen Kaehr)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There was no way he was losing 1-0 again. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The script was exactly the same for Martin. A scoreless first period, followed by winning the toss and choosing bottom. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This time Keagan got his escape early and when the third period came around, so did Hinton, setting up overtime. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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After nearly seven minutes battling on their feet together, Martin looked like he had been in a street fight, with three or four scratch marks from fingernails down the left side of his back that a quick bandage was just not meant to cover. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Martin had to be bandaged up after a physical semifinal match Saturday. (Photo by Kris Everett)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Bellmont senior had been training for this for the past 11 months. <\/p>\n\n\n\n