{"id":22920,"date":"2025-01-01T09:25:59","date_gmt":"2025-01-01T14:25:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/?p=22920"},"modified":"2025-01-01T09:26:00","modified_gmt":"2025-01-01T14:26:00","slug":"lineup-changes-to-add-intrigue-to-ac-bellmont-rivalry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/01\/lineup-changes-to-add-intrigue-to-ac-bellmont-rivalry\/","title":{"rendered":"Lineup changes to add intrigue to AC-Bellmont rivalry"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

DANE FUELLING<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

WZBD.com<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Local focus on the high school wrestling scene has certainly been on the upcoming Team State tournament in recent weeks for both Adams Central and Bellmont, but those efforts will be set aside for one night Thursday when the Jets host the Braves and attempt to beat their nemesis to the north for the first time since 2012 and for just the second time in the last 35 years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Bellmont, it will be the final tune-up ahead of the release of the bracket for 2A Team State Sunday on High School Wrestling Weekly and the last weigh-in before the Braves step on the mat at Jay County High School to win a title that the Braves’ coaching staff feels is attainable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Adams Central went 10-0 last week at the Willey Duals at Lafayette Jeff. (Photo by Kristen Kaehr)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In the mind of the Adams Central BAGUBAS, they have little to lose against Bellmont. A shock win would certainly help their seeding for Team State, but no 1A teams hold any criteria over the Braves, so a loss won’t translate to much. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Really, it’s all about pride. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What used to be a sizzling rivalry between two heated rivals, battling for position in a cutthroat sectional has gently transitioned to more of a friendly confrontation where the fans and coaches likely have more on the line than many of the wrestlers themselves. Coaching staffs are extremely familiar with each other’s lineups and most of the boys spent their recent offseason training with each other. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Assistant coaches Joe Ruble and Nick Koons manned the big boy gym on Day 1 at Mishawaka. They’ll both be rallying the Braves and getting them fired up for another edition of the Bellmont-AC rivalry. (Photo by Dane Fuelling)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Despite this change in the rivalry, last year’s dual meet between the two schools is evidence that AC-Bellmont is not going anywhere on the local high school wrestling landscape. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A 38-32 victory for the Braves in front of one of the biggest crowds Adams County has seen in a good long while was a memorable night for all involved. Now, the scene switches south to the iconic Hangar, where so many BAGUBA (and Bellmont) wrestling memories have been made. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s highly likely that there will not be a single rematch of last year’s dual (read our story from 2023 here<\/a>)<\/strong>, but that just means there’s a whole new set of storylines. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

POTENTIAL MATCHUPS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

#2 ADAMS CENTRAL (21-3)<\/strong><\/td>vs.<\/td>#3 BELLMONT (19-3)<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
Ezra Liechty, Jr. (15-8)<\/td>106<\/td>Jacob Binegar, Fr. (16-9)<\/td><\/tr>
Myles Kaehr, Jr. (15-9)<\/td>113<\/td>Jacob Bleeke, Fr. (14-8)<\/td><\/tr>
Coltan Everett, Fr. (11-13)<\/td>120<\/td>Ben Mills, So. (13-8)<\/td><\/tr>
Kale Beer, So. (18-6)<\/td>126<\/td>Ethan Curtis, Sr. (2-10)<\/td><\/tr>
Jackson Bingham, Jr. (15-8)<\/td>132<\/td>Gabe Myers, Fr. (21-6)<\/td><\/tr>
FORFEIT<\/td>138<\/td>#17 Henry Faurote, So. (26-3)<\/td><\/tr>
#19 Dylan Ogg, So. (24-0)<\/td>144<\/td>Will Franze, Sr. (17-7)<\/td><\/tr>
Brason Schortgen, So. (23-1)<\/td>150<\/td>Sam Wolpert, Jr. (14-3)<\/td><\/tr>
#15 Mav Dubach, Jr. (13-1)<\/td>157<\/td>Austin Manley, Fr. (11-13)<\/td><\/tr>
Max Byerly, Jr. (17-7)<\/td>165<\/td>#5 Gavin Davis, Sr. (24-1)<\/td><\/tr>
Max Nussbaum, Fr. (16-7)<\/td>175<\/td>Landon Rich, Jr. (10-12)<\/td><\/tr>
Matt Heiser, Sr. (22-1)<\/td>190<\/td>#17 Xavior Palacios, Jr. (27-2)<\/td><\/tr>
Ethan Funk, Jr. (18-5)<\/td>215<\/td>Ryne Fawbush, Sr. (15-8)<\/td><\/tr>
Gavin Rumple, Jr. (14-9)<\/td>285<\/td>#19 Grady Baker, Jr. (24-4)<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What is so exciting about this dual for the fans is the potential for a plethora of lineup changes. Here are just a few:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

-Now that the Jets have freshman Coltan Everett down to a more natural weight, they can keep Myles Kaehr at 113, but that has left the team with a forfeit currently at 138. Will the Jets insert someone strategically and take their chances with a bump up to avoid a forfeit? Do the Braves have an alternative to wasting one of their best wrestlers (Henry Faurote) to simply accept a forfeit?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Gavin Davis scores a fall last year against Adams Central’s Jaret Smith. (Archive photo)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

-What will the Jets do after 157? They have options at 165, but they could also force the Braves to accept forfeits to both Faurote and Gavin Davis and take their chances in more winnable matches. The decision on where to place Max Nussbaum and Matt Heiser could be a key for coach Tony Currie. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

-Will the Jets’ new additions come into play? It’s no secret that the initial disappointment of losing a couple of seniors from the team after winning the state title in football has now turned into intrigue as a pair of 12th-grade regional qualifiers from last year have come back to the team in the last week to aide in the efforts of winning the 1A title. Jaret Smith (165) and Max Kaehr (190) have 90 career wins between them and absolutely transform this Adams Central lineup if they can solve their 138 conundrum. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Xavior Palacios celebrates winning the fifth-place match at the Al Smith at 190 pounds Saturday. (Photo by Khloe Fuelling)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

-What will the Braves do at 190 and 215? The Braves essentially have two 190s with Xavior Palacios and Ryne Fawbush. Both have found plenty of falls this year and coach Tim Myers will certainly want to use both in advantageous positions. If the Jets put the freshman Nussbaum at 175 and trot out 22-1 Matt Heiser at 190, who will the Braves send out and what will the team score be at the time?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regardless of which side of the gym you might sit on Thursday, it will be a classic Adams Central-Bellmont dual. Listen to 92.7 FM, whether you’re in the gym, in your car, or on your couch, for all the action and follow WZBD.com for full coverage afterwards. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DANE FUELLING WZBD.com Local focus on the high school wrestling scene has certainly been on the upcoming Team<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":22923,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[29,13,15,26,12],"class_list":["post-22920","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-adamscentral","tag-bellmont","tag-featured","tag-sports","tag-wrestling"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wzbd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/DSC_0086-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1696&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22920","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22920"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22920\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22924,"href":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22920\/revisions\/22924"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22923"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22920"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22920"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22920"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}