Panthers capture first MSC title since ’05
By Brandon Miniard, Sports Writer, [email protected]
Having already won a pair of Mid-Southern Conference titles earlier in the week, Corydon Central looked for a conference hat trick Saturday when it hosted the annual MSC wrestling meet.
The Panthers had a strong day across the board as they had grapplers make it to the championship match in six of the 14 weight classes. Led by a pair of individual conference champions in senior Zane Schreck and sophomore Jayden Owsley, the Panthers posted a combined score of 213 en route to their first MSC crown since 2005.
After beginning his day at 120 by advancing via forfeit, Owsley needed just 52 seconds to pin Salem’s Gracelyn Williams before doing the same to Eastern (Pekin)’s Colin Jones in 1:58 in the championship match. Schreck earned a first-round bye before pinning Scottsburg’s Trevor Hall in 2:19. In the championship round at 126, Schreck breezed by Charlestown’s Noah Phillips via pinfall in 1:16.
North Harrison managed to crack triple digits in the scoring column, placing fifth in the seventh-team field with 105 points. Leading the effort was sophomore Daniel Stiner, who drew an opening-round bye at 132 before pinning Charlestown’s Caleb Denton in 5:17. He had a much easier time in the championship round as he pinned Salem’s Harley Schocke in 2:49 to claim the Cougars’ lone individual title.
Panthers’ senior Bryce Gentry began his day at 170 with a forfeit before pinning Salem’s Brady Briscoe in 1:29 to advance to the championship round. He fell just short of an MSC title as he lost a 7-5 decision to Charlestown’s Boomer Hester. Junior Caleb Carroll drew a first-round bye before needing just 57 seconds to pin Charlestown’s Bryson Love. In the championship at 195, Carroll didn’t fare as well against Scottsburg’s Bryson Mata, who stood victorious with a 14-0 major decision.
In the quarterfinals at 145, junior Ben Boman used pinfalls over Scottburg’s Landen Copple (1:06) and Charlestown’s Trey Hawk (1:43) to advance to the championship only to be pinned in 3:32 by Eastern’s Gabe Pugh. Freshman Wyatt Schreck rounded out the Panthers’ runner-ups when he was pinned in the 106 championship in 55 seconds against Salem’s Brayden Walters.
Senior Hunter Pitts kicked off his day at 113 by pinning Silver Creek’s Peyton Fletcher in just 21 seconds but fell in the semifinals via pinfall to Charlestown’s Carson Collier in 3:01. After pinning North Harrison’s Ally Bolen in just 31 seconds, Pitts took the bronze by pinning Eastern’s Alexander Fleming in 1:24. Junior Layne Owen needed exactly three minutes to pin Scottsburg’s Kenny Smith before falling to Salem’s Harley Schocke in 2:31. He needed a 2:32 pinfall of Silver Creek’s Gavin Haynes to reach the third-place match, where he pinned Charlestown’s Caleb Denton in 1:51.
Junior Justin Ray needed exactly 30 seconds to pin Scottsburg’s Cole Salkeld before getting pinned in the 138 semifinals by Silver Creek’s Cole Bagshaw in 2:57. After advancing to the third-place match via forfeit, Ray needed only 29 seconds to pin Salkeld. Sophomore Evan Haag began his day at 152 by defeating Silver Creek’s Ava Allen with a 14-3 major decision before falling in the semifinals to Salem’s Brandon Cornwell in 3:17. Freshman Jonas Sutton was next at 160 by pinning Scottsburg’s Landon Shuck in 5:09 before losing a 9-4 decision to Charlestown’s Braden Moore. After pinning Silver Creek’s Will Bobay in 1:43, he took Shuck to overtime before coming out on top with a 10-8 sudden victory.
One of the first matches at 285 saw Panthers’ senior Isaac Gerdon take on North Harrison’s Hayden Williams, with victory going to the latter courtesy of a four-minute pinfall. Williams went on to fall to Scottsburg’s Ben Craig in 2:43, while Gerdon pinned Silver Creek’s Miles Kerber in 2:59. Panthers’ sophomore Dyland Gentry began his day at 182 by getting pinned by North Harrison junior Noah Kendall in 3:14, who went on to lose to Charlestown’s Sean McAfee via a 16-0 technical fall. Kendall went on to pin Silver Creek’s Alex Haynes in 57 seconds, while Gentry pinned Salem’s Joel Altemeyer in 2:25 to set up a rematch in the third-place match, which Kendall took with a 12-5 decision.
Cougars’ sophomore Peyton King had a strong showing at 220, which started by dropping a drawn-out 10-5 decision against Silver Creek’s Eli Newman. King salvaged the day by pinning Salem’s Austin Reynolds in just 38 seconds before doing the same to Scottsburg’s Brice Mack in 2:47. Freshman Roland Young began competition at 120 with a forfeit before falling to Eastern’s Colin Jones in 5:31. After advancing to the third-place match via forfeit, he needed only 1:32 to pin Salem’s Gracelyn Williams.
Sophomore Elio Hernandez was the final Cougar to place, though his day at 195 began by getting pinned by Silver Creek’s Jacob Losey in 1:02. After needing 52 seconds to pin Salem’s Lucas Lynch before needing 1:40 to pin Charlestown’s Bryson Love, Hernandez had to settle for fourth place after getting pinned by Losey in 3:48.
Both the Panthers and Cougars will now use this week to prepare for the Jeffersonville sectional on Saturday, which will kick off at 8 a.m.
