Panthers advance school-record 11 grapplers
By Brandon Miniard, Sports Writer, [email protected]
Out of the Panthers’ school-record 11 grapplers to qualify for regional, sophomore Jayden Owsley and senior Zane Schreck once again led the gold and black by winning individual sectional crowns in their respective weight classes.
Owsley began his day by advancing off a first-round bye and a forfeit before needing just 48 seconds to pin Salem’s Braedyn Leep. He followed the pinfall by surviving a battle with Providence’s Eli Theobald, winning a 6-0 decision to capture the sectional title at 120.
Schreck had a similar start to Owsley, pinning Salem’s Jonah Morgan in the semifinals followed by scoring a 15-0 technical fall victory over Jeffersonville’s Collin Cain to capture sectional gold at 126.
Freshman Wyatt Schreck was the first of five Panthers to finish in third place, beginning his day at 106 by falling to Borden’s Paxton McCormick via a 3:06 pinfall in the semifinals. The younger Schreck finished the tournament strong by earning a 16-0 technical fall over Jeffersonville’s Sebastian Berry before defeating Providence’s Kalob Manning 5-2 in the third-place match.
At 138 pounds, junior Justin Ray needed just 37 seconds to pin North Harrison’s Hank Rogers before getting pinned by Silver Creek’s Cole Bagshaw in 1:17. Ray was back on top in his following two matches, pinning Jeffersonville’s Isa Santos-Moore (2:22) and Charlestown’s Austin Tullis (1:41). Junior Ben Boman followed at 145 by pinning North Harrison’s Caden Cooper in 1:03 before falling to Eastern (Pekin)’s Gabe Pugh in 5:11. Boman recovered to defeat Salem’s Zayne Paulley with a 3-0 decision before pinning Charlestown’s Trey Ozier in 4:19 in the third-place bout.
Senior Bryce Gentry was the Panthers’ representative at 170, which saw him pin New Washington’s Elizabeth Eaglin in 28 seconds before suffering the same fate against Borden’s Skyler Maisttison in 3:49. After pinning Salem’s Brady Briscoe in 1:33 to advance to the third-place match, Gentry took the bronze after an injury to Charlestown’s Boomer Hester. Junior Caleb Carroll, competing at 195, pinned Silver Creek’s Jacob Lasley in 3:16 before dropping an 11-2 major decision to Borden’s Brady Weatherford. Carroll bounced back with pinfall victories over Charlestown’s Bryson Love (4:16) and North Harrison’s Nevin Bolen (3:59).
At 113, senior Hunter Pitts began tournament action by pinning Silver Creek’s Peyton Fletcher in just 47 seconds before dropping an 11-2 major decision to Charlestown’s Carson Collier in the semifinals. Pitts rebounded by pinning Eastern (Pekin)’s Alexander Fleming in exactly one minute before falling in 2:52 to Jeffersonville’s Aidan Stellato in the third-place match. Junior Layne Owen followed at 132 by pinning New Washington’s Easton Nichols in 3:17 before falling to North Harrison’s Daniel Stiner in 2:46. After pinning Silver Creek’s Gavin Haynes in 1:36 to reach the third-place bout, Owen was pinned in 4:28 by Salem’s Harley Schocke.
Freshman Jonas Sutton’s day at 160 got off to a good start by pinning Jeffersonville’s Kadin Moran in 2:54 before getting pinned by Charlestown’s Braden Moore in 1:46. Sutton needed just 49 seconds to pin Silver Creek’s Will Bobay, but Moran got his revenge in the third-place match by clinching a 3-1 decision.
Senior Isaac Gerdon began his day in the heavyweight division by pinning Silver Creek’s Miles Kirber in 3:36, but he couldn’t withstand Jeffersonville’s Ben Land, resulting in a 1:11 pinfall. After pinning Rock Creek Community Academy’s Tyler St. John in 1:51, Gerdon fell to a familiar foe in North Harrison’s Hayden Williams via a 1:42 pinfall to round out the Panthers’ top four finishers and regional qualifiers.
The Cougars were led by star sophomore Daniel Stiner, who pinned Borden’s Aron Evans in 1:05 before doing the same to Corydon Central’s Layne Owen in 246 to advance to the championship round at 132. There, he battled Jeffersonville’s Dawson Slaughter before eventually ending up on the wrong side of a 6:48 pinfall to finish in second place.
Junior Noah Kendall advanced on a first-round bye at 182 before pinning Silver Creek’s Alex Haynes in 2:28, but his quest for a sectional title ended with a 1:02 pin by Jeffersonville’s Blake Miller. Kendall rebounded by defeating Corydon Central’s Dylan Gentry via a 3-0 decision before pinning Salem’s Joel Altemeyer in 1:49 in the third-place match.
Sophomore Peyton King began his day at 220 by advancing via forfeit before taking a 5-1 decision against Jeffersonville’s Elijah Mutchler. After dropping a tight 11-8 outcome to Charlestown’s Malachi Rios, King rebounded with a 1:54 pinfall over New Washington’s Gage Snow followed by again defeating Mutchler in the third-place bout via a 5-2 decision.
Heavyweight Hayden Williams drew a first-round forfeit before pinning Providence’s Austin Chanley in 1:21 in the quarterfinals. After getting pinned in 3:13 by Clarksville’s Luke Cain, Williams took third place with pinfall victories over Silver Creek’s Miles Kirber (0:55) and Corydon Central’s Isaac Gerdon (1:42).
Sophomore Nevin Bolen only needed 49 seconds to pin Salem’s Lucas Lynch to begin his day at 195 before getting pinned in 1:33 by Jeffersonville’s Cody Shewmaker. After pinning Silver Creek’s Jacob Losey in 1:38, he had to settle for fourth place after getting pinned by Corydon Central’s Caleb Carroll in 3:59, rounding out the Panthers’ quintet of regional qualifiers.
Crawford County had a trio of freshman grapplers on hand for sectional play, starting with Elijah Polen at 126, who drew a first-round forfeit before getting pinned by Charlestown’s Noah Phillips in just 29 seconds. After advancing on another forfeit, Polen was pinned by Salem’s Jonah Morgan in 59 seconds before squeaking out an 8-6 decision over North Harrison’s Maverick VonAllmen in the fifth-place match.
Logan Feeler pinned Salem’s Luke Byrum in 2:39 before getting pinned by Charlestown’s Carson Collier in 35 seconds. After pinning Silver Creek’s Peyton Fletcher in just 34 seconds, Feeler was pinned by Jeffersonville’s Aidan Stellato in 30 seconds and by Eastern (Pekin)’s Alexander Fleming in 1:44 to finish in sixth place at 113.
Wyatt Farris rounded out the Wolfpack at 132, advancing on a first-round forfeit before getting pinned by Jeffersonville’s Dawson Slaughter (1:09) and Silver Creek’s Gavin Haynes (2:26).
Sixteen Harrison County grapplers between Corydon Central and North Harrison will return to Jeffersonville on Saturday for the Indiana High School Athletic Association Regional 15 at Johnson Arena, which will also include qualifiers from Sectional 29 at Jennings County. The tournament will kick off at 8 a.m.
