WRESTLING WEDNESDAY - Jeff Favored to repeat as HHC Champs

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WRESTLING WEDNESDAY: Jeff favored to repeat as HHC champions

 

http://www.news-tribune.net/highschoolsports/local_story_012235051.html

 

 

New Albany, Floyd projected to finish in top four

 

By KEVIN HARRIS

Kevin.Harris@newsandtribune.com

 

Last year around this time, the Jeffersonville wrestling team did something it had not accomplished in almost 25 years ? win the Hoosier Hills Conference title.

 

On Saturday at Jennings County High School, the Red Devils will attempt to achieve something they have never done ? claim back-to-back conference titles.

 

Jeff is the favorite heading into the HHC meet. According to the meet seeding, the 14th-ranked Red Devils are projected to capture the crown by 23 points over the host Panthers. New Albany and Floyd Central are projected to finish third and fourth, respectively.

 

?Our current kids want to win it badly, so that they can leave their mark as one of the best Jeff wrestling teams of all time, doing something no one else has done,? Jeff head coach Danny Struck said. ?We have a good chance, but hopefully we don?t leave it to chance and we put it more up to hard work in and out of season.?

 

Jeff and Jennings have the most No. 1 seeds in the tourney with five apiece. The five Red Devil top seeds are Alonzo Shepherd (103 pounds), Curtis Smith (112), Devon Miller (119), Renaldo Weekly (135) and Caleb Browner (171).

 

Smith, a senior, will be trying to make a little history himself on Saturday.

 

If he takes first in the 112 division, Smith will become the third wrestler in Jeff history to claim four conference championships in his career.

 

Weekly and Browner, who are both currently ranked in the top 16 in the state in their respective divisions, each claimed a conference crown last season.

 

The four No. 2 seeds for Jeff are Darien Tatgenhorst (152), Brandon Marlin (160), Nelson Bowen (189) and Jimmy Pratt (215).

 

?The HHC is always very tough. To be a champion here, you have to earn it. There are no gimmes,? Struck said. ?Some weights here are tougher than sectional, some are not. But it gives us a good gauge going into the state tourney as what we need to focus on going into that phase of the season.?

 

New Albany enters the meet with two No. 1 seeds. Senior Tim Martin is the favorite at 130 pounds and fellow senior Larry Rickman is the top seed at 140. The Bulldogs have a pair of two seeds in Tre Marler (125) and Taylor Hoke (285).

 

?We have a lot of young kids, so I think we will finish in the middle of the pack somewhere,? New Albany head coach Eric Burres said. ?We should have some champs along with several place winners. This tournament is always competitive with some good matches.?

 

Ben Moberly (145) is Floyd Central?s No. 1 seed. The Highlanders have four No. 2 seeds in Caleb Happel (103), Aaron Witt (130), Tom Denny (135) and Drew Denny (140).

 

The Red Devils think it is critical for them to have a great performance on Saturday so they can have some momentum entering the postseason in more than two weeks. The state tournament will start on Saturday, Jan. 30 with the Jeff Sectional. The Red Devils are the defending champions.

 

?It is important to the team as we have had such a grueling season,? Struck said about attaining that momentum. ?They need a good tourney to give them confidence that we have done the right things all year. We have some kids on our team that are waiting to see the results of all this effort, and we want them to see that good things happen to those that work hard. We feel they will see that this weekend.?

 

Burres says building late-season momentum in the HHC meet is important for his team as well.

 

?You always want to see your kids wrestle well toward the end of the year because that confidence and momentum will carry over into the state tournament series,? Burres said.

 

 

 

SOUTHERN INDIANA WRESTLING CONFERENCE MEET

 

While the area?s big three schools will be competing in the HHC, the other four local squads will be wrestling in the Southern Indiana Wrestling Conference meet on Saturday at Southwestern. Those teams are Charlestown, Christian Academy of Indiana, New Washington and Providence.

 

The Pioneers will be led by senior Jacob Golembeski, who is the top seed at 152. Teammate Joey Libretto is the No. 2 seed at 189, and Providence?s Jordan Kaelin is seeded third at 140.

 

Pioneer co-coach Patrick Fleming considers his team an underdog entering the meet.

 

?I think that we have a chance of being a black horse team and winning the tournament,? Fleming said. ?Our guys have progressed really well this year and continue to get better every week. I expect all three of them to be in the finals and a couple of our other wrestlers have a decent shot of upsetting some of the higher seeds. There are several really good wrestlers in each weight class and I?m looking forward to seeing some good matches.?

 

Along with trying to compete for the SIWC crown, Fleming says the conference meet is crucial for his wrestlers to improve their seeding for the Jeff Sectional.

 

?Seeding can play a big part in whether or not a wrestler advances throughout the postseason,? Fleming said. ?All of these teams are either sectional or regional opponents, so each match is very important. I also hope that some of our guys avenge losses from earlier in the season.?

 

New Washington will have two top seeds at Southwestern in senior Josh Sampson (145) and Lane Massingham (135).

 

?There should be some good wrestling at that tournament Saturday,? Mustangs head coach Jeremy Campbell said.

 

Seeds for Charlestown, CAI or New Washington could not be attained before press time.

 

 

 

WRESTLERS OF THE WEEK (FOR BOTH NAT AND JEN)

 

 

 

Providence?s Jordan Kaelin and Jacob Golembeski

 

 

 

Both wrestlers posted 5-0 records in the Providence six-way meet last Saturday at the Robert I. Larkin Center. Those performances should give Kaelin and Golembeski momentum heading into this weekend?s Southern Indiana Wrestling Conference meet. Golembeski enters the meet as the No. 1 seed in the 160-pound division, while Kaelin is third at 140.

 

 

 

WRESTLING RUNDOWN

 

COMPILED BY KEVIN HARRIS

 

 

 

JEFFERSONVILLE

 

RED DEVILS GO 2-3 AT FRANKLIN: No. 14 Jeffersonville was one of four ranked teams competing in the Franklin six-way meet last Saturday. The Red Devils went 2-3 in dual-meet action.

 

Jeff began the day with victories over Ben Davis and Brownsburg. But the Devils lost to Holt, Mich., which is ranked sixth in the Wolverine State, No. 5 Yorktown and No. 9 Franklin.

 

There were several highlights on the day for Jeff. Alonzo Shepherd defeated Ben Davis? Levi Moss, who is ranked fifth in the state, by a 5-4 decision in a 103-pound match. Caleb Browner won a critical 171 match in the Yorktown matchup, and Renaldo Weekly defeated Franklin?s Cole Van Horn, Indiana?s No. 11-ranked wrestler at 135.

 

Red Devil head coach Danny Struck was encouraged by his team?s effort against Holt despite losing to the Michigan school, 36-19.

 

?Two years ago, we lost to them, 76-0. Last year, we lost by 55 and this year we lost by 17. They are a great team,? Struck said. ?What a tough meet. We went 2-3, but showed lots of improvement.?

 

FRANKLIN SIX-WAY DUAL-MEET SCORES: Jeff 40, Ben Davis 13; Jeff 37, Brownsburg 15; Holt, Mich., 36, Jeff 19; Yorktown 36, Jeff 25; Franklin 28, Jeff 25.

 

UPCOMING MEETS: home vs. Trinity, today, TBA; Hoosier Hills Conference Championships at Jennings County, Saturday, 9 a.m.

 

 

 

NEW ALBANY

 

BULLDOGS DOWN PROVIDENCE: Last Tuesday, New Albany defeated host Providence in a dual meet. The Bulldogs won 12 matches in beating their archrivals. No other details were reported at press time.

 

UPCOMING MEETS: at Scottsburg, today, 5:30 p.m.; HHC Championships at Jennings County, Saturday, 9 a.m.

 

 

 

NEW WASHINGTON

 

TWO MUSTANGS GO UNDEFEATED AT PROVIDENCE: New Washington?s Lane Massingham (135) and Josh Sampson (145) each went 5-0 at the Providence six-way meet last Saturday. Going 3-2 for the Mustangs were Brady Meenach (119) and Corbin Hammond (112).

 

UPCOMING MEETS: home vs. Corydon, Wednesday, 6 p.m.; Southern Indiana Wrestling Conference meet at Southwestern, Saturday, 9:30 a.m.

 

 

 

PROVIDENCE

 

PIONEERS WIN TWICE IN SIX-WAY: Providence posted a 2-3 record in its own six-way meet last Saturday at the Larkin Center. The Pioneers? two victories were against Paoli and New Washington.

 

Providence?s Jordan Kaelin (140) and Jacob Golembeski (160) each went 5-0, while teammate Joey Libretto (215) claimed three victories.

 

?We wrestled decently over the weekend, but I hope that we avenge some of our losses at this weekend?s SIWC tournament,? Pioneer co-coach Patrick Fleming said. ?The highlight for me from this weekend was seeing the continuous improvement in some of our younger wrestlers, particularly Jordan Kaelin at 140. This is the second six-way this year that he has gone 5-0. The hard work he puts in at practice is really paying off.?

 

PROVIDENCE SIX-WAY DUAL-MEET SCORES: Southwestern 45, Providence 30; Providence 37, Paoli 30; Tell City 60, Providence 16; Milan 57, Providence 24; Providence 42, New Washington 36.

 

OTHER NOTABLES FROM SIX-WAY MEET: Brennan Gregory, two wins at 119; Adam McDermott, two wins at 130; Daniel Fernandez, two wins at 171; Jared Griffith, one win at 135; Dalton Schell, one win at 189; Jesse Coddington, one win at 285.

 

UPCOMING MEETS: SIWC meet at Southwestern, Saturday, 9:30 a.m.