Jeff Classic Article

[dstruck]

Jeff second, Bulldogs eighth at Jeff Invite

Pirates have two individual champs

 

BY JON REITER

sports@newsandtribune.com

 

JEFFERSONVILLE ? The Jeffersonville Red Devils came up short to Carmel again in the Jeff Classic wrestling tournament, but there still was plenty to celebrate.

 

Three Red Devils captured individual championships in leading their squad to a runner-up finish in the 16-team field at William S. Johnson Arena Saturday. Caleb Browner (171 pounds), Tyler Tatgenhorst (189) and John Clark (heavyweight) all escaped by winning narrow decisions, but Jeffersonville still trailed Carmel in the overall points race when the results were tabulated, 238-199.

 

?As a whole, I think we did better,? Jeffersonville coach Danny Struck said. ?We were seeded to finished tied for first with Carmel, but Carmel always finishes better than what they seed. It?s great to have them come down here; it makes for good competition for us.?

 

Struck also complimented the results of two other Red Devil grapplers, Renaldo Weekly (125) and Brett Walker (130), who finished fourth and third, respectively, but entered the tournament unseeded.

 

?To come in at this level unseeded and perform like they did was a good accomplishment,? Struck said.

 

Another team that saw a good result in the tournament was Charlestown, which was one of the smaller schools in the Jeff Classic but posted a sixth-place finish with 169 1/2 points.

 

?We had three kids in the finals, and that is really good for us,? Charlestown coach Tom Kendrick said. ?I think we?re pretty satisfied with that.?

 

The two Charlestown wins came from Jeff Stotridge (119), who pinned New Albany?s Tim Martin at the 3:58 mark, and Eddie Duran, who remains undefeated at 16-0 at the 125-pound level. Aaron May posted a runner-up finish for Charlestown at 135.

 

The Charlestown wins were noteworthy because Stotridge sustained a right shoulder injury in a morning match, and Duran tore an abdominal muscle in his championship match against Carmel?s Evan Ackerman.

 

"That?s the way this sport is,? Kendrick said. ?If you get hurt, you just have to keep going. You can?t tag someone in.?

 

As for New Albany, the young Bulldog squad netted an eighth-place team finish with 105 1/2 points, led by Martin?s runner-up finish. New Albany also had a third-place finish along with a fourth, two fifths and a sixth.

 

New Albany coach Eric Burres called the result acceptable and said his squad is gaining valuable experience each week. It was the first multi-team tournament of the year for the Bulldogs, Burres said.

 

?We probably won?t see a lot of these kids until regional or semistate if we?re able to get there,? Burres said. ?Our kids are still learning. This sort of competition is the best way for us to get better.?

 

New Washington finished 14th in the tournament with 27 points. Josh Sampson (152) netted a fourth-place finish for the Mustangs.

 

 

 

JEFF CLASSIC

 

LOCAL CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS

 

119: Stotridge (Charlestown) pin Martin (New Albany), 3:58.

 

125: Duran (Charlestown) dec. Ackerman (Carmel), 1-0.

 

135: Mascaro (Carmel) pin May (Charlestown), 4:52.

 

152: Whitaker (Muncie South) dec. Bailey (Jeffersonville), 16-7.

 

171: Browner (Jeffersonville) dec. Karwoski (Carmel), 9-8.

 

189: Tatgenhorst (Jeffersonville) dec. Eads (Bloomington South), 4-3.

 

HWT: Clark (Jeffersonville) dec. Caum (Jennings County), 8-7.