dstruck Posted December 1, 2010 Share Posted December 1, 2010 http://newsandtribune.com/localsports/x1894461322/WRESTLING-WEDNESDAY-Jeff-FC-NA-ready-to-square-off-in-HHC-Duals WRESTLING WEDNESDAY: Jeff, FC, NA ready to square off in HHC Duals By KEVIN HARRIS Kevin.Harris@newsandtribune.com The Jeffersonville News and Tribune Wed Dec 01, 2010, 12:37 AM EST > SOUTHERN INDIANA ? The first major duals tournament for Southern Indiana high school wrestling teams will take place this weekend, as Jeffersonville, Floyd Central and New Albany will participate in the Hoosier Hills Conference Duals. The tournament will begin on Friday evening with the Highlanders, Red Devils, Bulldogs and Madison competing at Floyd Central. The other half of the conference ? Bedford North Lawrence, Columbus East, Jennings County and Seymour ? will wrestle at a location yet to be determined on Friday. In Friday?s first round of matches at Floyd, the host Highlanders will face Jeff and Madison will take on New Albany. The second-round matches will be Floyd versus the Bulldogs and the Red Devils against the Cubs. All the HHC teams will then wrestle at Jeff on Saturday, as each squad will compete in five dual-meet matches. The Red Devils are the defending champions of the HHC Duals, posting a perfect 7-0 record at last year?s tournament. But Jeff head coach Danny Struck says it will be a challenge to repeat this season. ?It is going to be real tough for us to win this weekend,? Struck said. ?We will have eight kids new to the varsity lineup on Friday and Saturday. It will be a good tourney for them to get their feet wet and get ready to see what they have to do for the rest of the season.? Expected to lead the Red Devils this weekend are senior Renaldo Weekley at 145 pounds and junior Alonzo Shepherd at 112 pounds. Both are past IHSAA State Finals qualifiers and currently ranked in the top 10 in Indiana in their respective weight classes. Struck thinks Jeff seniors Jimmy Pratt (215) and Tre Harbin (140) have a great chance to be successful at the HHC Duals as well. ?Jimmy Pratt and Tre Harbin are great senior leaders that are doing some big things and have great goals,? Struck said. Floyd head coach Brandon Sisson will rely on four upperclassmen to try to improve on the Highlanders? 4-3 mark at last year?s duals. Senior Shane Sneed will wrestle at 160, while fellow senior Andrew Sharp will compete at 285. Juniors Eric Foster (152) and Gus Schoenbaechler (140) are expected to step up their leadership roles. Along with the veterans, Sisson says his sophomore class needs to raise its performance level a couple of notches. ?Our upperclassmen need to lead the way and our sophomores are going to need to mature in a hurry,? the Highlanders? boss said. ?Our sophomores are going to have to step up and get some big wins.? Like Floyd, New Albany recorded a 4-3 mark at last season?s duals. Bulldogs? head coach Eric Burres says he hopes his young squad can match last season?s record against a formidable conference field. ?I hope we will be able to go at least 4-3 again this year,? Burres said. ?You always want your team to do better, but our conference is extremely tough this year.? Burres says all of his wrestlers must persevere if New Albany wants to have a solid weekend. Two Bulldogs expected to lead the entire New Albany squad are senior Zach Faith (189) and sophomore Austin Jamison (130). Both were among five Bulldog grapplers to finish undefeated at last Saturday?s duals meet at Bloomington North. ?I expect a lot from all of our kids,? Burres said. ?We are a relatively young team, but our young kids can still win if they wrestle to their capabilities. If we want to be successful at the HHC Duals, we must pick up pins or bonus points when we can.? Struck thinks the HHC Duals assist his wrestlers in preparing for the conference meet, which will be Saturday, Jan. 15 at Madison. Plus the duals tournament gets the Red Devils battle-tested for tough nonconference opponents like Evansville Mater Dei, Trinity and Holt, Mich. ?It helps us get ready for conference,? Struck said. ?It shows us what is out there. Then we go wrestle top-20 programs in duals from Indiana, Michigan and Kentucky. We hope that our season prepared us for (the HHC meet) and for the state tourney. More than anything, we preach to the kids ?Count on Me? and we hope that they turn into a man to be counted on for team points or for more support. Anything they can do for the team.? Burres says the conference duals meet gives his wrestlers an early indication of how stiff the conference competition is and what they need to work on before the HHC meet in January. ?I think the HHC Duals give us a measuring stick as to where our kids stand in the conference,? Burres said. Sisson agrees with Burres. But the Floyd coach also pointed out that some teams might make several lineup changes before the conference meet. ?I feel the conference duals help you get a gauge where your team is at,? Sisson said. ?But a few teams have not figured out their lineups this time of year, so at conference time they can look a lot different.? ****** WRESTLING RUNDOWN COMPILED BY KEVIN HARRIS CHARLESTOWN PIRATES DOWN PIONEERS: In its season-opening meet, visiting Charlestown thumped Providence on Tuesday, Nov. 23, 64-12. The Pirates won 11 of the individual matches in posting the victory. Charlestown?s individual winners were not reported at press time. UPCOMING MEETS: Evansville Reitz Invitational, Friday at 6 p.m. and Saturday at 9 a.m.; home vs. Southwestern, next Wednesday, 6 p.m. JEFFERSONVILLE RED DEVILS FOURTH IN CAPITAL CITY CLASSIC: Jeff faced some of the state?s best competition in its season-opening meet on Nov. 20. The Red Devils placed fourth in the Capital City Classic in Indianapolis. Leading the Red Devils was Renaldo Weekley. The senior won the 145-pound weight class and was named the meet?s most outstanding wrestler. Weekley defeated Warren Central?s Kyle Reidling, the state?s sixth-ranked wrestler at the time, en route to the 145 title. Teammates Alonzo Shepherd (112) and Brent Browner (152) each placed second. Browner, a junior, advanced to his first-ever tourney finals in his career. Despite the fourth-place finish, Struck thought his team could have wrestled better. ?I wasn?t pleased with our performance. I know we are capable of much more than this,? Struck said. ?Luckily, this is a long season and our kids weren?t pleased either. They know what we have to do to correct many of our mistakes. It is up to them to do it. They know our goal is a state finals berth, and I am confident they will do what it takes to try and get there.? OTHER NOTABLES FROM CAPITAL CITY: Taivon Lucas, eighth at 103; Oscar Deleon, seventh at 119; Jordan Schremp, fifth at 130; Michael Vazquez, third at 135 with two pins; Marc Engleking, seventh at 171; Ryan Dewitt, fifth at 285; Tre Harbin, fifth at 140; Brandon Marlin, sixth at 160; Nelson Bowen, fourth at 189; Jimmy Pratt, third at 215. UPCOMING MEETS: Hoosier Hills Conference Duals, Friday at 6 p.m. at Floyd Central and Saturday at 9 a.m. at Jeff. NEW ALBANY BULLDOGS WIN THREE TIMES IN BLOOMINGTON: New Albany posted three victories in a duals tournament last Saturday at Bloomington North. Five Bulldog grapplers posted undefeated records: Antonio Nieto (125), Austin Jamison (130), C.J. Reynolds (152), Zach Faith (189) and Cheyenne Conn (215). Other strong performances for New Albany were Chase Laughead (112), Bryce Peavler (119), Cory Troutman (130), Hunter Langley (140), Matt O?Connell (160), Ethan Lee (171), Nick Lynch (215) and Christian Moore (160). ?This weekend was a good team effort and everyone contributed in some fashion,? Bulldogs? head coach Eric Burres said. ?This was our first weekend of wrestling, so we had some kids make mistakes that will be corrected as the year progresses. As a whole, I think everyone got better as the day went on, and as a coach that is what you want to see in your team.? BLOOMINGTON NORTH DUALS SCORES: New Albany 37, Brown County 30; New Albany 48, Bloomington North 34; New Albany 72, Mitchell 12. UPCOMING MEETS: Hoosier Hills Conference Duals, Friday at 6 p.m. at Floyd Central and Saturday at 9 a.m. at Jeff. NEW WASHINGTON THREE MUSTANGS GO 4-1 IN BOONVILLE: A trio of New Washington wrestlers started their season off well at the Boonville Invitational on Nov. 20. Senior Lane Massingham led the Mustangs by posting a 4-1 record at 140. A couple of New Washington freshmen, Yancey Crase (130) and Brandon Gonzales (103), each went 4-1. UPCOMING MEETS: home vs. Pekin Eastern, today at 6 p.m.; Scottsburg Invitational, Friday at 5 p.m. and Saturday at 8 a.m. PROVIDENCE PIONEERS FALL TO CHARLESTOWN: Providence lost its season opener to Charlestown at home on Nov. 23, 64-12. The Pioneers only won two individual matches in the dual meet. The Providence individual winners were not reported at press time. UPCOMING MEET: Providence six-way meet, Saturday at 8 a.m. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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