WRESTLING WEDNESDAY: Jeff Classic features another tough field

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WRESTLING WEDNESDAY: Jeff Classic features another tough field

By KEVIN HARRIS

Kevin.Harris@newsandtribune.com The Jeffersonville News and Tribune Wed Dec 15, 2010, 01:25 AM EST

 

> SOUTHERN INDIANA ? In its 33-year history, the annual Jeff Classic wrestling tournament has attracted some of the best high school wrestling teams in Indiana.

 

This season?s tournament will be no different.

 

The field for the two-day tourney, which will take place Friday and Saturday at Jeffersonville?s Johnson Arena, will include two of the most prolific programs in state history in Evansville Mater Dei and Bloomington South.

 

Bloomington South, which is ranked 16th in the latest Indianamat.com poll, has the most state championships in IHSAA history with 24. Third-ranked Mater Dei has the second-most state titles with 12, winning nine in a row from 1995-2003.

 

Red Devils? head coach Danny Struck claims that this year?s Classic field is the toughest ever ? and that?s the way the Jeff boss wants it.

 

?We do try to win this tourney,? said Struck, who has guided the Red Devils to runner-up finishes in the Classic the past two seasons. ?However, we don?t schedule it as a tourney to win. Each year that we have earned second in this tourney, we have tried to add another team that can beat us. This year we added Evansville Mater Dei. My goal is to create a schedule that the boys cannot go undefeated on, and their goal is to prove me wrong.?

 

New Albany head coach Eric Burres thinks the tournament is definitely more formidable this season.

 

?This tournament was already really tough,? Burres said. ?But some new teams were added to the field this year that will make it even tougher. Mater Dei was added to the field along with Northview and Christian Academy (of Indiana).?

 

Tournament projections, based on the seedings, have Jeff finishing fourth in this year?s Classic. Mater Dei is projected to win the title, followed by Bloomington South and Jennings County.

 

The Red Devils, who have not won the Classic title in 19 years, have lost to all three of those teams in dual meets this year. But their setbacks to Bloomington South and Jennings were very close, so Struck thinks Jeff has a shot of finishing second again this season.

 

?This could be a real tight race from second to fourth place,? Struck said. ?The year we win the Jeff Classic is the year I hope to win a state title. I feel if I don?t keep bringing in a top team to this tourney, then I am doing a disservice to my kids in their preparation.

 

?Winning titles is fun, but so is playing Xbox. We want our kids to learn that real fun and real rewards come with lots and lots of hard work beforehand, and many times lots of heartaches. That is why it feels so good to be at the top.?

 

The Red Devils have two top seeds in Renaldo Weekley at 145 pounds and Jimmy Pratt at 215. Struck says Weekley, who is ranked seventh in the state, will have the toughest journey to the Classic title as his weight class has three other ranked wrestlers.

 

Alonzo Shepherd is Jeff?s lone No. 2 seed at 112 and he is ranked fifth in the state. Teammate Brandon Marlin is a No. 3 seed at 160.

 

?With the addition of Mater Dei and with Bloomington South and Jennings County being so tough this year, I think we may have less champions than in past years,? Struck said. ?The number of champs doesn?t concern us as much as each kid wrestling above their seeds, and preparing themselves for the state tourney. We have two top seeds with Jimmy Pratt and Nado Weekley. We also hope to see Alonzo Shepherd grab a title at 112.?

 

New Albany does not have one wrestler seeded in the top four. The highest seeds for the Bulldogs are No. 5 seeds in Bryce Peavler (119) and Cory Troutman (130). Teammate Chase Laughead is seeded seventh at 112.

 

?We have several kids seeded, but we do not have any No. 1 seeds,? Burres said. ?I would like to see one of our kids rise to the occasion and win their weight class. This tournament will help with the postseason tournament because there are several teams in our semistate wrestling in the Classic, and we will not see those teams until the semistate tournament.?

 

Charlestown has a No. 1 seed and a two seed. The one seed is Justin Wolf (130), who qualified for semistate last season. Teammate John Slaten is seeded second at 285. Also for the Pirates, Jacob Hall is the fourth seed at 160.

 

Christian Academy?s Levi Speth is the top seed at 152. But the senior, who qualified for semistate last season, will face a tough bracket that includes Mater Dei?s Tyler Raben, Northview?s Brandon Mikesell and Bloomington South?s Sam Horrocks. Fellow Warrior senior Cory Neel is seeded fourth at 135.

 

New Washington has two three seeds in Brady Meenach and Lane Massingham. Both were semistate qualifiers last year.

 

 

 

FLOYD TO HOST INVITE SATURDAY

 

Floyd Central will host its own invitational dual meet on Saturday, starting at 9 a.m. The Highlanders have claimed the invite four times in the five-year history of the event.

 

Six teams will participate in the tournament. Along with the Highlanders, Corydon, Vincennes Lincoln, St. Xavier, South Oldham (Ky.) and Crawford County will compete in the meet.

 

 

 

WRESTLING RUNDOWN

 

COMPILED BY KEVIN HARRIS

 

 

 

CHRISTIAN ACADEMY OF INDIANA

 

WARRIORS DOWN PANTHERS: Christian Academy defeated Corydon in a home dual meet last Tuesday, 57-18. No individual results were reported at press time, as only four matches took place.

 

NEXT MEET: Jeff Classic, Friday at 6 p.m. and Saturday at 9 a.m.

 

 

 

FLOYD CENTRAL

 

HIGHLANDERS HAVE WINNING MARK AT CALUMET: Floyd posted a 3-2 record in the Calumet Duals last weekend. The Highlanders? three victories came against Valparaiso, Lowell and Lafayette Jeff. Floyd suffered setbacks against Munster and Southmont.

 

Andrew Sharp posted the Highlanders? only unbeaten record with a 5-0 mark in the 285-pound division. Teammates Jackson Randall and George Emily each went 4-1. Going 3-2 for Floyd were Terrence Kennedy, Chris Whitley, Shane Sneed, Eric Foster and Nick Ottersbach.

 

?We wrestled a lot better this weekend,? Highlander head coach Brandon Sisson said. ?Even the guys that didn?t have as good of records went out and competed in all of their matches. We beat a couple of teams that beat us pretty bad last year.?

 

CALUMET DUALS DUAL-MEET SCORES: Munster 54, Floyd Central 15; Floyd Central 51, Valparaiso 23; Southmont 31, Floyd Central 28; Floyd Central 46, Lowell 27; Floyd Central 36, Lafayette Jeff 25.

 

UPCOMING MEETS: home vs. Providence, Thursday, 6 p.m.; Floyd Central Invitational, Saturday, 8:30 a.m.

 

 

 

JEFFERSONVILLE

 

RED DEVILS 3-2 AT MATER DEI: Jeff won three out of its five dual meets last weekend at the Evansville Mater Dei Tournament.

 

The Red Devils? biggest victory came against then No. 4 Castle, 43-32. Jeff avenged a pair of losses to the Knights the past two seasons in the team regional. Jeff?s other two victories were against Greencastle and Jasper. The Devils lost to the host Wildcats and Bloomington South.

 

Alonzo Shepherd (112), Renaldo Weekley (145) and Jimmy Pratt (215) each recorded 5-0 marks. Weekley picked up a huge win en route to his perfect mark by downing Mater Dei?s Evan Weinzapfel, who is ranked eighth in the state. Jeff?s Kevim Castro (125) and Ryan Dewitt (285) each went 4-1.

 

Red Devil head coach Danny Struck lauded the effort of his 189-pound grappler, Brandon Brown. The junior, who recently earned a spot in the Jeff starting lineup, posted a 3-2 record.

 

?This was a big win for our kids,? Struck said. ?They got a monkey off of their back, and our eight new starters now realize they can wrestle with the best in the state. Rankings don?t matter. But I can?t lie, it was a lot of fun.?

 

MATER DEI TOURNAMENT DUAL-MEET SCORES: Mater Dei 46, Jeff 10; Jeff 69, Greencastle 9; Jeff 49, Jasper 20; Jeff 43, Castle 32; Bloomington South 33, Jeff 25.

 

OTHER JEFF NOTABLES: 103: Jasi Coureur, 1-4; 119: Oscar Deleon, 1-4; 130: Jordan Schremp, 3-2; 135: Michael Vasquez, 3-2; 140: Tre Harbin, 3-2; 152: Brent Browner, 3-2; Jordan Webb, 0-1; 160/171: Brandon Marlin, 2-3; 171: Brandon Spangler, 0-4.

 

NEXT MEET: Jeff Classic, Friday at 6 p.m. and Saturday at 9 a.m.

 

 

 

NEW ALBANY

 

BULLDOGS GO 4-1 AT MSC DUALS: New Albany went 4-1 at the Mid-Southern Conference Duals last Saturday at Charlestown.

 

The Bulldogs, who were the lone non-MSC team in the field, collected victories over Corydon, Pekin Eastern, Salem and Scottsburg. Their lone setback came against the host Pirates.

 

New Albany wrestlers who competed in the meet were Bryce Peavler, Cory Troutman, Hunter Langley, Kyle Frame, Matt O?Connell, Ethan Lee, Zach Faith, Nick Lynch and Mitch Cross.

 

?I was happy with our team?s performance. All of our kids wrestled well,? Bulldogs? head coach Eric Burres said.

 

MSC DUAL-MEET SCORES: New Albany 42, Corydon 22; New Albany 31, Pekin Eastern 30; New Albany 54, Salem 12; New Albany 41, Scottsburg 21; Charlestown 62, New Albany 9.

 

NEXT MEET: Jeff Classic, Friday at 6 p.m. and Saturday at 9 a.m.

 

 

 

PROVIDENCE

 

PIONEERS EIGHTH AT MEMORIAL: Providence wound up eighth at the Evansville Memorial Tournament last Saturday.

 

Leading the Pioneers was junior Jared Griffith, who placed third at 130. Griffith is now 10-1 on the season.

 

Teammate Daniel Fernandez (160) placed fourth, while Providence freshman Josh Murner (119) picked up two victories.

 

UPCOMING MEETS: at Floyd Central, Thursday, 6 p.m.; Louisville Moore Horsepower Invitational, Saturday, 8 a.m.

 

NOTE: Charlestown?s results from last Saturday?s Mid-Southern Conference Duals were not reported at press time