Red Devils 3-peat as sectional champions - Jeffersonville

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http://newsandtribune.com/localsports/x376910258/H-S-WRESTLING-Red-Devils-repeat-as-sectional-champions

 

January 30, 2011

 

H.S. WRESTLING: Red Devils repeat as sectional champions

Young lineup helps Jeff win third straight sectional title; C-town ends up third

By KEVIN HARRIS

Kevin.Harris@newsandtribune.com The Jeffersonville News and Tribune Sun Jan 30, 2011, 01:37 AM EST

 

JEFFERSONVILLE ? At the beginning of the season, the chances of the Jeffersonville wrestling team completing a three-peat in its own sectional looked very slim.

 

Four senior starters left the team, which meant the Red Devils would have to rely on inexperienced wrestlers to collect another sectional title.

 

Saturday at Johnson Arena, those young grapplers persevered and helped Jeff win three consecutive sectional championships for the first time in program history.

 

The Red Devils had nine individual sectional champions to enable them to score 277 points. Along with the three-peat, Jeff captured its fourth sectional title in five years.

 

The Red Devils will face the Evansville Central Sectional winner in Wednesday?s semifinals of the Southridge Team Regional. The top four finishers in each sectional weight class advanced to the Jeff Individual Regional next Saturday.

 

?The first one was the funnest. This one is my next favorite,? Red Devils? head coach Danny Struck compared this year?s sectional crown to the first one he won as Jeff coach in 2007. ?We weren?t supposed to be good this year. But (Jeff?s wrestlers) were so hungry once they got their chance to wrestle.

 

?At the beginning of the year, we had four senior starters quit. But then I learned we had kids that wanted to be here.?

 

Struck said three newcomers to Jeff?s starting lineup played critical roles in the sectional title, as each of them placed higher than their seed.

 

In the 103-pound division, sophomore Josi Coureur claimed fourth after being seeded fifth. At 119, sophomore Oscar DeLeon earned second as he was seeded third. At 171, No. 6 seed Brandon Spangler wound up fourth.

 

Struck also lauded the effort of his 215-pound wrestler Jimmy Pratt. The senior won by major decision over Charlestown?s Logan McCutchen in the 215 final, 17-5. The victory came 17 days after Pratt got pinned by McCutchen in a dual meet. Shortly after Christmas, Pratt had knee surgery and did not return to action until Jan. 8 in an invitational at Franklin.

 

Jeff?s eight other champions were Alonzo Shepherd (112), Kevim Castro (125), Tre Harbin (140), Renaldo Weekly (145), Brent Browner (152), Brandon Marlin (160), Elijah Curtley (189) and Ryan DeWitt (285). Junior Michael Vasquez (135) finished second as Jeff had 13 regional qualifiers.

 

Struck credited the Red Devils? formidable schedule for preparing them for the sectional.

 

?We wrestled the best competition this season and it paid off. We wrestled state champions from three different states,? Struck said. ?Every kid got their seed or higher for us today.?

 

Floyd Central came up 54 points short of winning its first sectional title since 2008, as it finished second. The Highlanders had two sectional champions and 11 regional qualifiers.

 

No. 1 seed Terrence Kennedy of Floyd captured his first career sectional title by pinning Pekin Eastern?s Jordan Gray in the 103 final at the 2:30 mark.

 

The Highlanders? other top seed, George Emily, also took care of business by capturing the 135 title. The sophomore defeated Vasquez by a 2-1 decision, avenging a loss earlier in the season at the Hoosier Hills Conference Duals where Emily lost by a technical fall.

 

Finishing second for Floyd were Chris Whitley (112), Zach Thomas (125), Chase Herron (145) and Shane Sneed (171). Teammates Nick Stewart (119), Gus Schoenbaechler (140), Lance Youtsey (189), Nick Ottersbach (215) and Andrew Sharp (285) each qualified for regional.

 

?It?s never nice to finish second. But overall I thought we wrestled real well,? Highlanders? head coach Brandon Sisson said. ?All of our kids beat their seeds. They beat some kids that they had lost to in the past.?

 

With several Highlanders expected to return next season, Sisson says his program has a shot to reclaim the sectional title in 2012.

 

?I really hope so,? Sisson said. ?I hope to give Jeff a better run than we did today.?

 

Charlestown finished in third place with 181 points. Senior Ethan Bowen collected the Pirates? lone sectional title, as he defeated Sneed in the 171 title bout by a 2-1 decision.

 

Along with McCutchen, three other Pirates got second in Sasha Weddington (140), Cory Suddeth (152) and Jacob Hall (160). Five other Charlestown wrestlers earned their tickets for regional in Justin Wolf (125), Cameron Stuart (130), Dakota Bungcayao (135), Ryan Miles (145) and Seth McCutchen (189).

 

New Albany was fourth with 160 points. The Bulldogs? only sectional champion was sophomore Austin Jamison, who upended DeLeon in the 119 final by a 10-3 decision.

 

Two New Albany grapplers were second in Zach Faith (189) and Jacob Mudd (285). Other Bulldogs heading to regional are Bryce Peavler (112), Hunter Langley (130), Jacob Jiles (145), C.J. Reynolds (152), Matt O?Connell (160), Noah Schindler (171) and Cheyenne Conn (215).

 

Christian Academy of Indiana recorded its highest finish ever in the sectional, as it was fifth with 103 points.

 

Senior Cory Neel became the first Warrior to ever win a sectional title. He won the 130 final against Providence junior Brennan Gregory by a 7-2 decision.

 

CAI freshman Daniel Doty was third at 103. Three Warriors finished fourth in Christian Roberts (119), Ethan Banet (135) and Levi Speth (152).

 

New Washington wound up seventh with 78 1/2 points. Three Mustangs qualified for regional, as Brady Meenach (125) and Lane Massingham (140) both placed third and Jacob Franklin (160) finished fourth.

 

Providence finished in a tie for eighth with Corydon with 48 points. Gregory was the only Pioneer to qualify for regional.

 

 

 

JEFFERSONVILLE SECTIONAL

 

(Top four finishers in each weight class qualified for next Saturday?s Jeff Individual Regional.)

 

Team scores ? Jeffersonville 277, Floyd Central 223, Charlestown 181, New Albany 160, Christian Academy of Indiana 103, Pekin Eastern 79, New Washington 78 1/2, Providence 48, Corydon 48.

 

103 ? 1. Kennedy (F), 2. Gray (PE), 3. Doty (CAI), 4. Coureur (J).

 

112 ? 1. Shepherd (J), 2. Whitley (F), 3. LaHue (Co), 4. Peavler (NA).

 

119 ? 1. Jamison (NA), 2. DeLeon (J), 3. Stewart (F), 4. Roberts (CAI).

 

125 ? 1. Castro (J), 2. Thomas (F), 3. Meenach (NW), 4. Wolf (Ch).

 

130 ? 1. Neel (CAI), 2. Gregory (Pr), 3. Stuart (Ch), 4. Langley (NA).

 

135 ? 1. Emily (F), 2. Vasquez (J), 3. Bungcayao (Ch), 4. Banet (CAI).

 

140 ? 1. Harbin (J), 2. Weddington (Ch), 3. Massingham (NW), 4. Schoenbaechler (F).

 

145 ? 1. Weekly (J), 2. Herron (F), 3. Miles (Ch), 4. Jiles (NA).

 

152 ? 1. Browner (J), 2. Suddeth (Ch), 3. Reynolds (NA), 4. Speth (CAI).

 

160 ? 1. Marlin (J), 2. Hall (Ch), 3. O?Connell (NA), 4. Franklin (NW).

 

171 ? 1. Bowen (Ch), 2. Sneed (F), 3. Schindler (NA), 4. Spangler (J).

 

189 ? 1. Curtley (J), 2. Faith (NA), 3. S. McCutchen (Ch), 4. Youtsey (F).

 

215 ? 1. Pratt (J), 2. L. McCutchen (Ch), 3. Ottersbach (F), 4. Conn (NA).

 

285 ? 1. DeWitt (J), 2. Mudd (NA), 3. Sharp (F), 4. Duncan (PE