Wrestling: Jeffersonville controls the mat at regional

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WRESTLING - Jeffersonville controls the mat at regional

 

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011302050090

 

 

Courier- Journal

 

Jeffersonville's wrestling program took a firm grip of the Jeffersonville Regional.

 

The Red Devils sent nine wrestlers Saturday to the finals and won a school- and regional-record eight titles.

?I (used to) have to beg kids to wrestle,? Jeff coach Danny Struck said. ?Now I have great kids attracting great kids.?

Struck said he was hoping for seven regional titles. He exceeded that number.

?I'm very excited,? he said.

Overall, the Red Devils will send 11 wrestlers to the Evansville Semistate on Saturday at Roberts Stadium. The top four in each class made semistate.

The Red Devils have come a long way since Struck arrived five years ago.

?In my first year, we were happy with a sectional winner,? he said.

Jeff's top wrestler is senior Renaldo Weekley (43-1), ranked No. 4 in the state at 145 pounds. Weekley rolled to three wins with three pins.

The Red Devils' first regional title came at 112 as junior Alonzo Shepherd edged Floyd Central sophomore Chris Whitely 5-3. Shepherd has won three straight sectionals and regionals.

Shepherd, ranked No. 7 in the state, said the titles never get old, considering his humbling start in the sport.

?In my first two years of elementary (school) wrestling, I never won a match,? he said. ?I consider it (the wins) a blessing. With each match, I'm just happy I'm able to be out there.?

Shepherd has his eyes on a state title. He qualified for the state last season but lost in the first round.

?I've been there,? he said. ?Now I want to do more than just get there.?

Struck said he remembered the first time he saw Shepherd at tryouts, and Shepherd broke his hand.

?I didn't think he'd ever wrestle,? the Jeff coach said.

Now Shepherd is one of the school's best wrestlers and one of three Academic All-Staters for the Red Devils, joining Tre Harbin and Elijah Curtley.

All three won regional titles. Harbin (40-7) won at 140 pounds, besting Washington's Paulie Velasquez 17-5 in the finals. Curtley won at 189 pounds, pinning New Albany's Zach Faith just 52 seconds into the match.

At 125, Jeff's Kevim Castro battled a cold but won his first title with a 5-4 decision over Cody Byrer of North Knox.

?I threw up a couple of times today,? said Castro, a native of Venezuela. ?But I felt good in the finals.?

Last year Castro missed the regionals because of an ankle injury.

For the Red Devils, the biggest surprise came at heavyweight as Jeff's Ryan DeWitt (37-8) handed Mitchell's Trevor Phillips (27-1) his first loss of the year with a pin at 2:27.

In last year's regional, Phillips pinned DeWitt in the first round.

?I'm a better wrestler than I was last year,? DeWitt said. ?I've been working hard.?

Floyd Central's only regional winner came in the first match as sophomore Terrance Kennedy beat Jasper's Nathan Schitter 5-1.

The Highlanders have six additional regional qualifiers.