hook and half Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 Thrills, chills and spills were to be had at the Evansville Central sectional, where minor and major upsets happened—and some big wheels rolled. 106- Mater Dei’s Clay Egli spent less than a 1:30 on the mat, collecting his sectional title. 113- Princeton junior, Kyler McKinney, lived up to his 35-4 record, in registering his first sectional title. McKinney won by fall, decision and major decision. 120- Mater Dei’s Kyle Luigs pinned his way to the final where he met 2015 SQ, North Posey’s Levi Miller. Miller fared no better, succumbing to a 3:07 fall. 126- Joe Happe of Mater Dei squeaked out a razor-thin 3-2 win over Mt. Vernon’s Harley Gorman in the semis to meet Gibson Southern’s 7th-ranked and undefeated Logan Dilbeck. Dilbeck came out the aggressor before Happe hit him with an improvised headlock, nearly scoring the fall. Dilbeck fought back hard, but eventually dropped a 7-5 decision. 132- North’s 32-1 Josh Elpers scored a come-from-behind win over Gibson Southern’s Michael Polen, in one of the day’s top semifinal matches for a date with Mater Dei’s Nick Lee in the final. If Lee is injured, he did not show it, showing off a dazzling array of takedowns, turns and physical wrestling en route to three falls and his third sectional title. 138- Mater Dei’s Blake Jourdan was untouched, scoring three falls in just over two minutes on the mat. 145- This weight class was out of control. In the semis, Mt. Vernon’s Austin Bethel jumped out to a commanding 12-2 lead over Princeton’s Chase Wilson. Wilson mounted a furious comeback, but ultimately came up short in a 13-10 decision. Bethel’s day looked tenuous, as he spent a long period of time on his back after the win. North’s 33-2 Nick Burke, the best 145-pounder you have never heard of, bowed to a :25 fall at the hands of Mater Dei’s Joe Lee. Burke dominated Wilson 5-1 for third place. In the final, Lee quickly took down Bethel, cut him and took him down for five more. Shortly after the third cut, Lee was in on a single and looked in position to take Bethel to his back when Bethel chin-whipped Lee to the mat. Bethel put in the legs and got the fall at 1:13. Do not be surprised to see these two lock up three more times before the season over. Depth and quality were just plain ridiculous at Central! 152- Gibson Southern’s Hunter Baehl had some nifty tricks from the bottom, but at the end of the day, Mitch Lehman of Mater Dei prevailed with a 7-4 win and his second sectional title. 160- Colton O’Neal of Pike Central was everything as advertised as he pinned the field to win his first sectional championship. Runner-up Hunter Carr of Mater Dei has to be the best 4-5 wrestler in the state. 170- O’Neal’s drill partner, Jaylon Owens made a run of his own, pinning his way to the center mat to engage Central’s Kiave Guerrier. This was an awesome match; scoring went back and forth and was earned in the margins. On this day, Guerrier was a bit better and won 5-4. This one gets my vote for top match of the finals. 182- Louis Hoover of Wood Memorial and Mater Dei’s Seth Orth were the class of 182 and dominated on their way to the finals. Orth scored a slick, first period takedown and never gave up the lead on his way to a very emotional 6-3 win. 195- The seeds were true as Mater Dei’s Kurtis Wilderman met Mt. Vernon’s Kyle Lang for the top podium slot. Point were hard to come by, but Wilderman had his way with a 4-0 final. 220- Mt. Vernon’s Tristan Choate provided Wildcat fans with their day’s second champ, winning in the final 3-1. Choate is under control and very good. It seems like he has a big offense, but we did not see much of it today. 285- The finale between Mt. Vernon’s three-ranked Wade Ripple and Gibson Southern’s two-ranked Cory Klem was everything it was cracked up to be—or not. The first two periods was a boring 285-pound match. Ripple got busy in the third to score a thrilling takedown and subsequent back points. Ripple won 6-1. Ripple and Klem are great athletes, in shape and lightning quick. They are both capable of big-time offense; they both need to show it before State! Team- Mt. Vernon’s team was very fit and showed great enthusiasm; they finished second and are in a position for a high placement at the regional. Gibson Southern had some disappointments and lost a couple of head-to-head meetings with Mt. Vernon to finish third. Central was very strong, surprising many by finishing fourth, followed by North Posey’s fifth place finish. Mater Dei’s ten finalists and eight champions were too much, as the Wildcats claimed their 40th consecutive sectional title by 125.5 points. Harrison’s ex-coach, and all around good guy, David Mayse, did an outstanding job of announcing and keeping things moving. I’m a fan of Central wrestling. Central is one of Indiana’s early programs and has a proud history of state champs, medalists, outstanding individuals and perennially tough teams. That being said…it’s time for a change. Central’s gym is dark and the seating is removed…it is so 1970’s. Mater Dei had the Evansville sectional from its 1960 inception until Central took it over in the mid-70s. The reason? More/better seats; more/better facility. No arguments on those points. North has a state-of-the-art facility on North 41. Husky, can you hear me? It is time. My friends from St. Wendel had breakfast at the Pie Pan, he had pancakes, while the Mrs. enjoyed an omelot. Who loves you, baby? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdspiderman81 Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 sectionals were at MD in 1981 jpt189 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayruss Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 Good recap thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frigginhurts Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 i think hook meant to say central took it over in the mid 90s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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