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Wrestling Wednesday: Jeff Classic Quite a Challenge


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WRESTLING WEDNESDAY: Jeff Classic quite a challenge

 

Loaded field awaits teams at annual event

 

By KEVIN HARRIS

Kevin.Harris@newsandtribune.com

 

When he coordinates his team?s schedule every season, Jeffersonville High School wrestling coach Danny Struck attempts to find tournaments where a few opponents are more talented on paper than his own squad.

 

His reasoning for that is to motivate his grapplers to step up to the challenge and perform at a higher level.

 

?My goal is to find someone to beat our team at every tourney we go to,? Struck said. ?Our kids? goal is to prove me wrong and try to beat whoever I throw at them. The goal is to do this until we go to state as a team.?

 

That definitely holds true for the annual Jeff Classic, which will be held for the 32nd consecutive season on Saturday.

 

This year, the Red Devils welcome seventh-ranked Bloomington South, which has four wrestlers who were IHSAA State Finals qualifiers last season and are currently ranked in the top 10 in their respective weight classes. The field also includes defending Classic champion Carmel, which is currently ranked 12th. The Classic will include eight past state qualifiers, 32 former semistate qualifiers and 16 state-ranked grapplers.

 

?The Jeff Classic is shaping up to be a very competitive tournament,? Struck said. ?With the addition of Carmel and Bloomington South in the past couple of years, the competition level is definitely on the rise.?

 

The 20th-ranked Red Devils have not won their own tournament since 1991 and finished second last season. They will have two No. 1 seeds who were 2009 semistate qualifiers in Devon Miller in the 119-pound division and Caleb Browner in the 171 class. Browner is vying for his third Classic championship.

 

Alonzo Shepherd (103) and Renaldo Weekly (135) are both No. 2 seeds. Shepherd is the defending regional champion at 103.

 

Despite the 18-year Classic title drought, Struck states breaking that streak has not been discussed a lot inside the Jeff High wrestling room.

 

?We don?t talk about that much,? Struck said. ?Every day we talk about two things ? their very next match and what will it do to get you to state.?

 

Three area teams ? New Albany, Charlestown and New Washington ? return to the Classic this season.

 

The Bulldogs enter the Classic with eight seeded wrestlers. Three New Albany grapplers are expected to lead the Bulldog fray in Tim Martin (135), Larry Rickman (145) and Taylor Hoke (285). Martin was a state qualifier last year and is currently ranked eighth in the state. Rickman and Hoke both qualified for semistate last season.

 

?If we walk away with a couple of champions and a couple of place winners, then it will be a successful day for us,? Bulldog head coach Eric Burres said. ?This tournament is very competitive. There are a lot of good teams and individual wrestlers at this tournament. It will be a good weekend of wrestling.?

 

Charlestown?s goal is to finish in the top five, as it came up one spot short of accomplishing that goal last season with a sixth-place finish. Seniors Jeff Stotridge (125), Taylor Newcomb (145) and Mark Daugherty (152) are seeded in the top three in their respective divisions and expected to lead the Pirate charge.

 

Stotridge won the 119 Classic title last season by pinning Martin in the final. Stotridge qualified for state last year, while Newcomb and Daugherty both advanced to semistate.

 

?I look for my seniors to have a good showing,? said Charlestown head coach Adam Doherty, a former Jeff Classic champion as a Red Devil grappler. ?Each have a top three seed, and all have a shot at winning the tournament. Along with the three seniors, there are several others that I think will surprise people and place much higher than their seeds. There is going to be a lot of good competition Saturday.

 

?This meet is always kind of a midseason report card. You get to compare where you are with some of the best wrestlers in the state, and see where you need to focus for the end of the season.?

 

New Washington head coach Jeremy Campbell has his sights set on getting at least one wrestler in the medal round (i.e. top eight).

 

The best shot to achieve that feat is last year?s semistate qualifier Josh Sampson at 145. Sampson placed fourth at 152 in last season?s Classic.

 

Campbell also expects Lane Massingham, Brady Meenach and Aaron Dean to have solid performances on Saturday.

 

?This tournament helps us the most by setting a mark to compare to,? Campbell said. ?Our kids consider themselves underdogs in all situations. We are usually the smallest school competing, and in this (tourney) they find resolve. They understand that nothing is given to them. They must earn the respect and then they must prove that they can compete.

 

?We will go, we will compete with intensity and we will see how that measures up.?

 

The Jeff Classic has always been used as a meet to prepare teams for their conference and sectional, which both will take place in a month or so.

 

Burres thinks competing in the highly competitive Classic only makes his wrestlers stronger in the future.

 

?Getting better is what every coach is after and any time you can wrestle against strong competition, it will only make you tougher,? he said. ?Win or lose, it is good to wrestle some of these kids early in the year, so you have time to learn from your mistakes before the state tournament series.?

 

Struck says the Red Devils? overall schedule ? not just the Classic ? gets them ready for the Hoosier Hills Conference meet and the Jeff Sectional.

 

?We have already wrestled five teams in the top 20, three of them being in the top 10,? Struck said. ?We have a tough conference, and traditionally we have not been at the top of our sectional. But with tourneys like the Jeff Classic and the rest of our schedule, we are fully prepared for conference and sectional.?

 

Along with the addition of Bloomington South, another major change with the Classic is a significantly condensed time schedule.

 

This year, it will be a one-day tournament with weigh-ins beginning at 7:30 a.m. and an approximate ending at 4 p.m. The Classic will take place in both Johnson Arena and the upstairs auxiliary gymnasium, using a combined eight mats.

 

The reason for this year?s shortened slate is a scheduling conflict with the Jeff boys? basketball team, which will host games on Friday and Saturday nights at Johnson Arena.

 

In the past, the Jeff Classic has either been a two-day tournament or a one-day affair where it lasted from the early morning to the late evening.

 

The two-day scenario happened when either a boys? or girls? basketball game was scheduled for Saturday evening.

 

When the Classic took place in one day, usually a basketball game was scheduled for Johnson Arena on Friday evening, but no hoops home game on Saturday.

 

?This is a huge challenge ? one that coaches from the area have expressed concern with,? Struck said. ?But it is what it is. And just like we tell our wrestlers, we will do ourselves ? ?we will find a way to win.? We will get out in time for the basketball game. We are doing a good job with each other in making it work for this year.?

 

 

 

WEEKLY RUNDOWN

 

 

 

WRESTLERS OF THE WEEK (Floyd County)

 

 

 

Aaron Witt and Ben Moberly, Floyd Central

 

 

 

Witt and Moberly each posted a 5-0 record at the formidable Calumet Duals last weekend in northern Indiana. One of Witt?s victories in the 130-pound division came against the No. 12 wrestler in the state. Moberly, who competed at 145, and Witt were the lone two Highlanders to go undefeated in the duals.

 

 

 

WRESTLERS OF THE WEEK (Clark County)

 

 

 

David Enteman and Mark Daugherty, Charlestown

 

 

 

Enteman, a sophomore, and Daugherty, a senior, each went undefeated at last Saturday?s Mid-Southern Conference Duals at Bill Dunn Sports Arena. Both of their unblemished records helped the Pirates win their sixth consecutive conference duals championship.

 

 

 

CHARLESTOWN

 

PIRATES WIN DUALS AGAIN: Charlestown defeated all four of its Mid-Southern Conference foes last Saturday at Bill Dunn Sports Arena to win its sixth consecutive MSC Duals title. The Pirates defeated Salem, Pekin Eastern, Corydon and Scottsburg by a combined score of 257-61. Charlestown extended its conference dual-match winning streak to 40. However, the Pirates could not beat the only nonconference squad in the tournament. They lost to New Albany, 43-27. Two Charlestown grapplers went undefeated at the duals in sophomore David Enteman and senior Mark Daugherty.

 

MSC DUALS SCORES: Charlestown 72, Salem 3; Charlestown 72, Eastern 6; Charlestown 66, Corydon 16; Charlestown 47, Scottsburg 36; New Albany 43, Charlestown 27.

 

C-TOWN BEATS SOUTHWESTERN: Last Wednesday, the Pirates picked up a road win at Southwestern, 42-40. Junior Ethan Bowen supplied the biggest victory for Charlestown, winning in convincing fashion in the 171-pound match.

 

UPCOMING MEETS: at Eastern, tonight, 6; Jeff Classic, Saturday, 8:30 a.m.

 

 

 

FLOYD CENTRAL

 

HIGHLANDERS STRUGGLE AT CALUMET DUALS: Floyd Central traveled to northern Indiana and posted a 1-4 record in the Calumet Duals. The Highlanders? lone triumph was against Lowell with losses coming against Lawrence North, Southmont, Lafayette Jeff and the host Warriors. Two Highlanders recorded perfect 5-0 marks in Aaron Witt at 130 and Ben Moberly at 145.

 

?The results do not show it, but we actually wrestled better this past weekend than the weekend before (in the Hoosier Hills Conference Duals),? Floyd head coach Brandon Sisson said.

 

CALUMET DUALS SCORES: Lawrence North 54, Floyd Central 21; Floyd Central 49, Lowell 30; Southmont 40, Floyd Central 30; Lafayette Jeff 49,

 

Floyd Central 21; Calumet 43, Floyd Central 25.

 

OTHER NOTABLES FROM CALUMET: Shane Sneed, 4-1 at 160; Caleb Happel, 3-2 at 103; Tom Denny, 3-2 at 135; Drew Denny, 3-2 at 140.

 

NEXT MEETS: at Providence, Thursday, 5:30 p.m.; Floyd Central Invitational, Saturday, 8:30 a.m.

 

 

 

JEFFERSONVILLE

 

DEVILS GO 2-3 AT JASPER: No. 20 Jeff suffered three losses to ranked teams in the Jasper Invitational last Saturday. The setbacks came against No. 2 Evansville Mater Dei, No. 3 Castle and No. 7 Bloomington South, which will compete in the Jeff Classic this coming Saturday. The Red Devils? two victories were against the host Wildcats and Forest Park. Jeff wrestlers who went 5-0 were Alonzo Shepherd at 103, Devon Miller at 119 and Caleb Browner at 171. Both Miller and Browner have 15-0 records on the season, while Shepherd is 14-1. Teammate Curtis Smith was 4-1 at 112 and his lone loss came to the second-ranked wrestler in the state. The Red Devils are currently 9-3.

 

JASPER INVITE SCORES: Bloomington South 40, Jeff 20; Jeff 46, Jasper 18; Evansville Mater Dei 38, Jeff 16; Jeff 57, Forest Park 6; Castle 35, Jeff 25.

 

OTHER NOTABLES FROM JASPER: Kevin Castro, 1-4 at 125; Sean Simpson, 3-2 at 130; Renaldo Weekly, 3-2 at 135; Tre Harbin, 1-4 at 140; Damon Dryden, 1-4 at 145; Darien Tatgenhorst, 2-3 at 152; Brandon Marlin, 1-4 at 160; Nelson Bowen, 0-4 at 189; Marc Engleking, 0-1 at 189; Jimmy Pratt, 1-3 at 215; Elijah Curtley, 2-1 at 285; Brandon Gibson, 0-2 at 285.

 

UPCOMING MEETS: home vs. Corydon, tonight, 7; Jeff Classic, Saturday, 8:30 a.m.

 

 

 

NEW ALBANY

 

DOGS PERFECT AT MSC DUALS: Even though Charlestown took home the Mid-Southern Conference Duals crown, New Albany posted a perfect 5-0 record at the meet in C-town. The Bulldogs scored at least 43 points in their five dual victories, which were against the host Pirates, Scottsburg, Salem, Eastern and Corydon. Seven New Albany wrestlers went 5-0, which were Josh Coomer, Keenan Ward, Austin Jamison, Tim Martin, Larry Rickman, Cody Leasor and Taylor Hoke.

 

MSC DUALS SCORES: New Albany 60, Scottsburg 24; New Albany 72, Salem 12; New Albany 78, Eastern 6; New Albany 43, Charlestown 27; New Albany 66, Corydon 18.

 

UPCOMING MEETS: home vs. Crawford County, tonight, 6; Jeff Classic, Saturday, 8:30 a.m.

 

 

 

PROVIDENCE

 

PIONEERS NINTH AT MEMORIAL: Seniors Joey Labretto and Jacob Golembeski led Providence to a ninth-place finish at the Evansville Memorial Tournament last Saturday. Both Labretto (189) and Golembeski (160) finished third in their respective divisions. Golembeski collected three victories.

 

OTHER NOTABLES FROM MEMORIAL: Brendan Gregory, two wins at 119; Alec Hendershot, one win at 130; Adam McDermott, one win at 135; Jared Griffith, two wins at 135; Jordan Kaelin, two wins at 145; Garrett Baumgaurdner, one win at 152; Labretto, two wins at 189.

 

PIONEERS OUST CORYDON: Last Wednesday, Providence downed host Corydon in dual-meet action, 45-21. Winning by pins for the Pioneers were Kaelin (145), Griffith (140), Baumgaurdner (152), Golembeski (160) and Labretto (215). McDermott won his 135 match by an 11-4 decision, and Providence sophomores Dalton Schell and Zach Hellinger each prevailed by forfeit.

 

PIN TIMES AT CORYDON: Kaelin, 3:18; Griffith, 1:47; Baumgaurdner, 1:12; Golembeski, 2:46; Labretto, :16.

 

UPCOMING MEETS: home vs. Floyd Central, Thursday, 5:30 p.m.; Louisville Moore Horsepower Invitational, Saturday, 8 a.m.

 

 

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