JEFF CLASSIC ARTICLE

[dstruck]

HIGH SCHOOL WRESTLING: Devils take second at Jeff Classic

 

New Wash's Sampson earns first title in school history

 

By GREG MENGELT

Greg.Mengelt@newsandtribune.com

 

JEFFERSONVILLE ? Host Jeffersonville finished second behind seventh-ranked in Saturday?s Jeff Classic, and New Washington?s Josh Sampson became the first Mustang to ever win a championship in at the Classic.

 

The Red Devils finished 52 points behind South and finished ahead of 12th-ranked Carmel for since the Greyhounds have participated in the Classic.

 

?We?re happy about that,? Jeff coach Danny Struck said. ?I think as a team, as a whole, we wrestled pretty well. We?d like to win (the Jeff Classic), but we invite tough competition to help us prepare for the state final. If we can continue to make (the field) tougher, we will.?

 

Caleb Browner was the lone winner for the Red Devils on Saturday. The 171-pound three-time champion beat Madison?s Dalton Young 19-7.

 

?I wrestle every match like it?s my last one to help me get better,? said Browner, who improved to 19-0 with four wins on Saturday. ?My goal is to go to state and win it.?

 

The Red Devils had three runners-up, including 285-pound Elijah Curtley. Struck said he wasn?t sure who he was going to use at 285 pounds and was happy that he has settled on the improving sophomore. Curtley upset third seed Taylor Hoke from New Albany, then seventh seed John Slaton of Charlestown to advance to the final.

 

In the final, Curtley was pinned by Jennings County?s James Caum.

 

?He got beat in the final, but he did a fantastic job,? Struck said.

 

Devon Miller advanced to the final in the 119-pound weight class, where he was beaten for the first time this season by Muncie South?s Isiah Bradley. Miller led 3-1 after two periods, but Bradley scored four late points for the title.

 

?We were disappointed with the way the calls went,? Struck said. ?But (Miller) handled it like a champion. Some kids wouldn?t have acted with so much class after losing their first match.?

 

Ronaldo Weekly was the third runner-up for Jeff. After upsetting New Albany?s Tim Martin in the semifinals, Weekly fell to the state?s second-ranked 135 pounder ? Bloomington South?s Brannigan Barlow ? in the final, 5-3.

 

?That was the toughest class here,? Struck said of the 135-pound class. ?I like the way Ronaldo wrestled. He?s doing a pretty good job.?

 

Senior Sean Simpson finished third at 130 pounds and Alonzo Shepherd was third at 103, while Jimmy Pratt finished fourth. Pratt ? Jeff?s 215 pounder ? lost a 6-5 decision to eventual champion Ron Forman of South Dearborn, then lost to Jennings County?s Mark Collett, 1-0 in the third-place match.

 

Jeff?s Curtis Smith was fourth at 112 pounds.

 

Sampson?s history-making day seemingly came with ease as the Mustang senior improved to 17-0 on the season.

 

Sampson pinned his final three competitors, including Charlestown?s Taylor Newcomb in the final.

 

?I?m very excited,? Sampson said. ?I felt like I wasn?t doing it just for me, but for my team and New Washington High School. I?m just happy with the way things went today.?

 

?He makes us all believe,? New Wash coach Jeremy Campbell said. ?Josh sets his goals high and then does everything proper to make sure that he reaches his goals. It?s a condition of the individual.?

 

New Washington finished in 13th place with 56 points on Saturday. Lane Massingham finished seventh at 135 pounds, beating Franklin County?s Jake McCoy 3-1 in double overtime in his final match.

 

?Our No. 1 goal is to prove that we can compete at this level, even as a small school,? Sampson said. ?I feel like we grew as a team today.?

 

Charlestown finished sixth on Saturday and place seven wrestlers in the top seven.

 

Jeff Stottridge (125 pounds) and Taylor Newcomb led the way with second-place finishes.

 

Stottridge earned pins in his first two matches before falling to Carmel?s Ben Sommer in the final, 7-3. Newcomb earned a pin, a major decision and a 5-4 win over New Albany?s Larry Rickman before becoming Sampson?s final victim in 2:51 in the championship bout.

 

Charlestown?s Mark Daugherty finished fourth at 152 pounds, as did 285 pounder John Slaton.

 

?We wrestled our best of the year today,? Charlestown coach Adam Daugherty said. ?We finished sixth. We would liked to have finished in the top five, but we wrestled about as well as we could have today.?

 

New Albany finished in seventh place Saturday, but the Bulldogs had nine different wrestlers place in the meet.

 

Tim Martin and Larry Rickman were third, while Josh Coomer and Tra Marler were both fourth-place finishers.

 

Martin had a 21-second pin over Batesville?s Evan Puente in his first match and won a 9-1 major decision over Massingham in his quarterfinal match.

 

After falling to Weekly in the semifinal, Martin pinned Southwestern?s Michael Brawner in 3:49 in the third-place match.

 

?Ultimately, he was seeded third and he finished third,? New Albany coach Eric Burres said. ?His goal coming into today was to win (the 135-pound championship). He fell a little short, but he wrestled to his seed.?

 

Martin said he fell victim to nerves in his 5-2 loss to Weekly.

 

?Everyone makes mistakes and mine happened today,? Martin said of being overanxious. ?I have to learn from my mistake. He got me, but all it?s going to do is make me better.?

 

Rickman went 3-1 on Saturday. His only loss came in a 5-4 decision to Newcomb. After the loss ? his first defeat of the season ? the senior came back to pin Southwestern?s Elijah Lauderbaugh in 3:40.

 

?We saw some good things today and some things we need to work on,? Burres said. ?We have a long way to go, but the same time, (the big meets are) right around the corner.?