Penn Kingsmen | Archive | December, 2009

Top-ranked Mishawaka suffered three individual setbacks but failed to disappoint as a team Dec. 29-30 in capturing the Cavemen’s fourth consecutive title at the loaded 32nd Annual Al Smith Classic. 

Host Mishawaka totaled 254.5 points to outpoint runner-up No. 4 Merrillville (210.5) in the 32-team event, while No. 15 Penn took third with 164.5. No. 20 Bellmont (146) nosed out No. 19 Lawrence North by a point for fourth place, while Center Grove (132.5) finished sixth.

Every championship bout either had a pair of ranked wrestlers going at it or saw an upset of a ranked grappler by an unranked foe. Eleven of the finals’ 14 matchups featured headline-grabbing results:

• 103: Warsaw’s No. 3 Jarred Brooks scored a 10-5 upset of No. 2 Zac Stevens of Merrillville.

• 112: Top-ranked Paul Beck of Mishawaka barely got past Lake Central’s No. 4 Kyle Ayersman, 2-1.

• 119: No. 3 Brandon Nelsen of Lawrence North scored the only point in a 1-0 decision over No. 6 (at 125) Alex Gregory of Penn.

• 125: Merrillville’s No. 5 Anthony Napules blanked No. 8 Zack Thornton of Chesterton, 4-0.

• 130: No. 4 Nick Schrader of Mishawaka trailed 7-3 to Calumet’s No. 14 Mike Clark with a minute left before rallying for an 8-7 victory.

• 135: Jimtown’s unranked Jeremy Hill shocked No. 6 Matt Guerra of Mishawaka, 6-4.

• 145: Munster’s No. 3 Alex Surma shut out No. 9 (at 152) Dalton Sparks of Peru, 7-0.

• 160: No. 3 Anthony Quiroz of Chesterton narrowly held off No. 6 (at 152) Zack Corpe of Elkhart Memorial, 8-7.

• 189: Bellmont’s unranked Travis Belcher shocked No. 13 Nathan Fowler of Calumet, 5-2.

• 215: No. 2 Nate Cleveland of Lowell upset Mishawaka’s top-ranked Christian Lentz with a 4-2 decision, scoring a takedown just ahead of the final buzzer.

• Hwt: Merrillville’s top-ranked James Travis held off No. 3 Travis Thomas of Mishawaka, 3-0.

Mishawaka crowned three champions on the day – Beck at 112, Schrader at 130, and No. 2 Ryan Stahl at 152 in a 7-1 decision over No. 14 Jimmy Larowe of East Noble. Coach Darrick Snyder’s Cavemen also boasted three runner-up finishers (Guerra at 135, Lentz at 215, and Thomas at heavyweight) as well as a pair of thirds (No. 9 Taylor Wisler at 125, No. 6 Richard Morin at 171).

That was significantly better than Merrillville, which finished with two champs (Napules at 125 and Travis at heavyweight), one second-place wrestler (Stevens at 103), and a third (No. 9 Adam Garcia at 112).

“We set our goal to wrestle well, and if we did we figured we’d win it,” Snyder told the South Bend Tribune. “But our goal all along is to peak at the end of the season, and we’re on our way toward that.”

1. #1 Mishawaka 254.5

2. #4 Merrillville 210.5

3. #15 Penn 164.5

4. #20 Bellmont 146

5. #19 Lawrence North 145

6. Center Grove 132.5

7. Goshen 129

8. Jimtown 126.5

9. Elkhart Memorial 110

10. Princeton 106.5

11. Chesterton 101

12. Lake Central 99.5

13. South Bend Riley 98.5

14. Warsaw 94.5

15. Prairie Heights 85.5

16. Calumet 84.5

17. Hobart 83

18. Munster 82

19. Peru 79

19. Lawrence Central 79

21. Lowell 74.5

22. Jasper 71.5

23. East Noble 66

24. LaPorte 56

24. South Bend Adams 56

26. New Prairie 54

27. Southport 49

28. Columbus East 45.5

29. NorthWood 35

30. Valparaiso 31

31. Michigan City 24.5

32. South Bend St. Joseph’s 14

Results from the championship round:

103: #3 Jarred Brooks (Warsaw) dec. #2 Zac Stevens (Merrillville), 10-5

112: #1 Paul Beck (Mishawaka) dec. #4 Kyle Ayersman (Lake Central), 2-1

119: #3 Brandon Nelsen (Lawrence North) dec. #6 (at 125) Alex Gregory (Penn), 1-0

125: #5 Anthony Napules (Merrillville) dec. #8 Zack Thornton (Chesterton), 4-0

130: #4 Nick Schrader (Mishawaka) dec. #14 Mike Clark (Calumet), 8-7

135: Jeremy Hill (Jimtown) dec. #6 Matt Guerra (Mishawaka), 6-4

140: #1 Frankie Porras (Hobart) dec. #12 Matt Milton (Center Grove), 11-4

145: #3 Alex Surma (Munster) dec. #9 (at 152) Dalton Sparks (Peru), 7-0

152: #2 Ryan Stahl (Mishawaka) dec. #14 Jimmy Larowe (East Noble), 7-1

160: #3 Anthony Quiroz (Chesterton) dec. #6 (at 152) Zack Corpe (Elkhart Memorial), 8-7

171: #2 Drake Stein (Princeton) pin Andy Wiseman (Penn), 3:46

189: Travis Belcher (Bellmont) dec. #13 Nathan Fowler (Calumet), 5-2

215: #2 Nate Cleveland (Lowell) dec. #1 Christian Lentz (Mishawaka), 4-2

Hwt: #1 James Travis (Merrillville) dec. #3 Travis Thomas (Mishawaka), 3-0

Results from the consolation round:

103: #9 Shannon Garretson (Peru) dec. Alex Sparks (Lawrence North), 9-6

112: #9 Adam Garcia (Merrillville) dec. Clint Plake (Center Grove), 8-4

119: Marc Escobedo (Lake Central) dec. Alex Griesemer (Princeton), 3-2

125: #9 Taylor Wisler (Mishawaka) dec. #14 Travis Barroquillo (Prairie Heights), 7-6

130: Collin Crume (Jimtown) won by DQ

135: Brooks Faurote (Bellmont) dec. Bradley Wartman (Lake Central), 4-0

140: #5 Paul Manbu-Thompson (Warsaw) dec. Ryan Ntende (Goshen), 5-3

145: Cameryn Brady (Lowell) dec. Pat Davenport (Penn), 4-2

152: Sean Mappes (Center Grove) pin Dillan Escobedo (New Prairie), 1:31

160: Quinton Brooks (Lawrence North) dec. Austin Kunze (Penn), 5-2

171: #6 Richard Morin (Mishawaka) dec. J.B. Singer (Goshen), 5-1

189: Brandon Dillenbeck (Goshen) pin #10 Timmy Buckingham (SB Riley), 0:54

215: Vlade Nacovski (Lake Central) dec. Andrew Bultemeier (Bellmont), 8-5

Hwt: #12 Tyler Jenkins (Jasper) dec. #6 Daniel Meyer (Bellmont), 4-3 (OT)

Top-ranked Mishawaka took a break from the increasingly common weekend tournament format for a couple of late-week, high-profile dual meets, and the Cavemen made it count with impressive victories over No. 14 host Penn and defending Michigan state champion Lowell.

Riding the strength of nine ranked wrestlers, Mishawaka displayed its standout 14-man balance in the back-to-backers. The Cavemen dominated the upper weight classes in a 36-21 Northern Indiana Conference win in front of a huge crowd at Penn Dec. 17, then controlled the lower weights the next night at home in a 41-17 pasting of Lowell.

Mishawaka coach Darrick Snyder said the Mishawaka-Penn wrestling meet is always very exciting.

“We look forward to the huge crowd and electric atmosphere every year, and it was a fun meet again this year,” Snyder said. ‘We didn’t wrestle our best, but Penn is a very good defensive team. We are very attack-oriented, and it was difficult to force action against them.”

The marquee matchup came at 135, where 11th-ranked 130-pounder Matt Guerra of Mishawaka upset Penn’s No. 8 Ben Sokol, 6-5. That one-point squeaker, along with five other decisions and three pins, countered Penn’s three victories and two falls.

“They are very good,” Snyder said of the Kingsmen. “In my opinion, they are currently under-ranked.”

 

That coming from the man who would know, after all. Snyder runs the rankings determined by the state’s coaches.

Mishawaka then turned around the next night to host Michigan’s Lowell. Showing superior physicality and technique, the Cavemen won six of the seven lightest weights – including three by pin – in a 24-point win that improves them to 13-0 on the season. 

Always looking to find the best competition around, Mishawaka added Lowell to its schedule last year, according to Snyder.

“We wrestled outstanding against Michigan’s returning state champions, and we worked our best to represent Indiana well,” Snyder said. “Lowell has some absolute freaks. The trio of Morse brothers is the real deal.”

All three Morses were undefeated coming into the meet, including Illinois signee Jackson Morse. The 160-pound senior has won multiple state championships to the north, and he posted a 19-4 technical fall win over Indiana’s No. 7 Richard Morin.

“He is one bad dude,” Snyder said, “He crushed a great wrestler.”

The other two Morse brothers – 135-pound Gabe and 152 Andrew – are twins and only in the 10th grade, prompting a “WOW!” from Snyder.

“We beat them at 152 with (a 5-0 win by No. 2 senior Ryan Stahl, a transfer from Elkhart Memorial), but the other one beat Matt Guerra in a great match (7-5 at 135),” Snyder said. 

All told, Mishawaka made off with 10 victories in 14 bouts against the out-of-staters, including three by fall.

Next up for Mishawaka is the 32nd Annual Al Smith Classic hosted by the Cavemen Dec. 29-30. A half dozen ranked teams – No. 1 Mishawaka, No. 4 Merrillville, No. 13 Lawrence North, No. 14 Penn, No. 21 Bellmont, and No. 24 Center Grove – will be among the 32 teams competing.

The individual results:

103: Mike Witous (P) dec. Grant Martsoff, 8-6

112: #2 Paul Beck (M) dec. Ben Varner, 10-3

119: Tyler Chapple (P) pin #15 Layten Binion, 5:52

125: #4 (at 119) Alex Gregory (P) dec. Taylor Wisler, 5-3

130: #5 (at 135) Nick Schrader (M) dec. Trevor Manspeaker, 9-3

135: #11 (at 130) Matt Guerra (M) dec. #8 Ben Sokol, 6-5

140: Anthony Eddy (M) pin Grant Anglemyer, 3:09

145: #16 (at 152) Pat Davenport (P) pin Darius Marshall, 1:14

152: #2 Ryan Stahl (M) pin Justin Holland, 3:51

160: #9 Alex White (M) dec. Mike Hummer, 10-4

171: #7 Richard Morin (M) dec. Austin Kunze, 8-6 (OT)

189: Andy Wiseman (P) dec. Danny Abu, 7-1

215: #2 Christian Lentz (M) pin Devin Reagan, 4:48

Hwt: #2 Travis Thomas (M) dec. Nick Johnson, 7-1

103: Grant Martsolf (M) pin Martin Brubaker, 5:17

112: #2 Paul Beck (M) pin Ethan Sutton, 0:50

119: #15 Layten Binion (M) dec. Zack Jefferies, 9-3

125: Taylor Whistler (M) pin Calvin Meyer, 3:28

130: #5 (at 130) Nick Schrader (M) major dec. Matt Griffioen, 16-7

135: Gabe Morse (L) dec. #11 (at 130) Matt Guerra, 7-5

140: Anthony Eddy (M) dec. Jake Fillingham, 4-0

145: Jake Gould (L) pin Darius Marshall, 3:19

152: #2 Ryan Stahl (M) dec. Andrew Morse, 5-0

160: #9 Alex White (M) dec. Dan Fleet, 10-6

171: Jackson Morse (L) tech fall #7 Richard Morin, 19-4

189: Gabe Dean (L) dec. Danny Abu, 4-1

215: #2 Christian Lentz (M) major dec. Ryan Olet, 9-1

Hwt: #2 Travis Thomas (M) dec. Jake Lynema, 3-0