Hemmelgarn lifts Patriots

The freshman came through.
Jay County was on the brink of going 0-for-2 in its final action before the sectional, trailing the Muncie Southside Rebels by five with just one match to go. But Eric Hemmelgarn delivered a pin, salvaging a 40-39 victory for the Patriots.
“He’s a pinning machine,” said JCHS coach James Myers of his 215-pounder. “He’s been that way all year. We’ve been in a couple dual meets where we’ve needed him to get six points. It’s just that tenacity he has.”
Overall the Patriots were not at the level they hoped with the sectional just a week away.
They needed Hemmelgarn’s pin to eke out the win over Southside, a team they defeated 42-36 in early December.
JCHS also gave up a run of quick pins in dropping its opening match 45-33 to Connersville as it hosted a double dual against its two former Olympic Athletic Conference rivals.
“We didn’t (wrestle as well as we would have liked),” said Myers, whose team hosts the sectional tournament Saturday and the regional a week later. “We gave up a couple against Connersville.
“Hopefully we come in next week with a desire and determination that the season is not going to end. That’s what it has to be. We’ve been telling them it’s one and we could be done. It’s up to them now.”
Hemmelgarn, who earned a pin in 1:38 in his first match Saturday against Connersville’s Jacob Hilsky, saved the day for the Patriots as they trailed 39-34 to Southside.
He picked up the lead with a late takedown of Jacob Strauch in the opening period, and quickly pushed it to 4-0 early in the second. He started in the down position in the third period, got a reversal 30 seconds in and pinned Strauch in 4 minutes, 42 seconds for the JCHS victory.
“When you’re wrestling a kid who knows he can give up a pin, he kind of shuts down and doesn’t do the things he usually does,” said Myers in complimenting Hemmelgarn’s effort. “It’s hard to wrestle a guy that way.”
Drake Meska (140), Conner Ray (103/112), Dyllan Derrickson (152) and Eric Beougher (160) also each turned in 2-0 records for the Patriots. Meska, who is ranked seventh in the state, and Ray each recorded pins in both of their matches.
“Conner Ray got two victories today. We bumped him up to 112 against Muncie South for match-up purposes and it worked out for us,” said Myers. “Drake took care of his two guys and wrestled well.”
Jay County struggled against Connersville, giving up five pins in the stretch of six matches from 119 to 145 after giving up a forfeit at 112. Four of those pins came in less than a minute.[[In-content Ad]]