Taking steps

The Patriot pieces are falling into place.

When they hosted their first tournament of the season a few weeks ago, the result was a middle-of-the-pack finish. On Saturday, they were among the best.

Jay County, led by 182-pound champion Mason Winner and his 150th career victory, edged Frankfort for third place out of 15 teams as it hosted the East Central Indiana Classic.

“We’re improving,” said JCHS coach Eric Myers, whose team was fourth out of seven early this month in the Allen County Athletic Conference Duals. “I feel like we wrestled about as well as we could today.

“We’ve been talking about we’re improving, we’re starting to do the right things. Our next thing is starting to win the big match.

“It’s small steps, but I’m proud of our guys. They just keep grinding in the room and they maintain a good attitude …”

Every point mattered for the Patriots, who have shuffled their lineup, as their 166 was one-half more than the fourth-place Hot Dogs.

Norwell cruised to the championship with 257.5 points. Bluffton, the ACAC Duals champion, was second at 180.

Winner, who is ranked third in the state, was barely challenged en route to the title and his milestone victory. He cruised through the first three rounds of the tournament with first-period pins.

It took the senior about 25 seconds in the finals to catch Greenville’s Tytan Grote in a cradle and take control. For a split second, Grote looked as if he might be able to gain a reversal, but Winner held on and opened up a 9-0 lead by the end of the first period. That advantage extended to 14-0 in the second before he finished the match for his 150th career victory in 2 minutes, 40 seconds.

“That’s pretty exciting,” said Winner. “I’m fortunate for my family, my team and my coaches.”

With the 150 mark behind him, Winner is now chasing 2014 graduate Eric Hemmelgarn’s school record of 162 wins. Hemmelgarn is the only other Patriot with three career state medals, another accomplishment Winner hopes to surpass in February.

“Mason, he’s getting to where he’s working toward the goals of being a four-time ACAC champion, four-time sectional champion,” said Myers. “It’s just kind of amazing what he’s done in his career. Historic, really, in terms of the Jay County wrestling program.

“It’s just so important for him to move forward and then bask in some of those accomplishments at the end of the season. As a coaching staff, that’s what we have to make sure that we do for him, is make sure that he’s focused on moving forward and on achieving his goals …”

While Winner was the only JCHS grappler to reach the championship match, the host team was represented in half of the consolation finals.

The Patriots closed strong, winning six of those seven matches.

Two key results for Jay County came at 106 and 152 pounds.

Jayden Maymi, who had been stuck behind Ethan Reiley and Zakk Atkins at 113 and 120, has dropped down to 106 to find a spot in the varsity lineup.He delivered Saturday, going 3-1 and edging Cameron Lapsley of Lawrence Central 4-3 in the third-place match.

Blake Pruett (152) entered the day with just five varsity matches under his belt this season but also posted a 3-1 record. He pinned Union City’s Eli Moore in 3:43 to secure his third-place finish.

“He’s kind of getting his feet underneath him wrestling at 106,” said Myers of Maymi. “He’s doing a nice job. … He really helps us out there.

“Blake was really raw coming in and he’s picked up some things really quickly and helped us out quite a bit.

“Those two really help solidify our lineup as we head into that team state duals,” added Myers, whose team will compete Saturday in the Indiana High School Wrestling Coaches Association Duals State Championship at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.

The Patriots also decided to forgo the heavyweight class, where they had been outsized the entire season, and instead put Ramon Bravo at 195 and Cooper Jacks at 220. They both came through with third-place finishes via pin.

Also placing third were Ethan Reiley (113) and Garrett Mann (160), who each won their final match by a single point.

Atkins took the Patriots’ only loss in a third-place match as he finished fourth at 120.

Jay County has about a month off before it will return home to host the sectional Feb. 1.