Jay’s streak hits 22

Eric Myers was not pleased with the way his team came out of the gate in a triple dual Saturday.

They still went 3-0.

It’s not hard to imagine what might happen if they warmed up well before the start of a dual tournament. They got four, much more convincing victories.

Jay County High School’s wrestling team ran its dual match winning streak to 22 Wednesday as it blazed through the competition in a super dual it hosted against four other schools.

“I thought we wrestled really well,” said Myers, whose Class 2A No. 7 Patriot squad continued its winning ways. “Last Saturday I felt like we came out a little flat. We didn’t wrestle great. I was really proud of our guys for making the adjustment and getting ready to go first match.

“We weren’t quite as lethargic.”

Jay County, which moves to 22-1 on the year, trounced Union City in the opener 72-12.

In the most contested dual of the day, it topped Norwell 54-28 before two more lopsided wins against Greenville (76-6) and Monroe Central (67-12).

What led to the change in preparation? First, Myers said they had a bit of a “stern” talking to following Saturday’s dual.

Then they were more active and crisp during warmups rather than just going through the motions.

Against Union City, eight Patriots received forfeits. In the six other contested matches, they were 4-2, with Cameron Clark, Cameron Gage, Blake Pruett and Bryce Wenk earning pins.

In the second dual against team state dual competitor Norwell, Ethan Reiley, Tony Wood, RJ Heskett, Ian Ruiz, Gage and Clark rattled off six consecutive pins for a commanding 36-0 lead. Norwell, which is also a sectional rival, won the next three matches to make it 36-16. Later in the dual, the Knights got back-to-back pins at 220 and 285 pounds to make it 42-28, but that’s as close as it got.

Against Greenville, Jay County received five forfeits and had seven pins, including six in the first period. Only one Patriot lost.

Jay County recorded three pins against Monroe Central, as well as a 5-3 overtime victory by Wenk at 182 pounds. Wenk, a freshman, trailed Hunter Page 3-0, rallied to tie the score in the third period and got a takedown in overtime for the win.

Cody Rowles (106) was one of four Patriots to go 4-0 on the day, and he pushed his record to 22-0 on the season.

“Cody just keeps wrestling really well,” Myers said, noting he pinned returning semi-state qualifier Cayden Smithley of Norwell in 1:48. “Happy to get that win.”

Taye Curtis was also 4-0 at 113, and Reiley got four wins at 120 as well. Wood, the team’s 126-pounder, went undefeated. So did Clark (132) and Heskett (138).

Heskett recorded the team’s fastest pin of the day, disposing of Monroe Central’s Zach Martin in just 13 seconds for his team-leading 13th pin of the season.

“RJ is just a pinning machine right now,” Myers said. “He’s wrestling really well and enjoying himself.”

Junior Ramon Bravo, a 195-pounder, went undefeated and pushed his season record to 20-1. Bravo’s only loss this year was a first-period fall Dec. 5 to Indianapolis Lutheran senior Hayden Filipovich, who is ranked second in the state and lost in the eighth-place match to 2020 JCHS graduate Mason Winner in the state finals last year.

“He’s a testament to hard work and positive attitude,” Myers said of Bravo. “He’s just improved so much from being a middle schooler up to junior year just through hard work and determination.”

Conner Specht (220), Ruiz (145), Gage (152), Pruett (160) and Wenk were all 3-1 on the day. Heavyweight Peyton Bennett was 2-2 and Nate Paxson was 1-3 at 170 pounds.

Wes-Del was scheduled to participate in the meet but had to cancel. Instead, Jay County fielded a reserve squad to make an even six teams for the dual tournament. That Patriot team went 2-2, beating Monroe Central 34-33 on a tiebreaker and topping Union City 48-29. It fell to Greenville 42-28 and Norwell 71-9.

The Patriot teams did not square off against each other.

Daniel Moore, a 106-pounder freshman, was the lone Jay County reserve wrestler to go undefeated.