Three win titles

Ethan Reiley fell behind in his championship match.

So did Zakk Atkins.

Both had the right mindset to mount a comeback.

Reiley and Atkins of host Jay County High School both rallied for victories in the finals and Mason Winner pinned his way through the day Saturday to give the Patriots three individual sectional champions.

“Three champs is great,” said JCHS coach Eric Myers, noting that Atkins and Reiley had each seen their finals opponents multiple times this season. “It’s just tough to beat a guy twice, let alone three and four times. … I’m just really proud of them because they don’t stay stagnant. … They look for ways they can improve.”

The Patriots, who were the runners-up a year ago, placed third as a team with 154 points as they trailed champion Bellmont (235) and runner-up Norwell (210). They were seven ahead of fourth-place Bluffton in the nine-team field.

It was a solid finish for the team that was fourth in the Allen County Athletic Conference Duals early in the season, but perhaps not as good as it could have been as a slew of Jay County grapplers ended up in fifth-place matches. (The top four advance to the regional tournament, which will be held Feb. 8 at JCHS.)

“A lot more (fifth-place matches) than I hoped for,” said Myers. “There’s a few more I was hoping would push through.

“But I felt like those guys were all still wrestling hard at the end of the day. …

“If you had told me at the beginning of the year after the ACAC duals that we would finish third in sectional, I probably would have taken it. I thought we had a chance to sneak in there for second. … We just didn’t win a whole lot of big matches and 50/50 matches.”

Winner (182), who is ranked second in the state behind Joseph Walker of Mishawaka, had no problems cruising to his fourth straight sectional crown while closing in on the Jay County record for wins.

He needed just 29 seconds to dispatch of Blackford’s Kendrick Dishman in the quarterfinal round and then added a first-period pin against Union City’s Braxton Wright in the semifinals. He started on the bottom in the second period against Norwell’s Sam Walker in the championship match, spun around for an easy reversal at the 1:40 mark and finished off the perfect sectional 41 seconds later.

The three-victory day pushed Winner’s career mark to 161-12, leaving him one win behind 2014 JCHS graduate Eric Hemmelgarn (162-20). The three-time state medalist can break the record with a win in the regional semifinal next weekend.

“Mason was pretty dominant all day,” said Myers of Winner, who is hoping to become the school’s first four-time state medalist this season. He and Hemmelgarn are the only Patriots who have won three state medals. “Mason was pretty dominant all day. … He’s warming up for that semi-state and state run.”

Atkins (120) wrestled a scoreless first period in the finals against Logan Uhlman of Adams Central and fell behind 2-0 midway through the second. A penalty point — Uhlman locked his hands — got the JCHS junior on the board and he added a takedown with 14 seconds left to take the lead for good. An escape and a takedown in the third period extended his advantage to 6-2, and he held on for an 8-6 victory.

“It felt good,” said Atkins. “I’ve been gunning for a sectional title since I was a freshman. …

“I started to have a little doubt. But coach is always talking to us about mental toughness.”

Reiley (113) found himself behind 3-0 to Bluffton’s Wyatt Corkwell after an escape early in the second period, but he was able to pull even at 4-4. He used a fireman’s carry for a takedown to grab the lead for the first time 30 seconds into the final period and went on to win 8-5.

“It’s a pretty cool experience,” said Reiley. “I just stayed in good position, set up my shots and it worked out.”

Senior Cooper Jacks (220) placed third for the Patriots, tying Bellmont’s Mason Murphy with just one second to go and then winning in overtime. Ramon Bravo (182) added a fourth-place finish to also advance to the regional tournament.

Jayden Maymi (106), Nate Paxson (145) and Blake Pruett (152) finished fifth for JCHS, while Zac Brotherton (126), Ben Hunter (132), Camron Gage (138), Garrett Mann (160) and Braden McIntire (HWT) all dropped fifth-place matches.