July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Hess reaches state with 4th-place effort (02/14/05)
JCHS wrestling
FORT WAYNE — Coming off of a third-place finish at the regional meet, Kurtis Hess made the most of his trip to semi-state.
The Jay County junior left Norwell’s James Lewis and Muncie Southside’s Justin Combs, the pair who finished ahead of him in regional action, behind Saturday. Hess was the only 140-pounder from the Jay County regional to move on, winning his first two matches and placing fourth at the New Haven semi-state to become the first Patriot wrestler since 1999 to earn a state berth.
The only other Patriot wrestling at the semi-state meet, Bill Spahr, was eliminated in the first round.
Josh Mann of South Adams finished second at 112 pounds to earn a trip to the state tournament.
Hess (140) will wrestle fourth-ranked Dan Zemlik (37-3) of Portage, who won the Merrillville semi-state, in first-round state tournament action at Conseco Fieldhouse beginning Friday at 6 p.m. An opening-round win would secure him a spot in the top eight in the state tournament.
He earned his state berth by winning each of his first two matches Saturday, opening with a pin victory over Chase Smith of North Miami.
He out-pointed Josh Garcia of Goshen 13-10 in the second round to secure a state berth.
Hess (26-6) followed with losses to Qualyn Boone of Fort Wayne Snider and third-ranked Daric Fuller of Peru in the semifinal and third-place matches respectively.
In addition to his state berth, Hess also won his third consecutive Indianapolis Cathedral Invitational championship this year, and became a two-time New Castle Super Dual champion and a two-time Delta Duals champion. He was a sectional champion in 2004.
The last Jay County wrestlers to advance to the state meet were James Brewster (215) and Joe VanSkyock (103) in 1999.
Spahr (171) finished off his season as he was pinned by Terry Perkey of Jimtown in the semi-state’s first round. He finished the year with a 32-7 record.
Mann (37-6), a regional champion at Jay County last week, finished second behind Adam Andrews of Elkhart Memorial.
He will open his state meet action against the third-place finisher from the Merrillville semi-state, South Bend Clay’s Steve Salinas (39-7).[[In-content Ad]]
The Jay County junior left Norwell’s James Lewis and Muncie Southside’s Justin Combs, the pair who finished ahead of him in regional action, behind Saturday. Hess was the only 140-pounder from the Jay County regional to move on, winning his first two matches and placing fourth at the New Haven semi-state to become the first Patriot wrestler since 1999 to earn a state berth.
The only other Patriot wrestling at the semi-state meet, Bill Spahr, was eliminated in the first round.
Josh Mann of South Adams finished second at 112 pounds to earn a trip to the state tournament.
Hess (140) will wrestle fourth-ranked Dan Zemlik (37-3) of Portage, who won the Merrillville semi-state, in first-round state tournament action at Conseco Fieldhouse beginning Friday at 6 p.m. An opening-round win would secure him a spot in the top eight in the state tournament.
He earned his state berth by winning each of his first two matches Saturday, opening with a pin victory over Chase Smith of North Miami.
He out-pointed Josh Garcia of Goshen 13-10 in the second round to secure a state berth.
Hess (26-6) followed with losses to Qualyn Boone of Fort Wayne Snider and third-ranked Daric Fuller of Peru in the semifinal and third-place matches respectively.
In addition to his state berth, Hess also won his third consecutive Indianapolis Cathedral Invitational championship this year, and became a two-time New Castle Super Dual champion and a two-time Delta Duals champion. He was a sectional champion in 2004.
The last Jay County wrestlers to advance to the state meet were James Brewster (215) and Joe VanSkyock (103) in 1999.
Spahr (171) finished off his season as he was pinned by Terry Perkey of Jimtown in the semi-state’s first round. He finished the year with a 32-7 record.
Mann (37-6), a regional champion at Jay County last week, finished second behind Adam Andrews of Elkhart Memorial.
He will open his state meet action against the third-place finisher from the Merrillville semi-state, South Bend Clay’s Steve Salinas (39-7).[[In-content Ad]]
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