Semi-state champions (02/11/08)

FORT WAYNE - Casey Kenney has not been shy about his goals this season.

He doesn't want to just advance through tournaments, he wants to win them.

His goal was not just a trip to the state finals, but a state championship. And even more than that, he seeks a perfect season.

After winning a regional title, to go along with his sectional crown, the undefeated Jay County junior noted his need for just seven more victories to reach his target. That number is now down to four.

Kenney won three times Saturday, including a championship victory over Delta's Steve Gonzales for the second week in a row, to extend his record to 44-0 this year and capture the 103-pound semi-state title at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.

Senior Josh Mann of South Adams also kept his perfect record, improving to 42-0 as he won the 130-pound title at the semi-state hosted by Woodlan. The Starfires' Josh Ehr also picked up a state berth by finishing fourth in the 112-pound bracket.

Jay County's Ben Theurer fell short of advancing to the state finals, losing 8-5 in his ticket-round match at 135 pounds. The top four wrestlers in each weight class earned a state berth.

After breezing through his first two matches, Kenney faced a familiar foe in the finals.

He squared off against Steve Gonzales of Delta, the same wrestler he met for the regional title a week earlier. He was able to reprise his 3-1 regional championship win, holding off Gonzales in the final seconds to claim the semi-state crown 3-2.

Kenney's opponents in the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds proved to be not much more than practice partners.

He needed just 15 seconds to score his first takedown against Homestead's Andy Franklin (32-4) in the quarterfinals. He continued to dominate the match, finishing off the sophomore in 3-minutes, 12 seconds.

In the semifinal round Kenney narrowly missed defeating Matt Miller (45-4) by pin as well.

He got a quick takedown in the first period and had Miller on his back twice in the second for three-point near falls. The pin was not to be, but Kenney still scored an impressive 10-0 major decision to set up his match against Gonzales (33-5) in the finals.

Mann, who was also a champion in the Jay County regional, won his quarterfinal match to earn a state berth and took the semi-state championship with a victory over Elkhart Memorial's Jake Leitch (39-5).

Ehr (29-11), a regional runner-up, upset regional champion Marquis Williams (36-6) of Fort Wayne Snider in the quarterfinal round to earn his spot in the state finals.

His win over Williams came after a victory over Eastern's Blake Pence (24-13) in the opening round.

Kenney, Mann and Ehr will wrestle in the IHSAA Wrestling State Finals at Conseco Fieldhouse beginning Friday at 6 p.m. The tournament continues Saturday beginning at 9:30 a.m.

Theurer wrestled an impressive first-round match, battling to a scoreless first period against Jack Lineberry (25-7) of New Haven. He started the second period in the bottom position and got a reversal for two points. They would be the only two points of the match as Theurer rode Lineberry for the entire third period to pick up the 2-0 victory.

In the quarterfinal round, where a victory would have earned him a state berth, Theurer fell behind 2-0 to Chad Barrett (43-3) of Eastern in the opening 17 seconds, but rebounding for an escape and takedown to push ahead 3-2. But it was giving up late points in the first and second periods that cost him the match.

After grabbing the 3-2 lead, Theurer gave up a reversal with six seconds left in the opening period and was hit for a two-point near fall as well. He pulled back to within 6-5 with a reversal 18 seconds into the second period, but Barrett got the reversal back with 24 seconds remaining in the period to push his lead back to three points.

Theurer started the third period in the top position, but could not score as he fell 8-5. Barrett went on to finish as the semi-state runner-up.[[In-content Ad]]