Kohler, Jay Co. wrestlers open season Saturday

Andy Kohler doesn’t want to experience the heartbreak he did as a junior.
He qualified for the wrestling state finals, but was brought to tears in the hallways of Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis after losing in the opening round.
“I’m definitely looking forward to going back this year and doing a heck of a lot better than I did last year,” said Kohler, who was pinned by Avon senior David Elmore in 1 minute, 2 seconds.
Reaching state was a huge improvement for Kohler, who finished 27-17 as a sophomore before going 36-7 as a junior. To get back, he said he’s got to keep the same one-match-at-a-time mentality.
“Keep working hard like I did last year,” he said. “Keep pushing.”
Jay County coach Eric Myers, whose Patriot squad opens its season Saturday in the Franklin Invitational in Dayton, Ohio, is hoping to have a couple more people join Kohler at the state finals.
Dallas Dudelston was the lone Allen County Athletic Conference champion for the Patriots in 2014, and he also won the sectional title at 132 pounds as a junior.
He’s going to wrestle at 132 again, but is also able to drop down to 126 depending on what the postseason tournament will look like.
“He went form having a losing record his sophomore year to having 30 wins and being a conference and sectional champion,” Myers said.
Dudelston has put in more work this offseason than he has any prior year, hoping to join Kohler at the state’s highest level.
“The last two years he’s came in pretty rusty,” Myers said. “Hopefully he starts off where he left off last year.”
Tyler Leonhard, a 152-pounder, has also put in a tremendous amount of work in the offseason. He was fourth in ACAC, finished second at sectional and also qualified for semi-state with Kohler and Dudleston.
“They’re not afraid to put their nose to the grindstone,” Myers said.
The Patriots also return seniors Levi Hummel and Colton Compton. Hummel was second in the conference and third at sectional as a 160-pounder, and Compton (126) placed third at sectional after finishing fourth at conference. Compton will likely reprise his role at 126, while Hummel will move up to 170 with Ivan Hemmelgarn slated to take over at 160.
“We’ve got some guys that gained a little bit of weight and moved around to different weight classes,” Myers said. “We’re trying to get situated and get all those guys in our lineup.”
Myers also has a deep roster that allows for competition in some weight classes, specifically at 145. Senior Jacob Schmit, sophomores Ben Antrim and Mitchell Frasher and freshman Thomas Hemmelgarn are in a four-way battle for that position.
Freshmen Ian Liette and sophomore Davis Anderson are competing for the 106 slot, and sophomore Kaiman Sanders — he was the East Central Indiana Classic champion at 113 — will battle senior Tristan Atkins at 120.
“It’s great,” Myers said. “It is a very competitive room. Last year it was but even more so this year because you’ve got that tension knowing that some of these spots are up for grabs rather than just walking into the room and having the spot.
“We’re still preaching the same mantra as last year; we need to be a program. We’re not just focused on who can walk in and make varsity. We have to have guys that are willing to work hard, be JV guys for a year and then step into that varsity role ready to go the following year.”
Freshman Seth Fugiett is in line to take the 113-pound spot, with sophomore Dustin Minnich and freshman Chandler Chapman competing at 138. Gavin Hare, who was a regional qualifier at 195 as a freshman, will start the year at 220 and work his way back down to 195.
Junior Simon Brumfield and sophomore Jacob Ferguson will share duties at heavyweight, with Brumfield sliding down to 220 when Hare makes his move.
The ACAC will contest its dual and individual tournaments with a different format this season. Jay County will host the two-day dual tournament on Dec. 11 and 12. The first two rounds will be Friday, with the remaining five rounds on Saturday. With seven teams in the conference, one team will receive a bye during each round, so one school — to be determined at a later date — will wrestle one match on Friday and five on Saturday.
The individual tournament will be Jan. 23 at Woodlan, one week before the sectional tournaments.