Leading the way for Jay

On a night that was in their honor, the Patriot seniors won.
Jay County High School’s wrestling team capped its dual schedule Tuesday with a 47-28 victory over the Redskins of Fort Wayne North Side.
The five seniors accounted for more than half of the Patriots’ wins. Levi Hummel and Andy Kohler both won by pin, Colton Compton earned a hard-fought victory by a 1-0 decision, and Dallas Dudelston and Tristen Atkins both received forfeits.
“We wrestled all right,” said JCHS coach Eric Myers, whose team finished 13-2. “It was disappointing that Dallas and Tristan didn’t get to wrestle on senior night. They picked up six (points) for us anyways.”
Myers went on to talk about the seniors in a little more detail.
“(I’m) really proud of those guys,” he said. “Whenever I started coaching here I felt like this class was the class that really bought in to what we were doing. They are a special class for me. They mean a lot to me. It’s going to be disappointing to see those guys go.”
Hummel opened the evening needing just 68 seconds to pin Sam Dick in their 182-pound bout. He turned a single-leg takedown into a cradle, and shortly thereafter earned his 26th victory of the season.
“Always feels good to win,” Hummel said, adding he feels he is getting better as the season has progressed, just in time for Saturday’s Allen County Athletic Conference dual tournament at Woodlan. “Made it a little bit different because it’s senior night, but a win is a win.”
Andy Kohler, who is ranked No. 4 at 182 pounds by IndianaMat, pinned Lawrence Davis one second faster than Hummel to win his 195-pound match. It was his 33rd win of the season.
“I feel like after Christmas break I came back and I was a little bit rusty,” said Kohler, who is 33-0. “I feel like I’m wrestling at 90 percent, not quite 100 yet.”
Just as Hummel did, Kohler put Davis on his back with a single-leg takedown, then overpowered the North Side freshman for the win to give his team a 12-0 lead.
Following three straight wins from North Side — Tyson Whitner pinned Jacob Ferguson at 220, Dakota Ault spoiled Bailey Ludy’s varsity debut with a pin at 285 and returning state qualifier Ben Streeter won in 1 minute, 8 seconds against Ian Liette — the Redskins had an 18-12 match lead.
Ferguson fell to 15-15 and Liette dropped to 14-16.
Jay County sophomore Davis Anderson (13-7) earned a 5-0 decision at 113, and after North Side’s Felix Adams won by forfeit at 120 the Redksins led 24-15.
That’s when back-to-back forfeits to Atkins (126) and Dudelston (132) gave Jay County a 27-24 advantage it didn’t give up.
In his 138-pound match, Colton Compton (18-12) started the second period from the down position and escaped the grasp of Matt Magana for one point.
It was the only point of the match, as Compton rode out Magana in the final period for the 1-0 decision.
“That was really fun to watch,” Myers said. “Maybe adds a little incentive to hold on there and ride that guy out on senior night.
“He did a really nice job.”
Jay County freshman Thomas Hemmelgarn lost a 12-2 major decision to Logan Capps for North Side’s final win of the evening. The Redskins fell to 6-8.
“I was really hoping for it to be a better match,” said NSHS coach Russ Hartman, adding that he was without two seniors, one of whom missed weight and the other sidelined because of a concussion.
“We’re an odd mix of freshmen and seniors,”?he said. “That is the vast majority of our team. We’ve got some experience and some very green individuals.
“There is some promise down the road.”
Tyler Leonhard (28-5) dismantled Rae Marn in an 18-1 tech fall at 152, and Ivan Hemmelgarn (27-8) nearly did the same against Jared Wright at 160.
Hemmelgarn, a junior, turned a cradle into a three-point near fall on four occasions — three times in the second period —and led 13-0 heading into the third before a pin in 4:48.
Patriot freshman Daniel Ostrowski (7-2) capped the evening by pinning John Wert in 2:22.
In junior varsity action, Jay County’s Jordan Schricker and Max Schmit both won by pin.