January 28, 2016 at 6:36 p.m.
Tourney season is upon us
Line Drives
It’s here.
The road to Bankers Life Fieldhouse begins Saturday.
Jay County hosts the first of two wrestling tournament weekends with the sectional tournament on Saturday.
Action is slated to begin at 8:30 a.m.
Let’s take a look at the tournament.
The Patriots and South Adams Starfires both had a pair of sectional champions a year ago, but only three between the two schools return.
JCHS seniors Dallas Dudelston (132 pounds) and Andy Kohler (182) look to win back-to-back titles in their respective weight classes.
Dudelston (26-10), who was the first Allen County Athletic Conference champion for Jay County last season, fell just short of winning his second consecutive conference title Saturday. He battled an illness and shortness of breath, losing in the title match at Woodlan.
Kohler, a 2015 state qualifier who is currently ranked fifth in the state by IndianaMat, has yet to lose this season.
He boasts a 36-0 record and has four tournament championships to his name — Franklin (Dayton), Twin Lakes, Connersville and ACAC — all while wrestling up a weight class at 195 pounds.
Throughout the season Kohler wasn’t challenged much at 195, so his domination of his opponents is likely to continue as he returns to his more natural weight.
Brothers Wyatt and Sawyer Miller gave South Adams its two individual champions last season, but with Sawyer graduating and now wrestling for Indiana Tech, Wyatt is the lone ranger returning for the Starfires.
Dudelston and Kohler lead a contingent of nine JCHS wrestlers who are seeded in the top four.
South Adams has five.
Keep in mind, the top four place winners in each weight class advance to the regional (which Jay County also hosts on Feb. 6).
Kohler and sophomore Gaven Hare (220) are two top seeds for the Patriots. Hare (22-7) was one of three ACAC champions for Jay County.
Tyler Leonhard (152), Levi Hummel (170) and Dudelston are all No. 2 seeds. Leonhard (30-6) is behind Hunter Bates of Adams Central, who he lost to in the ACAC title match on Saturday. Look for the JCHS senior to get a rematch for the championship.
ACAC champion Hummel (29-8) is second to Bellmont’s Bryce Baumgartner, who is ranked fifth in the state. Hummel and Baumgartner are on the fast track to a meeting for the sectional championship.
Sophomore Kaimen Sanders (120), senior Colton Compton (138) and junior Ivan Hemmelgarn (160) are all seeded third, and freshman Daniel Ostrowski (195) is fourth.
South Adams sophomore Isaiah Baumgartner (22-2) is the only top seed for the Starfires, and his losses have come at the hands of Kohler. Safe to say the 195-pounder is happy he doesn’t have to meet Kohler for the rest of his career.
Miller (25-3) is seeded second at 106, with Briar Goodwin (14-7) and Logan Hicks (16-8) the third seeds at 126 and 182 pounds respectively for South Adams. Brandon Wynn (15-10) is fourth at 126.
If each of those 14 local wrestlers finish at or better than their seeds on Saturday, they will all be regional qualifiers.
For the others, the path to regional may be more challenging. But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible.
At this time of the year, just about anything can happen — a missed takedown attempt, a late reversal or an escape can be the difference between making regional or having a season come to an end.
Throughout the season every wrestler has prepared for this part of the season. Everything that happened prior to Saturday can be thrown out.
What happens now is what is most important.
This is when wrestling gets exciting.
The road to Bankers Life Fieldhouse begins Saturday.
Jay County hosts the first of two wrestling tournament weekends with the sectional tournament on Saturday.
Action is slated to begin at 8:30 a.m.
Let’s take a look at the tournament.
The Patriots and South Adams Starfires both had a pair of sectional champions a year ago, but only three between the two schools return.
JCHS seniors Dallas Dudelston (132 pounds) and Andy Kohler (182) look to win back-to-back titles in their respective weight classes.
Dudelston (26-10), who was the first Allen County Athletic Conference champion for Jay County last season, fell just short of winning his second consecutive conference title Saturday. He battled an illness and shortness of breath, losing in the title match at Woodlan.
Kohler, a 2015 state qualifier who is currently ranked fifth in the state by IndianaMat, has yet to lose this season.
He boasts a 36-0 record and has four tournament championships to his name — Franklin (Dayton), Twin Lakes, Connersville and ACAC — all while wrestling up a weight class at 195 pounds.
Throughout the season Kohler wasn’t challenged much at 195, so his domination of his opponents is likely to continue as he returns to his more natural weight.
Brothers Wyatt and Sawyer Miller gave South Adams its two individual champions last season, but with Sawyer graduating and now wrestling for Indiana Tech, Wyatt is the lone ranger returning for the Starfires.
Dudelston and Kohler lead a contingent of nine JCHS wrestlers who are seeded in the top four.
South Adams has five.
Keep in mind, the top four place winners in each weight class advance to the regional (which Jay County also hosts on Feb. 6).
Kohler and sophomore Gaven Hare (220) are two top seeds for the Patriots. Hare (22-7) was one of three ACAC champions for Jay County.
Tyler Leonhard (152), Levi Hummel (170) and Dudelston are all No. 2 seeds. Leonhard (30-6) is behind Hunter Bates of Adams Central, who he lost to in the ACAC title match on Saturday. Look for the JCHS senior to get a rematch for the championship.
ACAC champion Hummel (29-8) is second to Bellmont’s Bryce Baumgartner, who is ranked fifth in the state. Hummel and Baumgartner are on the fast track to a meeting for the sectional championship.
Sophomore Kaimen Sanders (120), senior Colton Compton (138) and junior Ivan Hemmelgarn (160) are all seeded third, and freshman Daniel Ostrowski (195) is fourth.
South Adams sophomore Isaiah Baumgartner (22-2) is the only top seed for the Starfires, and his losses have come at the hands of Kohler. Safe to say the 195-pounder is happy he doesn’t have to meet Kohler for the rest of his career.
Miller (25-3) is seeded second at 106, with Briar Goodwin (14-7) and Logan Hicks (16-8) the third seeds at 126 and 182 pounds respectively for South Adams. Brandon Wynn (15-10) is fourth at 126.
If each of those 14 local wrestlers finish at or better than their seeds on Saturday, they will all be regional qualifiers.
For the others, the path to regional may be more challenging. But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible.
At this time of the year, just about anything can happen — a missed takedown attempt, a late reversal or an escape can be the difference between making regional or having a season come to an end.
Throughout the season every wrestler has prepared for this part of the season. Everything that happened prior to Saturday can be thrown out.
What happens now is what is most important.
This is when wrestling gets exciting.
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