Patriots finish second at ACAC

MONROE — A Patriot won the opening weight class.

Another won the final bracket.

Three more championships came in between.

It was nearly enough to take the whole tournament.

The titles from Corbin Lothridge, Alan Ortiz, Griffin Byrum, A.J. Heskett and A.J. Myers led the Class 2A No. 5 Jay County High School boys wrestling team to 255.5 points Friday night as it finished a half-point behind host and champion Adams Central in the Allen County Athletic Conference Tournament.

The Class 1A No. 2 Flying Jets edged JCHS thanks to their five individual championships and three runner-up finishes. Bluffton was third with 200 points, four more than South Adams in the seven-team field.

Lothridge (26-8) got the Patriots started strong  in the finals with a 6-1 victory over Brock Sprunger of South Adams to win the 106-pound title. Byrum (31-3) made it two-for-two for Jay County by pinning Max Adams of South Adams in the championship match at 113.

At the end of the tournament, eighth-ranked Ortiz (31-2) eked out a 4-3 victory to earn the 285-pound title. In between, Heskett (30-4) pinned Bluffton’s Parker Nash to win at 144 and Myers (16-4) scored a 14-5 major decision over Max Nussbaum of Adams Central to earn the 190-pound crown.

Caleb Sibrary, wrestling at 157, earned the lone second-place finish for the Patriots as he made the finals before falling to Adams Central’s Maverick Dubach by pin in 54 seconds.

Finishing in third place for Jay County were Sylas Wenk at 120, Cooper Glassford at 126, Gabe Ardizzone at 150 and Brice Coy at 215.