Patriots won OAC wrestling championship

Twenty-five years ago this week, the Patriots were celebrating a conference title.

The Jan. 22, 2001, edition of The Commercial Review featured coverage of the Jay County High School wrestling team winning the Olympic Athletic Conference championship. The Patriots defeated Huntington North, Connersville, Anderson Highland and Muncie Southside en route to the title.

JCHS dominated its way to its first conference title in more than a decade, with the closest score coming in a 54-29 victory over Huntington North.

Five individuals won championships for the host Patriots, who ran their record to 20-4 in dual meets one week ahead of the sectional tournament that was also to be contested at Jay County.

“To come out the way we did Saturday, it says a lot for us and it’s going to help us,” said JCHS coach Craig Campbell. “It’s going to help our momentum for the sectional. You never know what to expect sectional day … but we’re used to being home.” 

Jeremy Johnson (145 pounds), Chris Myers (152) and Randy Timmerman (135) each racked up four pins en route to earning individual conference championships. Johnson’s victory was especially big for the Patriots as he had suffered a knee injury two weeks earlier that the team feared would end his season.

Also going undefeated to finish in first place were Dustan Howell (160) and Joe VanSkyock (112). Howell had the fastest pin of the day for Jay County, ending his match against Connersville in just seven seconds.

Adding runner-up finishes for the Patriots were Adam Mock (103), Scott Aspy (140), Nick Timmerman (171) and Cory Ward (189), all with 3-1 records.