After much back-and-forth, Westfield comes out on top
By RICHIE HALL
NOBLESVILLE – There was a good old-fashioned throwdown at The Mill on Thursday.
It was all in the spirit of competition, of course. The Noblesville wrestling team hosted Westfield in a dual meet between the two county rivals, with the Shamrocks winning the last match of the meet to get a 36-30 victory.
It was truly a back-and-forth contest, with the lead changing several times. The Millers were up 30-21 with three matches to go, but Westfield won those three remaining bouts, including the last two by fall, in order to clinch the win.
Westfield’s Jason Rooney (green) and Noblesville’s Gage Gulley wrestled a hard-fought match at 160 pounds. Rooney won by a 7-4 decision. (Kent Graham)
“It was great,” said Shamrocks coach Phil Smith. “It was an awesome atmosphere. We enjoyed wrestling in it. I would have liked to see us perform a little better, but it’s certainly good for the sport and good for this rivalry.”
The competitive tone was set early, as Noblesville freshman Luke Chastain opened the meet at 126 pounds with a 9-4 decision win. Millers coach Michael Weimer said that was something worth talking about, as well as his younger wrestlers in general.
“Luke Chastain is a kid I’ve been coaching since he was in second grade when I took over,” said Weimer. “He’s been in my youth program, so he knows that expectation.”
Westfield got on the board at 132 pounds when Jake Saez won a 12-2 major decision. The two teams would go on to trade wins for the first half of the meet, splitting the first eight matches.
Noblesville’s Caleb Leeman got the night’s first pin at 138 pounds, then the Shamrocks’ Ike O’Neill took the 145-pound bout by a technical fall. The Millers’ Carter Richardson then picked up the quickest pin of the night, winning at 152 in 35 seconds. That victory put Noblesville ahead 15-9.
Westfield’s Jason Rooney was the 160-pound winner, getting a hard-fought 7-4 decision victory. Aden Widget answered for the Millers at 170 with another 7-4 decision. The Shamrocks then put together consecutive wins, with Eli Frei taking the 182-pound bout in an 11-5 decision, then Jonathan Tanner won at 195 by fall.
Noblesville’s Aden Widget (black) and Westfield’s Hunter Jones battled in the 170-pound bout, with Widget winning 7-4. (Kent Graham)
With that, Westfield was in the lead at 21-18. But Noblesville surged ahead, as Austin Hastings received a forfeit at 220, then Jackson Apple’s first-period pin at 285 got the Millers ahead 30-21.
But it was all Shamrocks after that. Keegan Carson started the run with a 6-0 decision at 106, then Westfield won the last two matches by pin. Porter Temples got a fall at 113 in the second period, then Carter Niccum’s first-period pin at 120 sealed the win.
Westfield’s Keegan Carson (green) won the 106-pound match, the start of three straight victories that clinched the meet for the Shamrocks. (Kent Graham)
“The upper half of our lineup is really young, so we’re still trying to work those guys in a little bit,” said Smith. “But altogether, a couple of our guys, specifically Carter Niccum that ended that match there at 120 and Jake Saez at 132, I thought wrestled really well tonight.”
Westfield finished with eight wins out of the 14 matches. Smith had praise for the Millers after the match, saying that “Noblesville wrestled extremely well.”
Weimer was happy with his team’s effort, too.
“Any time you can have a home dual meet or any dual meet come down to the last match, it’s great for the sport and it’s exciting,” said Weimer. “And with a young team that we have, our kids haven’t experienced that excitement, that ‘Oh man, we’re coming down to the last match.’” Weimer said that shows the Millers’ young team is “starting to grow,” and believe in what the coaches are teaching them, as well as in each other.
The Shamrocks travel to Penn Saturday for a tournament. Noblesville’s varsity is off until Dec. 29 and 30, when it competes at the North Montgomery Duals.
WESTFIELD 36, NOBLESVILLE 30
Meet started at 126 pounds
126: Luke Chastain (N) def. Chase Camine (W) by decision 9-4
132: Jake Saez (W) def. Aiden Howell (N) by major decision, 12-2
138: Caleb Leeman (N) def. Owen Matthews (W) by fall, 2:52
145: Ike O’Neill (W) def. C.J. Livingston (N) by technical fall, 17-1
152: Carter Richardson (N) def. Hank Temples (W) by fall, 0:35
160: Jason Rooney (W) def. Gage Gulley (N) by decision, 7-4
170: Aden Widget (N) def. Hunter Jones (W) by decision, 7-4
182: Eli Frei (W) def. Oscar Solis (N) by decision, 11-5
195: Jonathan Tanner (W) def. Corbin Hornickle (N) by fall, 2:47
220: Austin Hastings (N) won by forfeit
285: Jackson Apple (N) def. Emerson Sanders (W) by fall, 1:37
106: Keegan Carson (W) def. Brian Young (N) by decision, 6-0
113: Porter Temples (W) def. Lawson McRae (N) by fall, 2:33
120: Carter Niccum (W) def. Josh Kauzlick (N) by fall, 1:03