By RICHIE HALL
FISHERS – A spirited Mudsock wrestling meet went to the home team on Wednesday night.
The home team was Hamilton Southeastern, which won a hard-fought dual with district rival Fishers by the score of 45-32 in the annual Mudsock competition. The Royals set the tone early, winning their first four matches by fall, and that momentum carried them through as the Tigers closed the gap by making a run in the second half of the meet.
Southeastern was also slightly shorthanded at the meet.
“We had two of our best wrestlers out of the lineup with different ailments that kept them out tonight,” said Royals coach Nick Brobst. One of those was at the 170-pound division, which is where the meet began. Southeastern subbed in Said Soufiyane to wrestle that weight class, and he got things off to a fantastic start for HSE, winning his match by fall.
Three more Royals wrestlers marched on to the mat after that and also got pins: Jacob Schneider at 182, Max Broom at 195 and Charlie Irish at 220. Dom Burgett won the 285-pound division by forfeit, and Southeastern led 30-0. Brobst said that his team “just responded well, wrestled where we needed them to wrestle well.”
Chayce Yant got the Tigers on the board by winning the 106-pound bout by fall, but the Royals’ Nick Anderson answered that by getting a pin at 113.
Fishers steadily closed the gap after that, winning five of the last seven matches. Quenton Riley won at 120, getting near-fall points right at the end to reach 15 points and score a technical fall. Griffin Ingalls then took the 126-pound match with a second-period pin.
“Our lower weights, our lower half of the lineup, competed really well,” said Tigers coach Frank Ingalls. “We still got a lot of work to do in the upper weights.”
Riley Fredricksen won for HSE at 132 by fall, then Teyon Leonard triumphed at 138 by a 7-3 decision. Zach Streuder got a second-period pin for the 145-pound match. The Royals’ Nick Castler won at 152 by a tough 6-5 decision, then Fishers’ James Carroll won at 160 by injury default.
Brobst was also pleased that his team was able to handle the emotional ebbs and flows that come with a Mudsock competition in any sport.
“A concern of mine with so many young guys in the lineup was that the emotions would get the best of them, but I thought we hung with it and wrestled well in spots where the matches were big,” said Brobst.
Meanwhile, the Tigers also have a young team, but it seems as if Fishers is getting better as the season moves along.
“I think our guys are making a lot of progress,” said Ingalls. “We got a young team and they’re doing what we ask, mostly.”
Both teams are back in action Saturday. The Royals will compete in the Paul Loggan Memorial Classic at North Central, while Fishers travels to Zionsville for the Mike Fendley Hall of Fame Classic.
“We still got a lot of work to do and I think we got plenty of time to do it before sectionals,” said Ingalls.
HAMILTON SOUTHEASTERN 45, FISHERS 32
Meet started at 170 pounds
170: Said Soufiyane (HSE) def. Nathan Battraw (F) by fall
182: Jacob Schneider (HSE) def. Carson Calin (F) by fall
195: Max Broom (HSE) def. Charlie Baron (F) by fall
220: Charlie Irish (HSE) def. Jacob Carroll (F) by fall
285: Dom Burgett (HSE) won by forfeit
106: Chayce Yant (F) def. Aiden Smalley (HSE) by fall
113: Nick Anderson (HSE) def. Aiden Lamb (F) by fall
120: Quenton Riley (F) def. Ethan Behrens (HSE) by technical fall, 15-0
126: Griffin Ingalls (F) def. Blake Alverado (HSE) by fall
132: Riley Fredericksen (HSE) def. Sam Malcomb (F) by fall
138: Teyon Leonard (F) def. Nick Egorov (HSE) by decision, 7-3
145: Zach Strueder (F) def. Ryan Hartig (HSE) by fall
152: Nick Castler (HSE) def. Zach Pence (F) by decision, 6-5
160: James Carroll (F) def. DeShawn Ternior (HSE) by injury default