There may be many young wrestlers on the Noblesville and Hamilton Heights teams, but they are good wrestlers.
These new stars got a chance to prove themselves by competing at the Elwood sectional on Saturday. The Millers finished fourth as a team by scoring 145.5 points. The Huskies were seventh. Guerin Catholic placed eighth and also made history with its first-ever individual sectional champion.
Noblesville had two individual winners. Junior Dalton Huffman won his second straight sectional blue ribbon by beating Anderson sophomore Christian Chavez 11-4 in the final at 126 pounds. Minutes later, junior Gary Kitko joined Huffman in the winner’s circle; Kitko scored a 6-1 victory in the 138-pound final over Pendleton Heights junior Derek Sikorski.
“Very excited for Dalton to repeat as a champion from last year, and this was Gary’s first time ever winning,” said Millers coach Michael Weimer.
“I like the way they’re both wrestling,” said Weimer. “They’re wrestling to score bonus points in a workman-like style of just constantly attacking. It’s great to see.”
Noblesville also had two runners-up. Freshman Joey Kitko placed second at 113 pounds, while junior Justin Johnson-Sparks finished second at 132 pounds. All of the above-mentioned Millers advance to next Saturday’s regional round at Pendleton Heights.
The top four wrestlers in each weight class go from sectional to regional, and two more Noblesville wrestlers earned spots. Freshman Tim Alexander placed third at 106 pounds, while junior Sam Wertz was fourth at 285 pounds.
Weimer was proud of his team, acknowledging that it can be tough to wrestle come tournament time.
“I’m proud of those six guys, the hard work that they’ve done all season,” said Weimer. “Buying into the change of the culture and things like that. And great things happen to great people, I always tell them that. They’re starting to see that now, they’re starting to see those rewards from all the hard work that they’ve put in.”
The Huskies had two wrestlers advance to the regional. Junior Dreiken Dunn placed third at 152 pounds, while freshman Devonte Henson placed fourth at 113.
Jeff Dunasky, a 145-pound sophomore, wrestled his way into the Guerin Catholic history book with a 12-4 major decision over Pendleton junior Caleb Gibson.
“It feels great,” said Dunasky. “It’s a good experience and I’m just hoping to move on to next week and do well.”
Two more Golden Eagles wrestlers placed fourth and also move on to the regional: Junior Zach Sutton at 132 pounds and junior Ben Batchelder at 138 pounds.
AT ELWOOD
Team scores: Pendleton Heights 231.5, Anderson 179.5, Frankton 169, Noblesville 145.5, Elwood 138, Lapel 76, Hamilton Heights 72, Guerin Catholic 70, Tipton 65.5, Alexandria 64.
Individual results
106 pounds: 3. Tim Alexander (N)
113 pounds: 2. Joey Kitko (N), 4. Devonte Henson (HH), 5. Jon Koscal (GC)
120 pounds: 5. Caleb Jones (HH), 6. Nathan Ritz (N)
126 pounds: 1. Dalton Huffman (N), 5. Chris Semler (GC), 6. Jake Brinker (HH)
132 pounds: 2. Justin Johnson-Sparks (N), 4. Zach Sutton (GC)
138 pounds: 1. Gary Kitko (N), 4. Ben Batchelder (GC), 5. Cooper Mansfield (HH)
145 pounds: 1. Jeff Dunasky (GC), 6. Sebastian Dillon (N)
152 pounds: 3. Dreiken Dunn (HH), 6. Korbin Lane (GC)
160 pounds: 5. Nathan Richardson (N)
170 pounds: 5. Zack Knoll (N)
182 pounds: No county wrestlers placed
195 pounds: 5. Noah Lawson (HH)
220 pounds: 5. Alex Naylor (HH)
285 pounds: 4. Sam Wertz (N)
Over at Frankfort’s historic Case Arena, the Carmel wrestling team added another chapter to its history at the sectional tournament.
The Greyhounds won their third consecutive sectional title, dominating with 260.5 points. Carmel had five champions, five more wrestlers reach the final, and had all 14 of its athletes place in the top five. Thirteen of them made the top four, which qualifies them for next Saturday’s regional at North Montgomery.
The four other Hamilton County schools that competed at Frankfort all had multiple regional qualifiers as well. Hamilton Southeastern placed second with two champions and 10 moving on to the next round. Westfield’s third-place team finish included four champions and eight regional qualifiers. Fourth-place Fishers had one champion and sent nine on to North Montgomery, while Sheridan sent two wrestlers on to regional.
The ‘Hounds picked up their first championship at 120 pounds, where sophomore Brendan Mattingly won in a first-period pin over Southeastern freshman Jacob Lemieux. At 30-0, Mattingly stands as the county’s only undefeated wrestler.
Next up was 126-pound junior Kyle Holman, who beat Westfield senior Luke Brogan in an 8-3 decision. Senior Jack Eiteljorge then notched his 30th win of the season by scoring a 19-3 technical fall over HSE’s Ethan Blake in the 160-pound final.
Junior Logan Hart won the 182-pound division with a second-period fall over Shamrocks junior Ryan Mahoney, and senior Jack Williams edged out Royals senior Nathan Shuey in overtime, 3-2, to take the 285-pound crown.
Carmel’s runners-up included the first two weight classes: Sophomore Suhas Chundi at 106 and freshman Jake Shafer at 113. Junior Ryan Campbell at 132, sophomore 145-pounder Garret Sharp and junior Cameron Bacon at 195 also finished second.
Sophomore Haakon Van Beynen placed third at 220, while juniors Joe Theriot (at 138) and Nate Frey (at 170) both took fourth. The Greyhounds’ current sectional streak is their longest since they won 13 championships in a row between 1995 and 2007.
Southeastern’s victories started with the finals, as sophomore Jacob Simone won at 106 by pinning Chundi in the third period. Sophomore Andrew Irick got HSE’s second triumph, beating Bacon in a 5-3 decision.
Royal runners-up Lemieux, Blake and Shuey were joined by junior Crae Kunkleman, who fell to Lebanon senior Jacob McClaine in the 220-pound match by a second-period pin. McClaine is 27-1 for the season.
Sophomore Sam Crousore (at 113), senior Jacob Garcia (at 138) and senior Ranvir Sandhu (at 170) all placed third for Southeastern, with sophomore Jesse Wagner taking fourth at 126 pounds.
Westfield’s four wins began at 113 pounds. Sophomore Carson Eldred took that class by beating Shafer in a 13-3 major decision in the championship. The ‘Rocks then got back-to-back titles, as sophomore Milo Merkel pinned Campbell in the second period for the 132-pound crown, and senior Noah Robinson edged out Fishers senior Alexander Strueder 1-0 for the blue ribbon at 138. Junior Kyle Saez beat Sheridan senior Justin Delph 7-4 to win at 152.
Brogan and Mahoney were Westfield’s two runners-up, while freshman Dylan Driver (at 106) and sophomore Brady Drlik (at 120) placed third.
JD Farrell got Fishers’ lone sectional championship, as the sophomore won a 4-0 decision over Rossville senior Brice Lawerence. Streuder was a close runner-up at 152.
Two more Tigers placed third: Freshman Zach Pairitz at 132 and senior Teegan Heiniger at 160. Fishers also advanced sophomore PJ Pritchett (at 106), freshman Dylan Parodi (at 113), junior Cole Ludlow (at 120), junior Josh Reardon (at 145) and sophomore Morgan Laffoon (at 152) to the regional with fourth-place finishes.
Delph was the Blackhawks’ highest place with his runner-up finish. He will be joined at the regional by junior Isaiah Amsbury, a fourth-place finisher at 132.
AT FRANKFORT
Team scores: Carmel 260.5, Hamilton Southeastern 192, Westfield 171.5, Fishers 150, Lebanon 118.5, Clinton Central 69, Frankfort 62.5, Rossville 55, Sheridan 44, Clinton Prairie 22.
Individual results
106 pounds: 1. Jacob Simone (HSE), 2. Suhas Chundi (C), 3. Dylan Driver (W), 4. PJ Pritchett (F)
113 pounds: 1. Carson Eldred (W), 2. Jake Shafer (C), 3. Sam Crousore (HSE), 4. Dylan Parodi (F)
120 pounds: 1. Brendan Mattingly (C), 2. Jacob Lemieux (HSE), 3. Brady Drlik (W), 4. Cole Ludlow (F)
126 pounds: 1. Kyle Holman (C), 2. Luke Brogan (W), 4. Jesse Wagner (HSE), 6. Mace Bond (S)
132 pounds: 1. Milo Merkel (W), 2. Ryan Campbell (C), 3. Zach Pairitz (F), 4. Isaiah Amsbury (S), 5. Eduardo Perez (HSE)
138 pounds: 1. Noah Robinson (W), 2. Alexander Strueder (F), 3. Jacob Garcia (HSE), 4. Joe Theriot (C)
145 pounds: 2. Garret Sharp (C), 4. Josh Reardon (F), 5. Jake Rokop (W)
152 pounds: 1. Kyle Saez (W), 2. Justin Delph (S), 4. Morgan Laffoon (F), 5. Gabe Davin (C)
160 pounds: 1. Jack Eiteljorge (C), 2. Ethan Blake (HSE), 3. Teegan Heiniger (F)
170 pounds: 1. JD Farrell (F), 3. Ranvir Sandhu (HSE), 4. Nate Frey (C)
182 pounds: 1. Logan Hart (C), 2. Ryan Mahoney (W), 5. Collin Ells (S), 6. Konnor Haehl (HSE)
195 pounds: 1. Andrew Irick (HSE), 2. Cameron Bacon (C), 6. Mason McCartney (F)
220 pounds: 2. Crae Kunkleman (HSE), 3. Haakon Van Beynen (C), 6. Dane Smith (F)
285 pounds: 1. Jack Williams (C), 2. Nathan Shuey (HSE)
ABOVE: The Carmel wrestling team won its third consecutive sectional championship on Saturday, claiming the Frankfort sectional with 260.5 points. (Photo provided)
BELOW: Noblesville’s Dalton Huffman (left) and Gary Kitko won the championship in their respective weight classes at Saturday’s Elwood sectional. Huffman won at 126 pounds for his second title, with Kitko triumphing at 138 pounds. (Richie Hall)
