By Mike Frank
Examiner Sports Writer
The Lakers protected their house in a big way.
Bellefontaine and Indian Lake met for a dual wrestling match Wednesday evening, with the Lakers claiming the majority of the contests in a 65-12 win.
The evening began with action from elementary school level grapplers. The junior high and varsity matches were then contested side-by-side before a good crowd.
Indian Lake had six wins by pin and one on a technical fall (15 points or more). Their other victories came on forfeits by the Chieftains.
Earning the falls were Jordan Henderson (120), Bronx Dickson (132), Gavin Henry (144), Dawson Stevenson (150), Czar Dickson (157), and Chris Timms at heavyweight. The tech fall came at 138 pounds for Draden Stevenson.
Lakers that got uncontested wins were Cash Scott (106), JJ Shirk (113), Tristan Shoffner (190) and Owen Pummel (215).
“It’s a fun night. I really appreciate Bellefontaine. It’s really cool having the kids come and all of us get together,” said Indian Lake coach Ryan Dickson.
“The gym was pretty packed, which is really cool to see for a wrestling event,” he added. He noted that the team will continue to prepare for the postseason, which begins with the sectional tournaments, which are just over a month away.
Bellefontaine’s winners were Jared Young by decision at 126 pounds, Zavier May by decision at 165, and Noah Torsell with a pin at 175.
“I think the effort was there for us tonight,” said Chieftains coach Aaron LaBatt, “but unfortunately, not the talent. But our guys are scraping along. None of our guys rolled over. We’re still building. We’re still moving forward. So we have a lot to build on.”
One thing LaBatt wants the team to work on is “chain wrestling” or connecting a series of moves. “We can hit a move or two moves, but we just got to work on (things like) our turn series, our takedown series, our leg defense. I did see us use that a little bit, but we’ve done better.”
Indian Lake took a 12-0 lead on the forfeits to Scott and Shirk.
At 120, Henderson stepped in against Brooks Kinchen of Bellefontaine. Henderson got an early takedown worth three points. After Kinchen escaped for one point, another takedown by Henderson made it 6-1 halfway through the period. He kept attacking, and after scoring a few more points, got the fall just before time expired, at 1:59.
Young and Keyshawn Blackwell of Indian Lake squared off at 126. Blackwell took the lead with a first-period takedown, giving one point back on an escape. The second period was a stalemate, with neither wrestler able to score. Starting the third in neutral position, they continued to fend each other off. Finally, with just over one minute left, Young got a three-point takedown to go ahead 4-3. He then kept Blackwell in check for the rest of the match to earn the decision.
At 132 pounds, Bronx Dickson faced the Chieftains’ Eli Deal. Dickson quickly established a five-point lead with a takedown and two near fall points. Dickson escaped that, but Dickson scored another takedown with 22 seconds to go, making it 8-1. The only points of the middle period came on a reversal by Dickson with 30 seconds to go. Deal had another escape early in the third, but Dickson ended it after 32 seconds of that frame.
The Lakers sent out Draden Stevenson at 138 to face Bellefontaine’s Nicholas Beair. Stevenson scored a takedown and then came very close to getting a fall with about 40 seconds left in the first period. He settled for the 7-0 lead. He added one point in the second frame, then scored six more before more back points ended it at 18-0. That made the team score 29-3 in favor of the Lakers.
At 144, Henry got a takedown in the opening seconds and went on to score a pin at 1:04 of Bellefontaine’s Ricky Smiley.
Dawson Stevenson trotted out next to face Bellefontaine’s Hayden Alinson at 150. Stevenson scored a series of takedowns, with Alison able to wriggle free a couple of times. The match ended with 27 seconds to go in the first on a fall for the Lakers.
Caleb Lillard of Bellefontaine met Czar Dickson for the 157-pound bout. Similar to the previous match, Dickson got a takedown then four back points. He collected four more points before putting Lillard’s shoulders to the mat with 50 seconds left.
The Chiefs’ May took on Taylor Clem from the Lakers at 165. May grabbed the initial lead on a takedown midway though the first, but Clem got a reversal and four back points to lead 6-3. May added nine points on three takedowns in the second, but Clem scored five points of his own. The third period was high scoring as well. May got a takedown and back points at the start, then scored two more on a late reversal for the 20-14 victory.
The 175-pound class pitted Torsell against Logan Hale for the hosts. Hale scored a takedown in each of the first two periods, and collected four near-fall points late in both as well for a huge 14-0 lead. The pair started the third and midway through, it was Torsell giving the Chiefs rooters some joy with a takedown for three points. He kept attacking and earned the fall with 25 seconds left.
After two more forfeits by Bellefontaine, the evening came to a close as heavyweight Timms got a quick 10-second pin of Cameron Hensley.
The lone girls’ match took place between Rylee Yelton of Bellefontaine and Annie Rapp of Indian Lake. Rapp won by pin in the first period.
On Saturday, Indian Lake heads to Archbold, while Bellefontaine goes to Van Buren for tournament action.