REGIONALS: Host Bloomington South advances seven individuals to semistate

BLOOMINGTON ââ?¬â?? Bloomington
South lived up to its reputation as a regional power Feb. 4 by sending seven
wrestlers on to the individual semistate at Evansville. The 15^th-ranked host Panthers
were particularly successful in the lower and middle weight classes with
first-place finishes at 119, 152, and 160 as well as top-three finishes at 103,
119, 130, and 135.

Three
Bloomington South wrestlers added victories to their unbeaten records. Junior
Reece Freeman�s victory at 119 pushed his record to 39-0 on the season, further
cementing his No. 4 ranking after defeating previously unbeaten Brandon Brawner
of Southwestern (Shelbyville).

At 152, top-ranked Kurt Kinser also pushed his
unbeaten streak to 39 with a finals victory over cross-town rival Bloomington
North�s 10^th-ranked Seth Teeter.

And the No. 1 wrestler in the
160-pound weight class, senior Paul Young, proved the legitimacy of his ranking
by pinning Seymour�s
Patrick Smith early in the second period to push his record to 41-0.

Elsewhere,
Edgewood junior Chris Lindauer defeated
Bloomington South�s Daniel Young, 10-6, to win at 103. At 112, Brown County
freshman Mitchell Richey took care of Southwestern�s 10^th-ranked
Michael Bartlett. Columbus North�s Ethan Ott jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the
first period and never looked back at 125 as he took care of Northview�s Chris
Craft, 11-4.

Bloomington
North�s Dustin Bruce pinned Bloomington South senior Nick Samaro with 20
seconds remaining in the second period to capture the title at 130. Columbus
East�s Kyle Copper improved his season record to 43-2 at 135 with a 4-3 victory
over Tony Withrow of Bloomington South. At 140, it was Columbus East again as junior
Spencer Hamm defeated Sullivan�s Justin Cox, 4-3.

In the
higher weight classes, Madison senior Jordan
Fish defeated Jennings
County�s Jorge Lockard,
10-4, at 171. At 189, Seymour�s
fourth-ranked Derek Mullins defeated Scottsburg�s Bill Simpson, 5-4. Jennings County�s James Edwards pinned Terre
Haute South�s Cale Madsen late in the second period of their 215-pound match.

And
Brown County�s Wes Ault came out on top
against Terre Haute South�s 12^th-ranked heavyweight Richie Hammond.

The top
three finishers in each class advance to the semistate, to be held Feb. 11 at
Roberts Stadium in Evansville.
For Bloomington North coach Perry Summit, the week is a chance for his team to
ââ?¬Å?continue to work on our conditioning, drill, and back off the hard wrestling
for a little bit and try and remain injury free for the semistate.�