By E. Shawn Aylsworth
Managing Editor
Third-ranked Perry Meridian upset No. 1 Mishawaka, 30-24, in the marquee match Jan. 5 at the Bellmont Super Duals. Each team won seven weight classes, but the Falcons (19-0) got three early pins in building a 21-3 lead then hanging on against the Cavemen.
Perry Meridian also thumped No. 7 host Bellmont 48-26, Penn 58-9, Whitko 52-12, and Bluffton 69-11 en route to a perfect 5-0 record and the team title. Mishawaka (16-1) defeated Bellmont 33-19 as well in addition to posting a victory over No. 20 Bloomington South.
Here’s a look – complete with individual results – of the day’s three biggest dual matches:
#3 Perry Meridian 30, #1 Mishawaka 24
Things looked good initially for the Cavemen as No. 9 David Balentine got the first takedown in his 215-pound match against No. 12 Chris Schaefer. But Balentine got too high running legs and shockingly got stuck in 96 seconds.
Then heavyweight defending state champion Chico Adams got Perry Meridian three more points with a relatively easy 6-1 win over Randy Morin in a battle of No. 1 (Adams) vs. No. 2 (Morin). Sixth-ranked 103-pounder Paul Beck got the Cavemen on the board with a 17-3 major decision, but the match spun out of control for Mishawaka when both Guerras (Adam at 112, Matt at 119) got pinned – the former by No. 2 Jimmy Schoettle in 4:17, the latter by No. 5 Jacob Tonte in 2:51.
Worsening the scenario for Mishawaka was Adam Guerra chucking his head gear across the mat after the pin call, costing the Cavemen a point due to poor sportsmanship and causing the following entry from Cavemen coach Darrick Snyder on the Indiana High School Wrestling Coach Association’s discussion board:
“I wanted to start by saying congrats to Perry Meridian. What a great team – well coached, great conditioning, and tough as nails.
I didn’t sleep much last night and it wasn’t because of the loss. It was because of the way some of our wrestlers acted in defeat. I have never been so disappointed or embarrassed as a coach. I take a lot of pride in being the head coach at Mishawaka, but I did not feel any pride yesterday.
No attempt can be made to defend the actions of a few of our wrestlers. They showed a total lack of discipline and sportsmanship by throwing head gear, storming off the mat, or slapping an opponent’s hand instead of shaking it.
This is not acceptable. It will be corrected immediately. Every team member has been talked to and warned. It will be corrected even if it means guys being suspended and/or removed from the team.
As I mentioned to our team, ultimately this is completely my fault. Somewhere along the line we lost focus on always showing sportsmanship even in defeat. Most of our guys do, but to have the situations occur that did yesterday and at the Al Smith show me that we do not have discipline. This is not acceptable to me.
I apologize to everyone associated with Mishawaka wrestling, but please be assured that this will be corrected.â€
Think there might have been some electricity in the Decatur County air Saturday afternoon, wrestling fans?
Following the pins of the Guerras, Mishawaka responded by winning four of the next five matches, including unranked Trent Reinoehl’s 2-1 upset of No. 3 Brian Vest at 130. But the Falcons bounced back with victories over junior varsity competitors at 135 (where No. 17 Joey Smith was out following a cramp he had to default out of vs. Bloomington South) and at 145 (where Neal Kostry did not wrestle).
That made it 27-15 with four matches left. When No. 13 Chris Stepp scored a monster 6-5 upset of No. 5 Brandon Mersich at 152, that proved to be the difference when Mishawaka won the last three matches by decision.
The individual results:
103 – #6 Paul Beck (M) major dec. Michael Clem (PM), 17-3 (PM, 9-4)
112 – #2 Jimmy Schoettle (PM) pin #9 (at 119) Adam Guerra (M), 4:17 (PM, 15-4)
119 – #5 Jacob Tonte (PM) pin #17 (at 112) Matt Guerra (M), 2:51 (PM, 21-3)
125 – #1 Josh Harper (M) dec. Chris Goodwin (PM), 4-3 (PM, 21-6)
130 – Trent Reinoehl (M) dec. #3 Brian Vest (PM), 2-1 (PM, 21-9)
135 – #5 Jacob Tasseff (PM) dec. ?? (M), 3-1 (PM, 24-9)
140 – #1 Steven Sandefer (M) pin #11 John Leonard (PM), 0:25 (PM, 24-15)
145 – Blake Wood (PM) dec. ?? (M), 1-0 (PM, 27-15)
152 – #13 Chris Stepp (PM) dec. #5 Brandon Mersich (M), 6-5 (PM, 30-15)
160 – Tim Forte (M) dec. Corey Hudgins (PM), 4-0 (PM, 30-18)
171 – #5 Caleb Norville (M) dec. Mike Hughey (PM), 9-4 (PM, 30-21)
189 – #16 Brandon Straub (M) dec. Nick Barnes (PM), ?? (PM, 30-24)
215 – #12 Chris Schaefer (PM) pin #9 David Balentine (M), 1:26 (PM, 6-0)
Hwt – #1 Chico Adams (PM) dec. #2 Randy Morin (M), 6-1 (PM, 9-0)
#3 Perry Meridian 48, #7 Bellmont 26
The Falcons reeled off an amazing seven straight wins that resulted in six points each to erase any doubt about the outcome against the tournament host.
Adams got the run started by pinning No. 6 Clint Wurm in 4:21 before Michael Clem got a forfeit at 103. Then the sublime occurred as Schoettle, Tonte, 125-pound Chris Goodwin, and Vest posted first-period pins – and fast ones at that. Like 15 seconds, 18 seconds, 55 seconds, and 47 seconds fast.
When No. 5 Jacob Tasseff took a relatively pedestrian 5:08 to pin Ryley Hankenson at 135, the outcome was assured.
There was more drama, unfortunately.
With Bellmont’s No. 9 Doug Linthicum holding a 10-4 lead with just a few seconds left in the next match at 140 over No. 11 John Leonard, Leonard suddenly let fly with a huge elbow to the face. The Braves were awarded six points for a victory by injury default after Perry coach Jim Tonte removed Leonard from the match, and Leonard was awarded a trip to the back room for an earful from coach Tonte.
It was the start of a regrettable portion of the day for Leonard, who would learn all about karma shortly thereafter when Mishawaka’s top-ranked Steve Sandefer stuck him in 25 seconds for one of Mishawaka’s few bright spots in the day’s biggest match.
The individual results:
103 – Michael Clem (PM) won by forfeit
112 – #2 Jimmy Schoettle (PM) pin Will Busse (B), 0:15
119 – #5 Jacob Tonte (PM) pin Carlin Hormann (B), 0:18
125 – Chris Goodwin (PM) pin Taylen Reidenbach (B), 0:55
130 – #3 Brian Vest (PM) pin Sam Meyer (B), 0:47
135 – #5 Jacob Tasseff (PM) pin Ryley Hankenson (B), 5:08
140 – #9 Doug Linthicum (B) won by injury default over #11 John Leonard (PM)
145 – #2 Tyler Baker (B) dec. Blake Wood (PM), 5-3
152 – #13 Chris Stepp (PM) pin Trent Busse (B), 2:30
160 – #6 Ryan Baker (B) pin Corey Hudgins (PM), 1:44
171 – #4 Ben Bultemeier (B) dec. Mike Hughey (PM), 5-0
189 – #7 Billy Baker (B) technical fall Nick Barnes (PM), 24-9
215 – #15 Scott Gaskill (B) dec. #12 Chris Schaefer (PM), 3-1 (OT)
Hwt – #1 Chico Adams (PM) pin #6 Clint Wurm (B), 4:21
#1 Mishawaka 33, #7 Bellmont 19
Mishawaka’s state-ranked lower weights – plus the red-hot Reinoehl, who continued his stretch of knocking off highly ranked opponents with a 3-0 decision over sore-shouldered No. 7 (at 125) Will Sheets – dominated the host Braves as six of the Cavemen’s eight victories came right in a row at the smallest classes.
Four matches stood out in this one, with three going in Bellmont’s favor as 1) Linthicum scored a 5-3 upset of the No. 1 Sandefer at 140, 2) No. 4 Ben Bultemeier outlasted No. 5 Caleb Norville 8-6 in overtime at 171, and 3) No. 15 Scott Gaskill upset the No. 9 Balentine 3-2 at 215.
Mishawaka’s No. 2 Morin, meanwhile, scored the only point in his heavyweight slugfest with No. 6 Clint Wurm before the littler Cavemen became the reason for the team win.
“Mainly we are just going to focus on improving conditioning and sportsmanship,†Snyder said.
The individual results:
103 – #6 Paul Beck (M) won by forfeit
112 – #17 Matt Guerra (M) pin Will Busse (B), 1:43
119 – #9 Adam Guerra (M) dec. Carlin Hormann (B), 1-0
125 – #1 Josh Harper (M) pin Taylen Reidenbach (B), 0:27
130 – Trent Reinoehl (M) dec. #7 (at 125) Will Sheets (B), 3-0
135 – #17 Joey Smith (M) dec. Ryley Hankenson (B), 6-0
140 – #9 Doug Linthicum (B) dec. #1 Steven Sandefer (M), 5-3
145 – #2 Tyler Baker (B) dec. ?? (M), 7-4
152 – #5 Brandon Mersich (M) dec. Trent Busse (B), 6-0
160 – #6 Ryan Baker (B) dec. Tim Forte (M), 6-3
171 – #4 Ben Bultemeier (B) dec. #5 Caleb Norville (M), 8-6 (OT)
189 – #7 Billy Baker (B) major dec. ?? (M), 15-5
215 – #15 Scott Gaskill (B) dec. #9 David Balentine (M), 3-2
Hwt – #2 Randy Morin (M) dec. #6 Clint Wurm (B), 1-0
The final team results:
Perry Meridian (5-0)
#3 Perry Meridian 58, Penn 9
#3 Perry Meridian 52, Whitko 12
#3 Perry Meridian 48, #7 Bellmont 26
#3 Perry Meridian 30, #1 Mishawaka 24
#3 Perry Meridian 69, Bluffton 11
Mishawaka (4-1)
#1 Mishawaka over Whitko
#1 Mishawaka 33, #7 Bellmont 19
#1 Mishawaka over #20 Bloomington South
#1 Mishawaka 45, Evansville Memorial 15
Bellmont (3-2)
#7 Bellmont 52, Bluffton 6
#7 Bellmont 41, Evansville Memorial 22
#7 Bellmont 52, #20 Bloomington South 22
Evansville Memorial (3-2)
Evansville Memorial 35, #20 Bloomington South 28
Evansville Memorial 49, Bluffton 21
Evansville Memorial 45, Penn 14
Complete results for No. 20 Bloomington South, Penn, Bluffton, and Whitko were unavailable.
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