Northridge coaches look on as Tristin Ponsler celebrates his 126-pond conference title after defeating Ridge’s Mason Cross. (Photos Nick Goralczyk)

GOSHEN – After finishing the regular season at the bottom of the Northern Lakes Conference, expectations were limited for the Wawasee wrestling team heading into Saturday’s NLC Championships. The Warriors finished seventh in the tournament with 72.5 points, narrowly getting by Concord which had 69 points.

Wawasee had a wrestler finish fifth or better in five of the 14 weight classes but only one Warrior made it through the gauntlet that is the NLC and was crowned as a conference champion.

Tristin Ponsler had a tough road in the 126-pound bracket, but the junior handled it with poise and controlled emotion on his way to the conference title.

“He’s been really focused all year,” Wawasee head coach Paul Meyer said of Ponsler. “He’s been driven, he wants to be there, he wants to drive and he wants to get better for himself. What he did today, he earned. He’s a great guy, a great young man. He’s really matured since his freshman year and this is a big monkey off of his back going into the sectional.”

The semi-final match was where Ponsler showed that he was ready to win an NLC title. Plymouth’s Cody Allmon was seeded lower than he would normally have been since he changed weight classes during the season, creating a marquee matchup in the semi-final. However, Ponsler did not flinch and claimed a 13-3 major decision over the Plymouth junior.

Stephen Possell claimed fifth place for Wawasee at 170.

Allmon was the true cross to bear for Ponsler in the bracket, which made his championship tilt against Northridge’s Mason Cross easier than expected. Ponsler pinned Cross to clinch the title and finally let all of his emotion out. After the win he was seen hugging every coach, teammate and family member in sight.

“I deserved this,” said an ecstatic, proud and relieved Ponsler. “After ending last season with an injury, I’ve worked so hard to get here and the hard work finally paid off. It feels good to be on top for the first time.”

Ponsler was one of two Warriors to be seeded first coming into the day. The other was Stephen Possell and unfortunately he did not find the same success that Ponsler did.

Possell recieved a forfeit to start his day but then lost consecutively to Scott Kern (NorthWood) and Brody Miller (Northridge). Possell snapped his losing skid with a win by fall against Goshen’s Eric Smith in the fifth place match for 170.

Freshman Ricardo Romo finished fifth for Wawasee at 106.

Senior Zach Ford went 2-2 in the 160-pound bracket for Wawasee. Ford recived a forfeit and defeated Conner Graber (Northridge) before falling to Phillip Mathiak in the third place match.

Ricardo Romo (106-pound) and Ronny Shortt (138-pound) both finished fifth in their respective brackets.

“Overall we had a lot of guys improve today,” Meyer stated. “We saw some stuff we like today. This team is still learning and growing and we saw a lot of improvement today. We have some things holding us back still. Things like injuries, grades and external factors. All stuff we have to figure out. But, overall, we liked the improvement we saw from our guys today.”

Elkhart Memorial won the conference for the 13th time in the past 14 years. Ponsler was named all-NLC by winning his weight class.

Wawasee will compete in the Plymouth Sectional next Saturday.

Tristin Ponsler embraces his mother, Des, after winning the 126-pound title.