Winter Sports Preview: Wrestling
BOURBON – Wrestling season is finally back and local teams and athletes are ready to prove themselves on the mat. When looking at success from last season, Triton was certainly one of the top teams in the area.
The Trojans posted 15 dual wins, which tied the school record for wins in a season with the 2000 club. Triton also went 10-1 against Class 1-A clubs, and finished ranked eighth as a team among its competitors, earning itself a spot in this year’s Team State Tournament held at the Fort Wayne Coliseum.
Triton also advanced four wrestlers, Malachi Greene, Gage Waddle, Nate Spangle and Justin Hefner, to semi-state last year, a first for the program. In total, seven Trojans won won at least 19 dual matches.
It certainly is a tough blow to lose guys like Spangle and Hefner to graduation, but Triton head coach Ron Brown knows there is plenty to look forward to this season.
“We will miss the leadership and experience of all our seniors from last year,” Brown remarked. “Out of that group we had one conference champ, two sectional champs and two guys that wrestled at semi-state. That group did a lot for our program, but we have nine returners that played key roles for us last year as well.”
Waddle and Greene are the two most recognizable names on that list, but the roster gets much deeper for Brown and the Trojans.
“Gage Waddle is one of the guys to look out for,” Brown began. “He won a sectional title at 160 last year and made it all the way to semi-state. He will help lead the team this year. Malachi Greene was a sectional champion last year and another semi-state qualifier.
“Nick Harker is the heart of our team. Some injuries at the end of last year hampered his sectional performance, but I feel he is in for a huge year. Bryce Swihart also returns for us this year and he is a kid that should score big points for us at every meet. We also have John and Adonic Salinas back for their final year. Adonic wrestled for a conference championship last year and John was a regional qualifier.
“Along with these Seniors, we have a group of Sophomores in Riley Chickering, Vincent Helton, and Lee Mullett that will make up a trio in our middle weights that is hard to contend with. We have an array of other talented wrestlers that will fill-in our other weight classes throughout our lineup.”
Triton certainly has the horses to make some more noise this season in both the conference and sectional fields. Expect the Trojans to be competing with Winamac and LaVille near the top of the Hoosier North Conference this season.
When looking at goals for the upcoming season, it’s pretty cut and dry for Brown’s team.
“We want to have a great showing at team state, place high in conference, and improve on our performance in sectional from last year,” stated Brown. “Individually, we’d like to send a few wrestlers down to Bankers Life Fieldhouse this year. But, we have to make constant improvements week after week to reach these goals.”
For more information on this year’s Team State, fans can visit the Indiana Mat website.
TEAM CAPSULES
Warsaw Tigers
Key Returners: Kyle Hatch (145 pounds), Brady Stout (160 pounds), Andrew Brock (220 pounds), Anthony Penn (285 pounds)
Key Losses: Rory Nolin (195 pounds), Spencer Gareiss (160 pounds)
Key Newcomers: Alec Haines, Michael Castro, Jose Grimmett
Coach Justin Smith’s comments: “We’re young, we did lost quite a few upperclassmen. We’ve got a lot of freshman in the varsity lineup right now but they’re backed up by a lot of seasoned guys like Kameron Hile, Kyle Hatch, Brady Stout and Andrew Brock. We’re just young, so it’s all about bringing the inexperienced guys up to speed and making sure the veteran guys are going out and getting victories.”
Wawasee Warriors
Key Returners: Ricardo Romo (113 pounds), Tristin Ponsler (132 pounds), Zac McKee (160 pounds), Stephen Possell (182 pounds), Jeremiah Dilley (195 pounds)
Key Losses: Zach Ford (160 pounds)
Key Newcomers: Jeremiah Ponsler, Braxton Alexander, Christian Wood
Coach Frank Bumgardner’s comments: “Improvement and intensity. That’s been the word from day one. We’re going to make it very intense and we’re going to be on a mission. It’s all about trying to change the culture and make it all about success and these guys have done a great job at working towards that.”
Tippecanoe Valley Vikings
Key Returners: Josh Back (195 pounds)
Key Losses: Devin Childers (132 pounds), Wyatt Nelson (138 pounds), Garrett Bell (182 pounds), Cody Runyon
Key Newcomers: Jameson Baker, Isaac Randall, Chevy Teeter
Whitko Wildcats
Key Returners: Jake Rothgeb (126 pounds), Erik Loe (152 pounds), Dillon Alma (160 punds), Walker Hobbs (220 pounds)
Key Losses: Evan Cozad (145 pounds), Zach Baughman (195 pounds)
Key Newcomers: N/A