Warsaw Wrestling: Hatch Stays Unbeaten
MISHAWAKA – Kyle Hatch said in the preseason that one of his big goals this season was to become a three-time champion at the prestigious Al Smith Invitational.
The Warsaw wrestling star put himself in position to do just that on Thursday.
Hatch, a two-time State Finalist, posted a perfect 3-0 mark to advance in the championship bracket of the loaded tournament.
The WCHS senior improved his season mark to a perfect 26-0 with a win by a technical fall to start his day in the 32-team field. Hatch then won his final two matches by pins to advance to the medal round Friday.
Hatch will face Logan Coyle of Center Grove in the semifinals Friday. Coyle is 17-0 on the season.
Sophomore Josh Grimmett and senior Christian Taylor each opened with wins Thursday for the Tigers. Grimmett won at 132 and Taylor at 138. The pair were then eliminated later in the day in the consolation bracket.
A pair of Elkhart Memorial wrestlers, Christian Mejia and David Eli, remained undefeated on the season Thursday. Mejia improved to 22-0 at 120 and Eli went to 23-0 at 195 for the Crimson Chargers. The Jimtown duo of Kenny Kerrn (152) and Conner Gimson (132) both improved to 19-0 for the Jimmies.
The tourney resumes Friday with finals set for the afternoon.
AL SMITH WRESTLING INVITATIONAL
At Mishawaka
FIRST-DAY RESULTS
TEAM SCORES: Portage 144 ½, Merrillville 128, Carroll (Fort Wayne) 109, Lowell 101 ½, Chesterton 99 ½, Columbus East 90, Penn 95 ½, Prairie Heights 95 ½, Bellmont 93, Zionsville 93, Jimtown 85 ½, Hobart 85, Center Grove 76, Mishawaka 72, Elkhart Memorial 68 ½, Garrett 65 ½, South Bend Riley 63 ½, Princeton Community 63, Lake Central 62, LaPorte 62, Goshen 61, Lawrence Central 60, NorthWood 59, Lawrence North 57, Bloomington South 56, Elkhart Central 54 ½, Peru 48, Calumet 44, Munster 40, South Bend Adams 38, Warsaw 24 ½, Rochester 15.
FINAL FOUR WRESTLERS
(Per weight class)
SEMI-FINAL MATCHUPS FOR FRIDAY
106: Brayden Shearer (Garrett) 19-2 vs. Shawn Hollis (Lowell) 16-2; Evan Light (Penn) 21-3 vs. Gabe Smith (Lawrence Central) 19-3.
113: Kory Cavanaugh (Penn) 19-2 vs. Andres Moreno (Lowell) 17-1; Brock Peele (Portage) 13-4 vs. Hunter Watts (Jimtown) 18-1.
120: Christian Mejia (Elkhart Memorial) 22-0 vs. Tylor Triana (Hobart) 12-2; Colin Poynter (Portage) 16-2 vs. Cayden Rooks (Columbus East) 21-0.
126: Colton Cummings (Lowell) 3-0 vs. Jon Becker (Bellmont) 16-3; Graham Rooks (Columbus East) 21-0 vs. Michael DeLaPena (Merrillville) 14-1.
132: Jack Tolin (Chesterton) 16-1 vs. Conner Gimson (Jimtown) 19-0; Ahzsur Ursery (Merrillville) 9-2 vs. Dawson Combest (Columbus East) 21-0.
138: Brendan Black (Hobart) 14-0 vs. Trace Manspeaker (Penn) 14-3; Ethan Hicks (Carroll-FW) 27-1 vs. Kris Rumph (Portage) 16-2.
145: Kasper McIntosh (Portage) 17-1 vs. Malik Hoover (Merrillville) 13-3; Joel Arney (Carroll-FW) 27-1 vs. Riley Rasler (Prairie Hts.) 28-0.
152: Kenny Kerrn (Jimtown) 19-0 vs. Kassius Breathitt (Riley) 16-0; Logan Coyle (Center Grove) 17-0 vs. Kyle Hatch (Warsaw) 26-0.
160: Gleason Mappes (Center Grove) 17-1 vs. Austin Wilson (Columbus East) 12-5; Jed Levitz (Prairie Hts.) 27-2 vs. Tony Busse (Bellmont) 17-1.
170: Zack Fattore (Hobart) 14-1 vs. Jonah Hays (Center Grove) 14-3; Thomas Penola (Zionsville) 18-1 vs. Tavonte Malone (Adams) 22-0.
182: Joey Blakely (Prairie Hts.) 28-1 vs. Joey Szydio (Lake Central) 16-3; Austin Faulkner (Mishawaka) 15-2 vs. Lucas Davison (Chesterton) 18-0.
195: David Eli (Elkhart Memorial) 23-0 vs. Aaron Corralez (Merrillville) 12-3; Caleb Hankenson (Bellmont) 19-0 vs. Andrew Davison (Chesterton) 18-0.
220: Eli Pokorney (Chesterton) 18-1 vs. Andrew VanderWoude (Merrillville) 15-1; Tyler McKeever (Carroll-FW) 20-6 vs. Payton Halibig (Princeton) 19-3.
285: Robert Samuels (Lawrence No) 22-2 vs. Jessie Lawson (Carroll-FW) 25-2; Gio Murillo (Portage) 13-5 vs. Brandon Streck (Merrillville) 16-0.