AVON — With their collective wrestling lives on the line, seven Hendricks County grapplers competed last night in the opening round of the state finals at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
Some dreams made it through to today where they have an opportunity to become a state champion.
Unfortunately, others did not.
With the one-and-done scenario to narrow the top 16 wrestlers in the state at each weight class to an eight-man field, some dreams fell short.
Of the seven grapplers, three county wrestlers advanced into a position as a state medalist.
Defending state champion Neal Molloy (132) took a 4-1 lead into the second period of his opening match before winning convincingly by pinning Penn’s Chase Osborn.
“I wrestled a little shaky in the first period, but I felt pretty good,” Molloy said. “There is stiff competition out here and when you stay on top of people it feels pretty good.”
Avon’s Dylan Jones (195) and Brian Snyder (285) each punched their tickets into today’s finals, too.
After a scoreless first period, Jones scored three points in the second and gave up an escape in the third, taking the 3-1 win.
“We were both going at it the entire match and he finally made a mistake that I capitalized on,” Jones said. “I am just going out and wrestling. I really didn’t think I’d make it this far, so from here on it can only get better.”
Snyder’s win was much more dramatic as he went to a sudden-death four-overtime match with South Bend Riley’s Marcus Dozier before pulling out a 9-8 victory. The Orioles’ conditioning and mental toughness seemed to set him apart from his opponent.
“Coach (Israel) Blevins and I go at it everyday and he stresses being in better shape than all the other heavyweights and I feel that is my main advantage going into these matches because I feel I am in better condition than all of these other guys,” Snyder said. “I don’t have that many years of wrestling experience, but I love this sport so much that I want to get better at it. Getting a win like that is good, but not nearly as good as winning a state title and that is what I plan on doing.”
For four other county wrestlers, the dream turned into a nightmare.
Cascade’s Hunter Fox (106) became the third wrestler from the school to make into the state tournament. Cascade’s Nic Denton (08’) and Cyle Hill (10’) preceded Fox.
Fox (40-4) took on Perry Meridian’s Jacob Cottey and the match was squared at 0-0 after the first, but Cottey used a 7-0 second period to take the win, 7-3.
While the loss was certainly discouraging, Fox — a freshman — learned from the experience and looks forward to making it back and going further next season.
“I feel good about making it down here and to accomplish one of my goals,” he said. “Being a freshman I didn’t know what to expect coming down here, but I can take away a lot of experience headed into next year.”
Avon’s Jonah Zorniger (182) endured a scoreless first period before escaping for a 1-0 lead that he kept heading into the third. Twin Lakes’ Christian Winkle hit an ankle pick for a takedown and Zorniger escaped, trailing 2-3. But a desperation throw at the end resulted in an 8-2 loss for the junior.
Danville, like Avon, came into the night with three wrestlers, but advanced only one. Warriors’ coach Steve Pugliese said Jordan Judy (138) and Brayden Montgomery (145) might have had a bit of “nervous energy” that caught up to them in the moment.
In a rematch with Perry Meridian’s Nick Bova, Judy led 2-1 after the first period. However, Bova scored an escape and takedown in the third to lead 4-1 heading into the third. Judy scored an escape to get within one of Bova, but could not climb any closer, falling 4-3.
Montgomery took on a familiar club wrestling opponent in Franklin County’s Nolan Fuller and jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the second period, but the junior gave up a late reversal before the third period. Fuller tied the match with an escape to start the third, then took Montgomery down with just under a minute remaining and rode him out for a 6-4 win.
“I thought I was wrestling pretty well, but my nerves got to me and I felt gassed after the first,” Montgomery said. “I got lazy with my wrestling and he hit me with that double and I have to be mentally tougher so I do not let those.”
Wrestling begins at 9:30 a.m. today with the consolations slated to begin at 5:00 p.m. and the finals set for 7:30 p.m.
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