MOORESVILLE — Two Ben Davis wrestlers took home individual titles and a third advanced as the Giants finished fifth as a team in the Mooresville regional Saturday.
Ben Davis senior Levi Moss continued his unbeaten campaign as he prevailed in the 132-pound division. Meanwhile, sophomore Norman Oglesby proved to be “King of the Mat” amongst the 285-pound competitors.
Ben Davis coach Aaron Moss said those two wins were a big step forward for the program.
“We did all right today,” Moss said. “We have not had two individual champions for a while, and that was big for us. Fifth place was not bad, but we would have liked to have finished a little better.”
Levi Moss captured his title by pinning Plainfield’s Corin McKee in the first round, topping Center Grove’s Nathan Carmichael in a 13-3 major decision, and beating Skyler Lykins of Franklin 11-4 in the championship match.
Lykins was a familiar foe, but Moss’ superiority on takedowns gave him the edge.
“We drill a lot on our feet,” Moss said. “The coaches press on us to drill, just like we’re in a match and that has really helped. I had never been undefeated coming into regional before, and I think that gave me a mental edge too.”
Oglesby made short work of first round opponent Justin Massie of Plainfield, and made the finals after beating Mike Williams of Danville by a 10-3 decision. Oglesby finished out the championship matches by pinning Center Grove senior Drew Ponder in 1:04 of the first period.
“I kept my faith, and it got me through this match,” Oglesby said. “(This win) felt great.”
Ben Davis also got one more wrestler through to semistate when Cesar Guttierrez claimed the third-place ribbon at 195 pounds.
Guttierrez won his opening match 2-1 over Jacob Brownfield of Franklin, but lost 9-2 to eventual champion Rudy Harris of South Putnam in the semifinals. But he came back later to beat Randy Scott of Monrovia by pin for third place.
Placing, but not advancing for Ben Davis, were Daniel McCarty (106), Dylan Lydy (145), and Gage Norris (152). All lost their opening matches, but each had at least one win during consolations.
McCarty lost to Cesar Gonzales of Center Grove 6-4, but claimed fifth by pinning Riley Cook of Greencastle and Bailey Chatterton of Avon during consolations. Lydy beat Riley Boswell of Greencastle before losing an overtime match to Matt Wyrick of Franklin to place sixth. Norris decisioned Casey Fox of Cascade on the way to his sixth-place finish.
Also participating for Ben Davis at the regional were Jacob Wynkoop (113), Jaylen Roth (126), Marcus Meridy (170), and Dakota Williams (220), all of whom were eliminated in the opening rounds.
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