Spencerville’s Maddox Jurek (Top) pins his opponent, Madeira’s Ruchan Kocaoglu (Bottom) on Saturday at Lima Central Catholic’s Thunderbird Invitational.
LIMA – Like most wrestling coaches, longtime Allen East coach Mike Abbey wants to get a perspective on how his team has progressed before the postseason tournament begins.
For years, the very competitive Thunderbird Invitational at Lima Central Catholic has been a good gauge for many Division III wrestling programs.
On Saturday – the second and final day of the Thunderbird Invitational –Allen East recorded the best area performance as the Mustangs placed sixth (115.5 points) out of 36 teams.
Delta won the team title with 247.5 points. Waynedale (227), Miami East (161.5), Legacy Christian Academy (120.5), and Covington (116.5) rounded out the top five squads.
“We knew it was going to be a tough tournament coming in. That’s why we come here,” Abbey said. “We got it put to us a little bit today, but that’s fine. It’s just the end of January. We have another month until we see a lot of these teams again (in the postseason tournament). So, it’s always a great barometer. We go to Defiance (Tri-State Border War) at the end of December, and that’s a great tournament. Then, we come here at the end of January to see where we’re at.
“We lost some matches (this weekend), but we wrestled back pretty well. We have to keep working at it. We’ll get back in the (practice) room. In another month we’ll have sectionals, and we’ll see how things go that week.”
Allen East did not have anyone wrestle for a title on Saturday. However, the Mustangs wrestled back in the consolations and managed to score enough points to garner a sixth-place finish.
Leading the way for Allen East on Saturday was freshman Jordan Neal, who placed third in the 144-pound weight class.
Neal (30-2) bounced back from a hard-fought 5-3 quarterfinal loss to Miami East’s Layton Hughes and then defeated Hughes in the third-place match in sudden victory, 7-2.
“I lost to him in my quarterfinal match, 5-3,” Neal said. “Then, I wrestled him again (in the third-place bout). The main reason I lost the first time we wrestled is because I didn’t attack at all in the first period. I took probably four or five more shots (in the third-place match) than I did in the first match. … That’s why I won.”
Neal said the quarterfinal loss really got to him.
“I’ve been mad about that (loss to Hughes) all day. I didn’t want to talk to anybody. Right after that match, my coach said, ‘You’ll get another match with him (Hughes)’. We saw him in the third-place match, and I beat him there,” Neal said with a grin.
Trenton Gatchell (26-6) placed fourth at 157 for Allen East on Saturday. Gatchell lost a tough match to Lakota’s Grant Bomer in his third-place bout, 6-4.
Last season, Gatchell qualified for the Division III state tournament at 165, where he went 1-2.
Allen East’s Brogan Paxson (33-4) suffered a hard-fought 3-1 decision to Madeira’s Maxwell James in the 215-pound third-place match.
St. John’s wrestlers compete for titles
Delphos St. John’s sophomores Edward Kessen (138) and Riley Mueller (150) each placed second in their respective weight classes on Saturday.
In the championship match at 138, Kessen (29-4) lost to Norwood’s Wyatt Hinton, 3-1.
Last season, Kessen placed third at the Thunderbird Invitational. He went on and qualified for the Division III state tournament at 132, where he went 0-2.
Before Kessen made it to Saturday’s finals, he recorded a hard-fought 3-2 victory in his semifinal match against Covington’s Chase Vanderhorst.
“I wrestled him (Vanderhorst) two weeks before that (Saturday’s semifinal), and I dislocated his shoulder. So, he was back and ready. I was able to pull through,” Kessen said.
Kessen set high goals for this season.
“I want to go back (to the state tournament) and hopefully place,” Kessen said.
Mueller (10-5) was pinned by Legacy Christian Academy’s Brayden Brown in his title match at 150.
Mueller is coming back from an early-season injury.
“I’ve been working really hard. I’ve been out for a while with a concussion. This is my first tournament back in like a month,” Mueller said.
Mueller went 0-2 at last year’s Thunderbird Invitational.
Spencerville’s Jurek finishes second
In his championship match at 190, Spencerville senior Maddox Jurek (27-4) lost to Delta’s Connor Sintobin,11-5. Sintobin is the fourth-ranked Division III wrestler in the 190-pound weight class.
“I have not faced that kid before,” Jurek said about Sintobin. “He was a really good opponent. He is highly ranked in the state for a reason. He has great defense. He has a great high cross. He did some work on me. I just need to go home and get better.”
Overall, Jurek was pleased with how he performed this weekend.
“I did a lot better than last year. So, that was good overall,” Jurek said. “Last year, I barely made it onto the (awards) podium. This year I got second. I got to face the Delta kid in the championship. I wished I would have gotten first, but I think I did pretty good overall.”
Last season, Jurek qualified for the Division III state tournament at 190, where he went 0-2.
This season, Jurek wants to take it to the next level.
“I would like to make the podium (top eight placers) at state. That’s my end goal. I would like to get up there and show them that a kid from a small town can make it up there,” Jurek said with a grin.
Also at 190, Bluffton’s Kyle Basil placed fourth.
In his third-place match, Basil (21-7) was pinned by Norwood’s Devin Isaac midway through the first period.
Coldwater’s Milligan places fourth
Coldwater’s Troy Milligan finished fourth at 285 on Saturday.
In the third-place match, Delta’s Brady Smith pinned Milligan (18-8) late in the first period.
TEAM SCORES: 1. Delta 247.5, 2. Waynedale 227, 3. Miami East 161.5, 4. Legacy Christian Academy 120.5, 5. Covington 116.5, 6. Allen East 115.5, 7. Madeira 111. 8. Swanton 105.5, 9. Lakota (Kansas) 104.5, 10. Preble Shawnee 92.5, 11. Woodmore 90.5, 12. Columbus Grove 89, 12. Ashland Crestview 89, 14. Bluffton 86, 15. Norwood 80, 16. Convoy Crestview 74, 17. Wayne Trace 67, 18. Delphos St. John’s 66.5, 19. Coldwater 64.5, 20. Greeneview 59.5, 21. Otsego 59, 22. Triad 57.5, 23. Spencerville 56, 24. Northridge (Dayton) 49, 24. Van Buren 49, 26. West Liberty Salem 43, 27. McComb 41.5, 28. Hicksville 29, 29. Newark Catholic 28, 30. Northwestern 27, 31. Lincolnview 23. 32. Ottawa-
Glandorf 14, 33. Lima Central Catholic 11, 33. Troy Christian 11, 35. Cory-Rawson 10, 36. Cincinnati Country Day 0
PLACES (TOP FOUR IN EACH WEIGHT CLASS)
106
First: Brock Beckler (Waynedale)
Second: Thomas Hernandex (Delta)
Third: Blake Opichka (Madeira)
Fourth: Wyatt Thieroff (Woodmore)
113
First: Adam Mattin (Delta)
Second: Stephen Patterson (Waynedale)
Third: Carson Taylor (Covington)
Fourth: Braden Lewis (Miami East)
120
First: Spencer Shore (Miami East)
Second: Isaak Skelly (Waynedale)
Third: Corbin Kimmel (Wayne Trace)
Fourth: Mason Kelsch (Norwood)
126
First: Nathan Attisano (Legacy Christian)
Second: Trevor Wilcox (Otsego)
Third: Jericho Quinter (Covington)
Fourth: Riley Greathouse (Waynedale)
132
First: Dillon Campbell (Legacy Christian)
Second: Brian Luft (Newark Catholic)
Third: Lane Thacker (Lakota)
Fourth: Michael Hagan (Covington)
138
First: Wyatt Hinton (Norwood)
Second: Edward Kessen (Delphos St. John’s)
Third: Caden Schmeltzer (Waynedale)
Fourth: Chase Vanderhorst (Covington)
144
First: Landon Lintermoot (Delta)
Second: Caleb Ryman (Covington)
Third: Jordan Neal (Allen East)
Fourth: Layton Hughes (Miami East)
150
First: Brayden Brown (Legacy Christian)
Second: Riley Mueller (Delphos St. John’s)
Third: KJ Gustin (Miami East)
Fourth: Brant Deal (Woodmore)
157
First: Robert McCrork (Waynedale)
Second: Lane Lopez (Delta)
Third: Grant Bomer (Lakota)
Fourth: Trenton Gatchell (Allen East)
165
First: Braxton Quaintance (Lakota)
Second: Hunter Randall (Miami East)
Third: Tyler Allison (Northridge)
Fourth: Collin Wagner (Van Buren)
175
First: Riley Stevenson (Preble Shawnee)
Second: Awsom Mitchell (Triad)
Third: Jack Caldwell (Woodmore)
Fourth: Gabe Garlick (Lakota)
190
First: Connor Sintobin (Delta)
Second: Maddox Jurek (Spencerville)
Third: Devin Isaac (Norwood)
Fourth: Kyle Basil (Bluffton)
215
First: Drake Bennett (Miami East)
Second: Cass Chiesa (Delta)
Third: Maxwell James (Madeira)
Fourth: Brogan Paxson (Allen East)
285
First: Caleb Cunningham (Ashland Crestview)
Second: Evan Smigelski (Swanton)
Third: Brady Smith (Delta)
Fourth: Troy Milligan (Coldwater)
