By Mitchell Stinson
courierpress.com
Holding off a hard-charging team of Kentuckians Dec. 30, second-ranked Evansville Mater Dei won its Holiday Wrestling Classic. This one came with plenty of drama, as Louisville Trinity made a title bid before falling 12 points short.
Taking four individual crowns, Mater Dei clinched the title with a total of 201 points.
“A lot of good teams came here, and we didn't know what to expect from everyone,” said Mater Dei coach Greg Schaefer. “All in all, I'm happy with the way they battled through – but we're not where we want to be.
“It's a good win for us but we've got to strive to continue to get better.”
In a nip-and-tuck battle with the boys from the Bluegrass state, no match was more important than the Mater Dei-Louisville Trinity title tilt at 145 pounds. After some early momentum shifts, Zeke Zenthoefer took control of that one and delivered a 9-3 Wildcats victory.
“Zeke's win over Trinity was obviously big because that's a 12-point swing,” Schaefer said.
Also taking individual titles for Mater Dei were Zach Henderson at 125 pounds, John Sims at 140, and John Kercher at 215. Each grappler won by one point in his respective championship match.
The Shamrocks didn't seem overly disappointed by the close-but-no-cigar outcome. With three individual crowns and Brad Hitchings' Outstanding Wrestler award, there were plenty of bright spots to savor. The program had never finished higher than sixth in any previous Mater Dei Classic.
This time around, team Trinity believed it had a chance to go all the way.
“We've got a strong group of kids this year,” said Trinity coach Richard Brown. “But we just (recently) got our football players out after winning a state title.”
Brown's bunch was also hindered by the absence of a wrestler who failed to make weight. So if everything goes to plan, Trinity should only get better as the season progresses. That's what Mater Dei is shooting for, too.
Rounding out the tournament's Top 10 were No. 19 Franklin (170), Union County (142), Avon (134), Evansville Memorial (123), Louisville St. Xavier (100.50), Floyd Central (88.50), Tell City (88), and North Posey (80).
Avon produced three individual champions, Union County had two, and Memorial's Dan Borkowski took the heavyweight title.
Team scores
1. #2 Evansville Mater Dei 201
2. Trinity (KY) 189
3. #19 Franklin 170
4. Union County (KY) 142
5. Avon 134
6. Evansville Memorial 123
7. St. Xavier (KY) 100.5
8. Floyd Central 88.5
9. Tell City 88
10. North Posey 80
11. Providence 68
12. New Albany 51
12. Sullivan 51
14. Mount Carmel (IL) 36
15. Vincennes Lincoln 35
Results from the championship round as well as third-place matches (courtesy indianamat.com):
103
Championship: John Fahy (Trinity) pin Dusty Kief (Franklin) 3:43
Third place: Neal Reburn (Union County) dec. Jake Lannert (Mater Dei) 7-3
112
Championship: #16 Blaine Hall (Avon) dec. Lennie May (Mater Dei) 8-2
Third place: Cameron Williams (Franklin) dec. James Severs (St. Xavier) 9-3
119
Championship: Myron Bradbury (Trinity) dec. Tim Martin (New Albany) 7-2
Third place: Quinn Schroeder (Mater Dei) dec. Keaton Thomas (Union County) 5-4 (OT)
125
Championship: Zach Henderson (Mater Dei) dec. #9 Cole Van Horn (Franklin) 3-2
Third place: Sean Gillespie (Trinity) dec. Reed Emerson (Floyd Central) 4-3
130
Championship: Aaron Carr (Union County) major dec. Omar Salguero (Providence) 9-1
Third place: Travis Girten (North Posey) pin Aaron Witt (Floyd Central) 3:30
135
Championship: Caleb Ervin (Union County) dec. Zach DeHaven (Memorial) 11-5
Third place: Nick Smith (Franklin) dec. #12 Matt Rassbach (Avon) 9-2
140
Championship: #6 John Sims (Mater Dei) dec. Luke Ervin (Union County) 5-4
Third place: John Lampe (St. Xavier) dec. Casey McDaniel (North Posey) 6-0
145
Championship: #9 Zeke Zenthoefer (Mater Dei) dec. Grant Ohlmann (Trinity) 9-3
Third place: Isaac Thomas (Union County) dec. Ben Moberly (Floyd Central) 8-4
152
Championship: Holden Fudurich (Sullivan) dec. #15 Isaiah Alfs (Avon) 9-3
Third place: Erin McCauley (Trinity) pin Nolan King (Mater Dei) 2:22
160
Championship: #6 Dalton Jones (Avon) dec. Ross Robinson (St. Xavier) 5-1
Third place: Justin Kleeman (Tell City) dec. Cory Little (North Posey) 2-1
171
Championship: Brad Hitchings (Trinity) dec. #3 Tanner Wedding (Memorial) 10-4
Third place: #10 John McAndrew (Floyd Central) dec. Cole Brandt (Avon) 7-2
189
Championship: #5 Andrew Leach (Avon) dec. #4 Ethan Cook (Providence) 5-2
Third place: #13 Tanner McGowan (Vincennes Lincoln) dec. Patrick Price (North Posey) 3-0
215
Championship: John Kercher (Mater Dei) dec. Dylan Froehlich (Tell City) 6-5
Third place: Spencer Brooks (Sullivan) dec. Jordan Adams (Memorial) 5-3
Heavyweight
Championship: Dan Borkowski (Memorial) dec. Tanner Crum (Mount Carmel) 3-2
Third place: Jordan Whiting (Trinity) dec. Dillon Johnson (Franklin) 5-3