Bellmont dominates Dwenger in home opener
Thursday night was the home opener for Bellmont Wrestling, and the Braves treated their home fans to an impressive display by beating the Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger Saints, 69-6.
Keagan Martin got the crowd revved up early in the first varsity match of the evening.
Facing Nick Pelkington at 215 pounds, Martin took only a few seconds to score the first of his three takedowns in a match that did not make it out of the first period.
With Pelkington on the navy and crimson mat, Martin went for the pin, but he was working against the clock as the period was getting ready to expire. Martin had to gradually get the right shoulder of Pelkington down to the surface. He did so before the clock ran out, scoring the pin at 1:58.
Grady Baker did not have to worry about the clock nearly as much in his 285-pound bout.
After scoring two early takedowns against Landon Sorg, Baker put the match away with a fantastic cradle. The match lasted only 59 seconds, and the result gave Bellmont a commanding 12-0 lead.
The crowd was justifiably energized and so was the Bellmont bench. With each move executed by their teammates, they hopped out of their seats with jubilation. When wins were earned, they celebrated euphorically with the victorious wrestler.
After the win by Baker, the dual shifted to 106 pounds. The outcome, however, did not change.
Ben Mills took control of the match early before putting the contest away with a sequence that was loved by the home
Photos provided by Amber Minnick crowd. With Isaiah Henry of second round. Dwenger nearing the edge of After four consecutive pinfalls, the mat, Mills grabbed his the first match to go right leg and drug him back to through all three periods came the middle. at 120. In spite of the different
After getting Henry in position, manner of victory, the Braves Mills recorded the pin to still put more points on the widen the Bellmont advantage. blue scoreboards that hung
The Braves received their over the corners of the arena. next pinfall in the second period Henry Faurote recorded a of the 113-pound match. 4-2 decision against Simon Ethan Curtis took a commanding Cornewell. Faurote did his 8-3 lead over Noah damage in the first period with Gallagher in the first period. a pair of takedowns.
Curtis scored a reversal Cornewell hung around and early in the second period to pulled back within two. In the effectively put the decision third round, he went in search beyond doubt. The match of a pin, but a determined ended when Curtis pinned effort by Faurote allowed him Gallagher 29 seconds into the to preserve the win.
With his team up 27-0, Will Franze became the next Brave to pin his opponent, doing so against Harrison Schenkel at 126.
After an early stoppage for a cut sustained by Schenkel, Franze put his opponent on his heels by taking a big lead in the first period.
Similar to the match at 285, the home team celebrated a pinfall with seconds left in the opening period. Franze got Schenkel to the mat at 1:57 for the win.
Kevin Loshe added to the team score for the Braves with a win by decision at 132. The match with Xavier Garrett came down to the closing moments, but an escape by Loshe netted him a valuable point to widen his lead to two.
Loshe put the match beyond the reach of Garrett with a takedown before completing a 12-8 win.
The primary bright spot of the evening for the visitors came when Conner Phillips won via pinfall at 138.
That result did little to alter the course of the dual.
Sam Wolpert got Bellmont back on track at 144. He carried a sizable lead into the second period. He won the match when he brilliantly turned a reversal into a pin against Aaron Quinn.
The tightest margin of the night came at 150. Blake Luginbill picked up a 5-4 win over Grant Hilger. The two were deadlocked at 2 at the conclusion of the opening session.
Luginbill scored the first point of the second. Hilger scored a takedown to take the lead, but the Bellmont grappler answered with a reversal to quickly go back ahead.
The Braves returned to what had been their customary method of victory for much of the night with a pin by Gavin Davis at 157. Only 43 seconds had elapsed, when the referee slapped the mat to signal a victory for Davis.
A pin from Duke Myers did not come until 36 seconds into the second period, but Myers controlled the match throughout, giving the feeling that it was only a matter of time before he had his hand raised.
Sure enough, after taking a 13-4 lead early in the second, Myers managed to get Luca Hubley on down for the pin.
That gave Bellmont a 51-6 lead, but they were nowhere near finished.
At 175, Xavior Palacios posted an early takedown to grab the lead against AJ Shefferly. As was the case for most of the evening, a third period was not necessary as Palacios pinned Shefferly in the second to keep Bellmont rolling.
In the final match of the night, Cole Mendez took an early lead before pinning Jonathon Holly exactly a minute into the bout to conclude the Bellmont win.
Thursday was “The Future of Bellmont Wrestling Night”.
Prior to the start of the Varsity matches, young wrestlers who took part in the elementary wrestling program, and are now a part of the Decatur Wrestling Club and Bellmont Middle School Wrestling were recognized and given an ovation by the fans in attendance.
They also were admitted for free, and they had the opportunity to give high fives to the current squad as they made their way into the arena.
Bellmont will look to remain undefeated when they encounter a tough road test on Saturday. The Braves will make the drive down to Muncie for a 6:00 p.m. start versus Delta.
They will face South Adams on Tuesday evening at 6:30 p.m. in Berne. They will compete in the Northeast 8 Duals at New Haven on December 8th and 9th.