IHSAA wrestling: Top regional storylines for Martinsville, Mooresville, Monrovia, DC

MOORESVILLE, Ind. — Martinsville, Mooresville, Monrovia and Decatur Central managed to push wrestlers to the regional round last week, and after yet another successful outing Saturday, the four teams will live to see another week as all are set to send wrestlers to semi-state.

Here were some of the top storylines from Saturday's Mooresville regional.

Martinsville sends four, displays growth

Last season, Martinsville saw five wrestlers enter the regional round, and only one, Brennan Leonard, advanced to semi-state. Leonard, a sophomore, was able to do it once again, but the best part for him and the Artesians is he won't have to travel to Evansville alone this year.

Trevor Hott (138), Noah Sumner (170) and Stevie Drake (195) will be joining him.

By luck of the draw, Hott, who wrestled in the 126-pound class last season, saw his semi-state hopes crushed when he was pit against Brownsburg's Braden Haines (32-6) in the first round. He lost in a close 8-4 decision. Up to the 138-pound class this year, Hott ensured his trip to semi-state with a quick, 1:34 pin over Danville's Bryce Hahn. The senior fell to Avon's Cheaney Schoeff in the semifinals and Brownsburg's Parker Reynolds in the third-place match.

Neither Sumner nor Drake advanced to regionals last season. Each came within a match of locking in a spot. Both won their quarterfinal matchup convincingly, with Sumner notching a pin over Avon's Griffan Larson in 1:42 and Drake a 17-10 decision over South Putnam's Ethan Harcourt. While neither advanced to the championship match, Sumner did place third, defeating North Putnam's Lucas Murphy 9-2.

Leonard topped Tri-West's Brock Wasson in 56 seconds before falling to Brownsburg's Revin Dickman in 27 seconds in the semifinals.

"We didn't get as bad of draws, that's a big part of it," Martinsville coach Briar Runyan said. "We've definitely improved as a whole. Last year we weren't very much like a team. It was a bunch of individuals. They finally came together towards the end of the season and it showed."

Three's the number for Monrovia

It appears Monrovia enjoys sending trios to semi-state. After all, the Bulldogs shipped three to semi-state last season. They've done it again this season. Except, there's one difference.

Both Ash brothers are going.

Gavin Ash saw his season end prematurely last year after being dealt a tough draw, losing to eventual regional champion in Brownsburg's Jake Hockaday in the quarterfinals. His twin brother, Isaac, placed third after topping Cascade's Logan Bickell 7-5. This year, it took the two all but a combined 2:28 to ensure a trip to Evansville.

Gavin pinned Greencastle's Dylan Archer (22-11) in 29 seconds, Isaac followed suit, topping North Putnam's Corie Stancombe (27-7) in 1:59. Interestingly enough, each also faced a Rioux, with Gavin losing to Nathan Rioux in the semifinals, 17-1, and Isaac falling by decision, 5-0, to Luke Rioux in the third-place match. Gavin claimed third with a 16-4 win over Martinsville's Leonard.

Isaac also took Brownsburg's Preston Haines (25-8), last year's regional winner, down to the wire in the semifinals, losing 9-6 in a competitive matchup.

"I was happy about the way Isaac wrestled," Monrovia coach DJ Smith said. "We watched film all week on Preston, we knew he has a tendency to lose pace a little bit later in the match. We knew if we could keep the pace on him that we'd give ourselves an opportunity. We were able to do that, we just gave up a few too many points in the first period."

Joining them is junior Lane Faulkenberg. He fell to Brownsburg's Brady Ison in the regional quarterfinals last year, and a 10-6 win over Ben Davis' Jeremiah Drake earned him a rematch with Ison in the semifinals. Ison got the better of the battle, winning 17-2. Faulkenberg earned fourth place, being defeated by Avon's Seth Syra in the third-place match.

"We got the three out that we thought would get through," Smith said. "Those kids have been wrestling very well all year. We thought Ryder (Goodman) and Drew (Elmore) had an opportunity, but it's a tough regional. To get any through out of this, there's a lot of teams here that didn't get anyone through."

Corbin Scott defeats the odds for Mooresville

Mooresville's Corbin Scott didn't have it easy in his quarterfinal matchup against Ben Davis junior Shaun Raymon. He had to earn it.

The two intertwined in a hard-fought battle that lasted all three periods, resulting in a 6-4 win by Scott. He fell to Cascade's Michael Hutchison in the semifinals and Decatur Central's David Oyebode in the battle for third. However, what's bigger than the results is just how far the junior has come in a single year.

Scott wrestled at 152 pounds last season, going 12-12 in the class. He was defeated in the sectional quarterfinals and the ensuing consolation match. Fast forward one year and Scott's (25-18) making a trip to semi-state while wrestling eight pounds heavier.

There's certainly a lot to smile about as he represents the Pioneers at the Ford Center next week.

Cadwell, Oyebode power Decatur Central

Pairing up at 152 and 160 pounds, Decatur Central's Isaac Cadwell and David Oyebode have been a force this season. Just a week ago, Cadwell cruised to a second-place finish at sectionals. Oyebode was close behind, claiming third with a 9-3 win over Mooresville's Scott.

Oyebode's bouts with Scott didn't end there. Once again, the two met to compete for third place, only this time it was on the grander regional scale, and once again Oyebode got the win, topping Scott 10-5. He accomplished an impressive first-round win over North Putnam's Braden Glaze (28-8), getting the pin in 2:48. Yet another matchup with Center Grove's Andre Merritt in the semifinals saw Merritt win 12-0.

As for Cadwell, an 11-7 win over Brownsburg's Jesse Derringer proved a great start. He followed with a 10-4 losing bout to eventual regional champion in Greencastle's Chase Carrington, followed by a rematch with Center Grove's Silas Stits (the two competed in the sectional championship round), which saw Stits win third place, 5-0.

Looking ahead

The 10 advancers from Martinsville, Monrovia, Mooresville and Decatur Central will travel to Evansville next Saturday to compete at semi-state, starting at 9 a.m. EST.

Contact reporter Devin Voss at dvoss@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @DevinVoss23.

This article originally appeared on The Reporter Times: Martinsville, Mooresville, Monrovia, DC send 10 wrestlers to semi-state.