PREP WRESTLING: Jimtown's Kallimani, Wawasee's Salazar lead area at Al Smith
Dec. 30—Both Wawasee wrestlers who had a chance to win their weight classes lost in the semifinals Friday at the Al Smith Classic Wrestling Invitational, hosted by Mishawaka High School.
Junior Kaleb Salazar lost his 106-pound semifinal match to Fort Wayne Snider's Julianna Ocampo, who went on to be the first female wrestler to win a championship at the Al Smith Classic when she defeated Lake Central's Mason Jones in the finals. Ocampo is now 20-1 on the season.
Salazar won his consolation semifinal match over Columbus East's Talon Jessup before losing in the third-place match to Bloomington South's Cameron Meier. Salazar now has a record of 19-4 after his 4-2 performance over the two-day invite in Mishawaka.
The other Warrior wrestler in the semifinals, junior Donovan Blair at 195 pounds, lost to Mishawaka's Christian Chavez. Blair then lost the consolation semifinal to Crown Point's Anthony White before rebounding to win the fifth-place match over Merrillville's James Veal.
Another fourth-place finisher from The Goshen News area was Jimtown senior Mikey Kallimani in the 132-pound weight class. Kallimani won his first two matches Friday before losing in the third-place match to Merrillville's {span}David Maldonado. With a 5-2 showing over the two days, Kallimani is now 20-2 on the season.
Kaden Lone led NorthWood with a fifth-place showing at 182 pounds. He defeated Portage's Ethan Risner in his first match, lost Zionsville's Luke Penola in the next round before winning the fifth-place match against Warsaw's Jaxson Walters.
For Elkhart, senior Brayden Jellison placed seventh in the 285-pound weight class. He went 1-1 on the day Friday, losing to Indianapolis Cathedral's Hosia Smith before beating Perris Green from Warren Central to take seventh.
Full results from the 43rd Annual Al Smith Classic Wrestling Invitational can be found online at trackwrestling.com. Click on "Browse," followed by "Tournaments." Then, under the "Search Events" tab, search "Al Smith."
Austin Hough can be reached at austin.hough@goshennews.com or at 574-538-2360. Follow him on Twitter at @AustinHoughTGN.
