Rensselaer repeats as regional wrestling champion
LOGANSPORT − Led by four individual champions, Rensselaer's wrestling team repeated as regional champion.
The defending regional champion Bombers outscored second-place Harrison 150.5-109 with McCutcheon finishing third at 97, Lafayette Jeff fourth with 87 and West Central fifth with 64 points Saturday at the Berry Bowl.
Jordan Cree, the state's 13th-ranked heavyweight, capped the meet in fashion with a pin in the 285-pound championship match against Harrison's Bricker Crum.
Mason Stanley, the No. 11 126-pounder in the state, Kolton Ploughe at 120 pounds and Larz Hughes at 152 pounds also won individual championships for the Bombers, who also got runner-up finishes from Caleb Oliver at 132 pounds and Avery Stanley at 145 pounds among nine semistate qualifiers.
Harrison and McCutcheon each had three individual regional champions, while West Central, West Lafayette, Faith Christian and Lafayette Jeff all had one each.
Harrison senior 195-pounder Josh McKelvin avenged a sectional championship loss to McCutcheon's Brock Finney, winning the regional final 4-2 to join teammates Carlos Perez-Xochipa (170) and Ethan Popp (182) as regional champions.
McCutcheon stood atop the podium in the two lowest weight classes with juniors Wyatt Strikler and Aiden Dallinger winning at 106 and 113 pounds, respectively. Classmate Cole Chicoine added a third title for the Mavericks at 220 pounds. Dallinger, the No. 11 113-pounder in Indiana, pinned No. 16 Liam Siburcrist of North White in the final.
West Central's Hayden Fritz claimed the 132-pound title. West Lafayette's Jordan Lear pinned West Central's Drake Fritz in 1:11 in the 138-pound final.
Faith Christian's Eli Blossom followed up being one of Faith Christian's two first individual sectional champions last week by becoming the program's first regional champion with a win at 145 pounds. Lafayette Jeff 160-pound senior Durya' Minor added a regional title to last week's sectional championship.
At the North Montgomery Regional, Rossville freshman Jacob Weaver improved to 41-2 with a 9-0 major decision over Westfield's Jake Saez in the championship match at 132 pounds and Hornets sophomore Noah Weaver won 9-2 over Hamilton Southeastern's Zack Wagner in the 170-pound final, improving to 41-1. Southmont's Wyatt Woodall stayed undefeated by winning with 195-pound bracket with three pins, including over Clinton Central's Cael Albaugh in the final.
Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on Twitter and Instagram @samueltking.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Rensselaer repeats as regional wrestling champion
