Senior staff writer
Perry Meridian captured its 17th consecutive wrestling sectional championship Saturday at Southport, and Center Grove’s depth enabled the Trojans to edge Franklin for the Mooresville title.
The Falcons claimed 11 individual championships behind Sammy Fair, 106 pounds, 27-4; Sunny Nier, 113, 22-4; Jack Servies, 126, 23-7; D.J. Brookbank, 132, 27-6; Logan Hurley, 138, 24-7; Kain Rust, 145, 26-7; Brett Johnson, 152, 29-2; Noah Warren, 160, 30-1; Christian Warren, 170, 27-6; Rodrigo Diaz, 182, 16-8; Chris Ridle, 285, 24-7.
Under first-year coach Matt Schoettle, the No. 15 Falcons sent 13 wrestlers into championship matches, winning the team title with 324.5 points. Southport was third with 171 points.
Southport’s Robert Clark (39-3) defeated Perry Meridian’s Rilee Miller 8-4 to win the 195-pound class.
Center Grove won four individual titles and placed five more wrestlers among the top four to defeat Franklin 197.5-162.5 for the title. The Trojans’ champions were David Roth, 132, 18-7; Anthony Williams, 138, 23-5; Logan Coyle, 145, 34-4; and Jonah Hays, 170, 33-5.
At Shelbyville, Franklin Central’s Jordan Vaughn (40-2) won the 145-pound class as the Flashes finished fifth; Roncalli was fourth. No. 1 Warren Central, coached by former Perry Meridian mentor Jim Tonte, won 12 individual championships.
Fifty-three Southside wrestlers will compete in regionals at 9 a.m. Saturday. Qualifiers from Shelbyville and Southport are at the Perry Meridian Regional, while qualifiers from Mooresville return to the Pioneer mats. Admission is $7.
Additional Southside qualifiers (second- through fourth-place finishers) from all sectionals:
Beech Grove – 120 pounds, Ethan Smiley; 126, Bailey Moore; 160, Nate Sanchez; 220, Isaiah Greene.
Center Grove – 113, Peyton Pruett; 120, Zak Siddiqui; 126, Robert Skirvin; 160, Gleason Mappes; 220, Cory Heinrichs; 285, Derek Lewis.
Franklin Central – 106, Josh Vaughn; 113, Chase Peavler; 138, Zach Warden; 182, Josh Torres; 220, John Owensby.
Greenwood – 106, Keeghan Overton; 132, Jacob Schrader; 182, A.J. Montgomery; 195, Nick Ballard.
Manual – 145, Jeremy Graham.
Perry Meridian – 120, David Clayton; 195, Rilee Miller; 220, Matt McCloskey.
Roncalli – 138, Nick Ellis; 145, Patrick Waugh; 152, Sam Hansen; 160, Michael Armbruster; 182, Quinn Cecil; 195, Tyler Smith; 285, Jordan Sinkhorn.
Southport – 106, Tiger Nguyen; 132, Josiah Coffenberry; 152, Brett Wright; 160, Chad Rothwell; 170, Dennis Serrano; 220, Steven Moore.