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| Wrestling team fourth in Region 8 Tournament |
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2/16/2018
By Dan Manley
Advocate Sports Editor
The end result wasn’t quite what Coach Phil Dettwiller had hoped for.
Montgomery County qualified four wrestlers for the Kentucky State High School Athletic Association’s Wrestling Championships that will take place this weekend at the Alltech Arena at the Kentucky Horse Park.
Dettwiller thought that the team might land six in the mix and there are four other MCHS wrestlers who are alternates in case some of the other wrestlers across the state can’t compete this weekend for whatever reason.
The Indians finished fourth in the team competition Saturday in the Region 8 championships at Harrison County High School.
Johnson Central won yet another regional title. The Paintsville school has dominated Region 8 over the years and they were on top once again, winning by a large margin.
Harrison County came in second and Sheldon Clark was third followed by Montgomery County.
Montgomery County did not have entries in the 106, 113 and 120 weight classes where Johnson Central scored 58 points. They were the only team with an entry in every weight category.
The Indians also suffered with some difficult position in the brackets.
For instance, Montgomery County eighth grader William Belcher did not score in the regional but he was paired against Rowdy Kinser of Sheldon Clark in his opening match.
The Indians were limited in their matches going into the regional because of the weather. Belcher had been in seven matches entering the region and Kinser had a record of 36-13.
He then lost to Nathaniel West of Belfry in the consolation bracket. West entered the regional with a 20-13 record.
Still, the chance to participate in the regional against that type of competition should serve Belcher well in future years.
Montgomery County had eight underclassmen among the 11 wrestlers who competed in the region.
Junior Andrew Rutledge made the best run for the Tribe, finishing second in the 126 pound weight class.
Rutledge, with a 17-6 season record, got a bye in the first round and then defeated Elijah Fields of Belfry, who entered with a 21-10 mark for the season by pinning him.
Then Rutledge pinned Jayden Webb of Johnson Central (33-18) to reach the championship match where he lost to Bourbon County’s Sheridan Willoughby.
Seniors Shea Willoughby and William Johnson took third in their respective weight classes to earn a state tournament berth.
Sophomore Tatum Campbell qualified for the state meet with a fourth place finish.
Junior Ben McDonald had a busy day and came in sixth to qualify as an alternate in the 138 pound division.
McDonald topped Timmy King of Bourbon County in the opening round and then lost to Kolby Sparks of Sheldon Clark by a major decision in the quarterfinals.
That pushed McDonald into consolation bracket where he scored back-to-back wins over Devin Bartley of Pikeville an Hunter Chaney of Perry County Central before losing in the semifinals to Gage Hignite of Ashland Paul Blazer.
Having already wrestled in five matches and already lost by major decision to Kolby Sparks who would be his opponent, McDonald did not compete in the fifth place match.
With only the top four wrestlers in each weight class qualifying for the state, McDonald was assured of an alternate position should there be wrestlers who do not compete.
Dettwiller said he was hopeful the Indians would have more wrestlers next season and that they could fill out an entire team to try and compete for a regional championship.
“I’m glad that we continue to be competitive and continue to get some of our young men in the state competition,” he said. “Hopefully in the next couple of years we can move to that next level.”
Team Results
Johnson Central 270.0
Harrison County 190.5
Sheldon Clark 154.5
Montgomery County 115.5
Ashland Blazer 108.0
Pikeville 96.5
Pike County Central 89.0
Bourbon County 76.0
Letcher Co. Central 76.0
Perry Co. Central 76.0
Belfry 61.0
Prestonsburg 19.0
Boyd County 11.0
Phelps 3.0
East Ridge 0.0
Harlan County 0.0
Jenkins 0.0
Lawrence County 0.0
Individual Results
126 pound division
Andrew Rutledge
First round bye
QF — won by fall over Elijah Fields of Belfry
SF — won by a fall over Jayden Webb of Johnson Central
Finals — Lost to Sheridan Willoughby of Bourbon County.
132 pound division
Shea Willoughby
First round bye
QF — won by a technical fall over Carter Akers of Prestonsburg
SF — lost to Daylon Stafford of Sheldon Clark in a major decision
Consolation SF — won by a decision over Elijah Conley of Johnson Central
Third place match — won by a major decision over Eric Green of Pikesville
138 pound division
Ben McDonald
Opening round — won by fall over Timmy King of Bourbon County
QF — lost to Kolby Sparks of Sheldon Clark by a major decision
Consolation Round Two — won by fall over Hunter Chaney of Perry County Central
Consolation Round Three — won by fall over Devin Bartley of Pikeville
Consolation SF — lost to Gage Hignite of Ashland Paul Blazer by fall
5th Place Match — forfeited to Kolby Sparks of Sheldon Clark
145 pound division
Dillon Wray
Opening round bye
QF — lost to Nathan Begley of Johnson Central by fall
Consolation Round 1 — received a by
Consolation SF — lost to Dylan Lewis of Harrison County by fall
5th Place Match — won by fall over Wesley Stanley of Belfry
152 pound division
William Johnson
Opening round bye
QF — lost to Blake Gamble of Johnson Central by fall
Consolation Round 2 — won over Cameron Webb of Boyd County by fall
Consolation Round 3 — lost to Drake Munch of Sheldon Clark by fall
160 pound division
Tatum Campbell
Opening round bye
QF — won by fall over Brad Lowe o
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