PREP WRESTLING: NorthWood downs Concord to open season

Dec. 1—DUNLAP — Both NorthWood and Concord began its respective wrestling seasons Wednesday night at Concord High School looking to build some early momentum within the Northern Lakes Conference.

Concord — coming off a 7-17 (0-7 NLC) season — is rebuilding the program with a number of fresh faces under first-year head coach Anthony Snyder.

NorthWood — who finished 15-7 (3-4 NLC) last season — has a mixture of returning vets and younger wrestlers looking to help the Panthers improve on last year's conference record.

The Panthers would get off to the hot start in the NLC they were looking for following Wednesday's decisive 49-28 victory over Concord at Concord High School.

"It's fun to win," NorthWood head coach Nate Andrews said. "It's really nice to get an early one under your belt, especially in the NLC. We were really up-and-down (Wednesday). We need to be more consistent, but it's our first match, and we have some young kids in the lineup."

Following forfeits in the 106 and 113-pound matches, the match began with three-straight victories for NorthWood to take a decisive 15-0 lead.

Panthers sophomore Calix Trex pinned Concord freshman Joe Borkholder after 1:10 had ticked off the clock in the first period in the 120-pound match

In the 126-pound match, sophomore Will Hahn and Concord freshman Donovan Cunningham went back-and-forth during all three periods before Hahn earned a win via decision.

At 132, junior Lynkyn Ratcliff picked up the quickest pin of the meet, beating Concord sophomore Toby Cocanower just 15 seconds into the match.

At 138, Concord managed to get some team points on the board following a victory by freshman Brycen Brosamer via major decision over NorthWood junior Peyton Ulanowicz, making it 21-4 Panthers.

"He did a great job of battling," said Snyder of Brosamer. "He had a heck of a match against a good kid. No matter what situation he was in, he battled. I'm super proud of that kid."

NorthWood would win the next five matches, though, building a 43-4 advantage at one point.

Junior Payton Grifin pinned Concord senior Crystal Alonzo in 1:25 at 145, sophomore Joey Mitschelen outlasted Concord sophomore Drew Trigg via major decision after three rounds at 152 and freshman Austin King eventually managed to pin Concord sophomore Trent Cripe in the third period at 160.

"I thought Joe Mitschelen really hung in there against a good opponent," Andrews said. "And he'd end up winning going away. That was a really solid win for him. And Austin King at 160 pounds really showed some really nice promise in his win."

Two additional pins ended the 170 and 182-pound matches, with both junior Keith Miller (1:34) and senior Kaden Lone (:46) winning in the first period.

While NorthWood had already secured the meet with just three matches left, Concord made up some points within the heavier weight classes down the stretch.

The Minutemen would go on to win all three of the final matches via pins.

Senior Armen Koltookian eventually took down NorthWood sophomore Brady King at 5:48, sophomore Logan Whitman made quick work of NorthWood senior Wesley Menzie at :37 and senior Lance Army ended the meet with a win over NorthWood sophomore Brycen Davis at :58.

"Armen looked good, and I thought Lance went and got a big win for us," Snyder said. "It was good to see. ... I knew NorthWood was going to come out and be a good opening test for our guys. ... We have a lot of kids who are new to wrestling. I'm proud of our effort, but we definitely have some things we have to clean up."

NorthWood (1-0, 1-0 NLC) will compete next on Saturday in the LaPorte Invitational, while Concord (0-1, 0-1 NLC) will be in action Saturday in the Warsaw Super Dual.

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NORTHWOOD AT CONCORD WRESTLING — Results

NorthWood 49, Concord 28

106 pounds: Logan Berg (C) wins via forfeit

113 pounds: Naima Ghaffar (N) wins via forfeit

120 pounds: Calix Truex (N) pins Joe Borkholder (C) in 1:10

126 pounds: Will Hahn (N) def. Donovan Cunningham (C) via decision

132 pounds: Lynkyn Ratcliff (N) pins Toby Cocanower (C) in :15

138 pounds: Brycen Brosamer (C) def. Peyton Ulanowicz (N) via maj. decision

145 pounds: Payton Griffin (N) pins Crystal Alonzo (C) in 1:25

152 pounds: Joey Mitschelen (N) def. Drew Trigg (C) via maj. decision

160 pounds: Austin King (N) pins Trent Cripe (C) in 4:32

170 pounds: Keith Miller (N) pins Ben Harris (C) in 1:34

182 pounds: Kaden Lone (N) pins Daniel Sanchez (C) in :46

195 pounds: Armen Koltookian (C) pins Brady King (N) in 5:48

220 pounds: Logan Whitman (C) pins Wes Menzie (N) in :37

285 pounds: Lance Army (C) pins Brycen Davis (N) in :58

Evan Lepak can be reached at evan.lepak@goshennews.com or 574-533-2151, ext. 240326. Follow him on Twitter @EvanMPLepak.