ELWOOD — Alexandria finished up an undefeated day on the mat by slugging Elwood 54-21 at the Super Six season opening tournament Saturday.
The Tigers went 5-0 to win the tournament title. Greenfield finished second at 4-1 while Elwood struggled to a 1-4 record, though the Panthers had some highlights along the way.
Alexandria coach Jack Grimaldi said he was hoping to get some early wins to build confidence in his wrestlers.
“The kids have been working hard, and today it showed,” Grimaldi said. “This was a full day for them.”
Alexandria opened the tournament by soundly defeating Blackford 60-21. It faced a tougher challenged in Greenfield, but got by with a 37-28 victory. Aaron Taylor came up with a big win at 171 pounds over a Greenfield wrestler that finished fourth last year at regionals.
The Tigers then crushed Attucks 63-10 and shut down Eastbrook 68-9 in the next round.
“I’m pleased with how they performed, especially considering where we were at the last couple of years,” Grimaldi said. “They are much farther along technique-wise, and we are more able to focus on advance things and more solid drilling.”
Elwood got off to a good start sound defeating Attucks 65-9. The Panthers ran into problems in the next match, losing to Eastbrook. Greenfield walloped Elwood 60-12 in round three. Elwood started well against Blackford, but eventually fell by a 48-30 margin.
The tournament finished off with Elwood versus Alexandria. Taylor got an early takedown of Will Maluvae and eventually earned the pin in the second round.
At 215 pounds, Alexandria’s Cameron Campbell made quick work of Tyler Adam, getting the pin a minute into the match.
But Elwood hung tough. It got a forfeit win at 189 and tied it up at 12 after heavyweight Preston Collier pinned Zac Rowland.
After a forfeit win for the Tigers, Luke Blanton of Alexandria took control and eventual pinned Austin Hanson in the 112 weight class. Levi Lanning needed all of 37 seconds to get a pin at 119 and suddenly Alexandria had a 30-12 lead.
The showcase match turned out to be at 125 pounds. Tanner Boyland of Elwood had an early lead, and Chandler Sells suffered a bloody nose. The match had to be stopped several times to deal with Sells’ nose and because Boyland needed water. Down 4-3, Sells got a takedown with 20 seconds left in the third period. But Boyland escaped with three seconds left to tie it at 5.
In bonus wrestling, Boyland got the takedown to win it 7-5, ending about a 15 minute match.
“My body wasn’t back on track from losing weight last night,” Boyland said. “I tried to act a little exhausted, so he would try something and I could read what he was doing.”
Alexandria’s Eli Walker easily won at 130 pounds and Brady Hayes won at 135 by a 9-2 margin. Jon Blanton clinched the victory for Alexandria by keeping Zach Long off the scoreboard in a 4-0 victory at 140 pounds.
“We are improving and we’re trying to get back to that CIC championship level,” Boyland said.
High School Sports
Tigers take Elwood Super 6
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Five for fighting
Like other coaches, Alexandria wrestling coach Jack Grimaldi sometimes has to worry about how to motivate his charges as they head into their matches. That shouldn’t be an issue for him with his five Tigers heading into Saturday’s individual semistate at New Castle.
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Red-hot Lapel limiting miscues
Like any basketball coach, Jimmie Howell knows how important it is for a team to be playing its best basketball as the state tournament draws near.
But what’s going on in Lapel might be redefining that theory.
With a 60-42 win on the road over Class 3A No. 6 Guerin Catholic on Saturday, the Bulldogs pushed their winning streak to eight games. Over the 32-minute course of the game against the Golden Eagles, Lapel committed a microscopic four turnovers. -
PH moves on
On the roster of every successful team is a player or two who will do the unpleasant work. The ones who actually find satisfaction in this pursuit are worth their weight in wins to any coach. Pendleton Heights sophomore Kiawna Cottrell was just that player Tuesday as the Arabians advanced to the second round of sectional play with a 55-45 victory over Greenfield-Central.
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Indians slay Spartans
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Eagles eke by Raiders
Back in November, the Frankton girls basketball team handled Shenandoah by 29 points. Tuesday’s sectional opener at Shenandoah wasn’t as easy, but the end result was the same as Frankton moved on with a 44-43 win over the host Shenandoah Raiders.
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Wapahani ends Lapel’s season
With both teams scrapping for loose balls and rebounds often, the second game of the first-round girls basketball sectional Tuesday night at Shenandoah seemed destined to become a backyard brawl. And as is so often the case, the more experienced team came out on top. A sloppy but hard-fought contest turned into little more than a war of attrition late as finally Lapel ran out of gas, falling to Wapahani 49-33.
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Madison-Grant survives, advances
Madison-Grant girls basketball coach Kyle Douglas reminded his team before Tuesday’s Class 2A sectional opener that the state tournament marks the beginning of a new season. With 4.6 seconds remaining against Alexandria, Argylls senior Taylor McNutt held the first game of that new season in her hands at the free-throw line. She calmly made her first attempt, and wild scramble for the loose ball erupted when her second try glanced off the rim. The clock expired before either team could gain possession, and Madison-Grant (14-8) escaped with a 58-57 victory and a ticket to Round 2.
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Daleville bucks Liberty Christian, heads into Class A semifinals
Not much changed in Sectional 55 on Tuesday at Wes-Del as Daleville pressured the Lions into submission on the way to a 51-24 win and the chance to face the host Wes-Del Warriors.
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Tribe win over Spartans 50 - 46
Photos from the opening round of the Class 4A Sectional at Greenfield-Central on Tuesday.
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Arabians advance after 55-45 win over Cougars
Photos from the Greenfield-Central sectional as the Pendleton Heights Arabians faced the Cougars.
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