TERRE HAUTE —
Even though Terre Haute South defeated Terre Haute North 39-27 in high school wrestling Wednesday evening in the Patriots’ gym, there was a time early in the match when the outcome appeared in doubt.
After South’s David Lewis opened with a 4-2 victory over the formidable J.J. Low in the 120-pound weight class, North answered with pins by Eric Elia at 126 and Austin Bishop at 132 to seize a 12-3 advantage.
Then in the 138-pound match, North’s Brandon Cossette jumped ahead of South sophomore Nick Church 2-1 after one period and 3-1 during the second period. If that score had remained the same, North’s team lead would have increased to 15-3.
But Church scored a pin at the 3:32 mark, pulling the Braves within 12-9. A pin at 145 by Ian Newton in the next match catapulted the visitors on top 15-12 and they never trailed after that.
“I was waiting for [Cossette] to come at me more so I could do a whipover,” Church told the Tribune-Star. “Then I just stayed on top of him and kept the pressure on. … I had beaten this kid before, so I had some confidence. I was pretty confident with what I was doing.”
“He came out and got himself in a little bit of a jam early,” South coach Gabe Cook admitted about Church. “But he stayed in there, fought hard and got the win. … Nick actually stood up and caught the guy in a whipover. From there, it was just a matter of staying in good position and not letting him slip away.”
After Newton’s victory came arguably the most entertaining match of the night — North’s Tyler Gilmore vs. South’s Phoenix Adams. Gilmore entered with 24 wins for the season, while Adams came in with 26.
Gilmore led 2-0 after the first period, 4-2 after the second period and 7-2 early in the third and final period before Adams cut his deficit to the final score of 7-6.
“Tyler had a really tough opponent,” North coach Mark Frisz said. “Phoenix is good — two good guys and a lot of action there.”
But South bounced back with a pin by senior Cody Helms (now 29-4 for the season) in less than a minute at 160 and a forfeit triumph for Duane Deerwester at 170 to boost its lead to 27-15.
“Cody hit a high-crotch finish to a double-leg and put the guy in a cross-face cradle,” Cook explained. “Those are two of his signature moves, I guess you could say.”
Decision victories by Ryan Moshak at 182 and Zach Schmidt at 195 pulled the Patriots within 27-21.
Then the home team tied the score at 27-27 on its “Senior Night” when junior Ethan Edington pinned Jordan Montgomery at the 3:40 mark of a hard-fought match at 220. But former North student and first-year wrestler Junior Berry returned momentum to South by registering a 9-7 decision over Andrew Londo in the 285 class.
“Junior’s getting better every week,” Cook mentioned. “He’s still kind of figuring things out on the mat and he’s had kind of a nagging injury that’s kept him out a little bit. … But he’s figuring out the sport as he competes every week.”
The Braves turned that 30-27 cushion into 36-27 when North forfeited to South standout Ryan Uppal at 106. Knowing they would bring home “The Hammer of Pride” trophy for the third straight year, they watched teammate Darin Pemberton win the final match of the night by a 6-2 decision at 113.
“It was definitely a team effort,” Cook emphasized after posing with the rest of the team for parent photos. “Even the weights we lost, those kids went out and fought hard… The scores were about what I thought they would be. Maybe I thought we could have won one or two more matches. But the effort was there from the first match to the last match.”
“It feels pretty great,” admitted Church, who didn’t experience the same joy as a freshman in 2012 because he missed all of last season with an injury.
From the North perspective, Frisz said he was “pleased and proud” with the way his athletes competed.
“We knew we were going to have to make up some points somewhere [because of the two forfeits],” he noted. “It’s hard to get pins in these rivalry matches. But the kids did what we asked them to do. They wrestled as hard as they could and showed a lot of determination.”
Both teams will participate in the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference (MIC) tournament Saturday at Warren Central.
“I really feel like we’ve got a good shot at having our best finish we’ve had at the MIC,” Cook assessed. “So having a win [over North] going into that should help us. On paper, it looks like we should have four or five guys in the finals this weekend.”
“I think South’s got some really good kids seeded highly,” Frisz added. “I think they could place pretty high. … We’re going to have to pull some upsets probably [in order to place high], but I know our kids will compete really hard and do the best they can.”
Terre Haute South 39, Terre Haute North 27
120 — David Lewis (THS) dec. J.J. Low 4-2.
126 — Eric Elia (THN) pin. George Reed 0:22.
132 — Austin Bishop (THN) pin. Dante Johnson 4:43.
138 — Nick Church (THS) pin. Brandon Cossette 3:32.
145 — Ian Newton (THS) pin. Logan Hoar 3:00.
152 — Tyler Gilmore (THN) dec. Phoenix Adams 7-6.
160 — Cody Helms (THS) pin. Trey Grim 0:59.
170 — Duane Deerwester (THS) won by forfeit.
182 — Ryan Moshak (THN) dec. Sean Young 7-5.
195 — Zach Schmidt (THN) dec. Chris Rawling 5-1.
220 — Ethan Edington (THN) pin. Jordan Montgomery 3:40.
285 — Junior Berry (THS) dec. Andrew Londo 9-7.
106 — Ryan Uppal (THS) won by forfeit.
113 — Darin Pemberton (THS) dec. Gavin John 6-2.
There were no JV matches.
Next — South (20-9) and North (8-16) will compete in the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference tournament Saturday at Warren Central.
High School
Related Photos
-
Tribune-Star/Jim Avelis Looking for a call: Terre Haute South's Ian Newton looks to the referee as he holds Terre Haute North's Logan Oar close to a pin in their 145 pound match.
-
Tribune-Star/Jim Avelis Close contest: Terre Haute North's Tyler Gilmore works on controlling Terre Haute South standout Phoenix Adams in the cross-town match Wednesday night.
-
Tribune-Star/Jim Avelis All but over: Terre Haute South's Darin Pemberton holds rival Gavin John unable to move in the Braves' cross town match with Terre Haute North Wednesday night in the Patriots' gym.
-
Tribune-Star/Jim Avelis In control: Terre Haute North wrestler Brandon Cossette holds the advantage over South wrestle Nicholas Church in their match at 138 pounds.
Discussion
Braves retain ‘Hammer’
South pulls away to pin down win
- High School
-
-
Goatee, Bertoli ran away with Spring Athlete of the Year
When honoring athletes after a season of excellence, the phrase “what might have been” doesn’t usually come up.
But in the case of Terre Haute South’s Jackson Bertoli and Terre Haute North’s TaPring Goatee – the Tribune-Star’s Athletes of the Year for spring sports – there’s an air of unfinished business despite obvious recent successes.
-
Post 346 opens tournament with two victories
Preston Tofaute got on base enough to score three runs, Cody Thornton smashed a two-run triple in the first inning and pitcher Pete Lannoo scattered four hits over a seven-inning complete game.
All of that helped Wayne Newton Post 346 down Lafayette Post 11 by a 7-2 score in the opener of the Terre Haute Inviatational tournament for American Legion baseball Thursday afternoon at Terre Haute North High School. -
North boys move up to 13th in golf state finals
Early Wednesday morning, Terre Haute North senior Ryan Baker and coach Abe Nasser headed out to the Legends of Indiana Golf Course for a range session.
Baker wasn’t happy with the 85 he shot in Tuesday’s first round of the IHSAA boys golf state finals.
“He was frustrated,” Nasser said.
Problem solved. Baker bounced back with a 2-over 74 Wednesday, helping the Patriots improve their team score by seven strokes.
The Patriots shot 304 as a team Wednesday, giving them a two-day score of 615, good for 13th place in the 15-team field. -
Big hill to climb for North golf
Terre Haute North boys golf is 21 strokes behind leaders at IHSAA boys golf tourney.
-
Top of her game
There are a lot of surprising facts about blossoming volleyball prodigy Caitlyn Newton, including that shape-shifting thing she can apparently do, but maybe one of them stands out the most. She may only be scratching the surface.
-
Camp, Howe win, then lose in state tennis tourney
Miranda Camp and Nicole Howe of Terre Haute South won their first match of high school tennis Friday at the state individual doubles finals, then won the first set against a powerful Park Tudor team before falling in three sets.
-
Terre Haute North heading back to state finals in boys golf
Terre Haute North is going back to the state finals in boys high school golf for the first time in more than 10 years. The Patriots qualified for a trip to The Legends Course next week by tying for third in the Washington Regional at Country Oaks Golf Club and advancing with the better fifth score.
-
North, South, Sullivan to compete at golf regional
Boys high school golf teams from the Wabash Valley will compete in the Washington Regional on Thursday, seeking a spot in the state finals to be played next week.
-
Terre Haute North falls 6-1 to Brownsburg in opening game of Class 4A Regional
Terre Haute North coach Shawn Turner told the Patriots to raise their heads. He wanted to see their eyes at the close of their 24-7 high school baseball season.
-
Terre Haute North girls shine on dreary day at track state finals
Led by a record setting 3,200-meter relay team and Keirra Porter’s long jump, Terre Haute North turned in its best finish ever in the 40th annual IHSAA Girls Track & Field Championships on Saturday at Indiana University in Bloomington.
-
Valley teams will have to wait until Monday for baseball regionals
Rain and the threat of more rain caused postponements of high school baseball regionals involving Terre Haute North, West Vigo and Shakamak on Saturday.
-
Rockville's season ends at Lafayette Central Catholic
Lafayette Central Catholic ended Rockville’s tourney run in high school baseball Saturday, defeating the Rox 8-0 in the first game of the LCC Class A Regional.
-
IHSAA boys state track finals: Standing alone
It hadn’t been a particularly good day for Wabash Valley track and field Friday, and it wasn’t looking like a good one for Jackson Bertoli either.
-
Terre Haute North, West Vigo return to baseball regionals
Terre Haute North’s baseball team hasn’t participated in an IHSAA regional since 2006. West Vigo’s wait hasn’t been as long, but it was 2010 when the Vikings last advanced from a sectional.
-
Patriots girls take aim at state track title
Terre Haute North’s girls have several potential state champions today at Indiana University.
-
South, North track athletes looking for big performances at state finals
Terre Haute South’s distance trio of Jackson Bertoli, Logan Hambrock and Riley Stohler appear to be the favorites to crack all-state status among Wabash Valley competitors today in the IHSAA boys track and field state finals at Indiana University.
-
Internet site keeps area prep teams on airwaves
- PREP ROUNDUP: Locals to take part in Hoosiers All-Star Game
-
South Vermillion softball can't overcome errors, Tri-West
Uncharacteristic errors led to eight unearned runs and hard-luck hitting made that impossible to overcome for South Vermillion, which fell 8-0 to Tri-West in Class 3A regional play.
-
Clay City softball comes up short against Lutheran
Clay City closed its high school softball season Tuesday night with the best record ever for the program at 21-9.
The Eels wanted to add another win, the school’s first regional title, but they came up short.
-
PREP ROUNDUP: Rockville wins baseball sectional
Rockville won its own Class A sectional in high school baseball Tuesday, defeating Covington 10-4 in the rain-delayed championship game.
-
Class 4A Terre Haute South Sectional:The wait is over
Three minutes into an interview with various media members, Terre Haute North baseball coach Shawn Turner couldn’t react fast enough to avoid a bucket of ice water being dumped over his head from behind by his giddy players. The soaking-wet Turner could shake it off with a smile, however, because his Patriots had just won the IHSAA Class 4A Terre Haute South Sectional championship with a 13-3 six-inning triumph over Plainfield on Monday evening.
-
Class 4A Terre Haute South Sectional: TH North, Plainfield win squeakers
The high school baseball teams of Terre Haute North and Plainfield proved Monday that what a batter does early in the game is not necessarily indicative of what he will do in the late innings.
-
Class 2A Linton Sectional: Eastern rains on Sullivan parade
Mother Nature put Sullivan’s quest for a high school baseball sectional championship on hold Monday night at Linton-Stockton High School. Sullivan (14-15) and Eastern Greene (16-7) will resume play in the Class 2A Sectional 47 championship game at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Linton’s Roy Herndon Field.
-
Opening Day: Terre Haute Rex host Quincy
In his first season at the helm, first-year Terre Haute Rex manager Ronnie Prettyman is going to be surrounded by men he knows and trusts.
-
Class A Shakamak Sectional: Stout pitching leads Union, Shakamak to final
Trey Bedwell and Patrick Green made sure their respective high school baseball teams would meet for the championship of the Class A Shakamak Sectional by pitching shutouts in semifinal contests Monday afternoon.
-
Class A Rockville Sectional: Covington, Rockville title game postponed
Rockville and Covington won semifinal high school baseball games Monday to advance to the championship game of the Rockville Class A Sectional. Due to rain, the championship game was postponed. A decision was expected this morning whether the game will be played today or Wednesday.
-
South Vermillion, Linton, Clay City look to stay alive in softball
There might have been as many reasons to think they wouldn’t be winning sectionals this spring as evidence to show they would, but high school softball teams from South Vermillion, Linton and Clay City will be playing one-game regionals Tuesday with the chance to keep defying the odds.
-
West Vigo back on top of Class 3A baseball sectional
West Vigo won its sectional with a 6-4 victory over South Vermillion on a rainy night at Dick Ballinger Field.
-
South runs into ‘buzzsaw’ at girls tennis semistate
Postmatch interviews don’t often begin with a coach and a reporter ready to blurt out the same word, but that was the case for Bill Blankenbaker and his interviewer Saturday morning after the Center Grove Semistate for girls high school tennis.
Unfortunately for Blankenbaker’s Terre Haute South team, that word was “buzzsaw.”
Greenwood’s Kawamoto twins made quick work of the top of the Braves’ singles lineup, so despite stellar efforts by both South doubles teams the Woodmen’s 3-2 victory didn’t seem all that close.
Greenwood moves on to Fishers, where it plays Floyd Central or Jasper on Friday in the state quarterfinals.
Also playing Friday, but at Park Tudor, will be South’s Miranda Camp and Nicole Howe, who reached the individual doubles finals for the second straight season by virtue of their 6-4, 6-2 win over the Greenwood team of Taylor Hudnall and Brittany Toney.
“It’s really exciting,” said Howe of the prospect of a second straight finals trip, “but I wish our team could’ve gone with us.”
- More High School Headlines
-
Unusual Heat Wave Bakes Alaska
Hoffa Mystery Still Fascinates After 4 Decades
Raw: Massive Protests Fill Brazilian Streets
Raw: Volcano Erupts Near Mexico City
Raw: NASCAR Driver Jason Leffler Dies in Wreck
3 Charged in Ohio With Enslaving Mom, Daughter
Raw: Huge Fire Near Yosemite National Park
Fans Cheer Dramatic Heat Comeback
Ex-NFL Star Chad Johnson Out of Jail
Raw: Arizona Wildfire Scorches 8 Square Miles
Raw: German President Welcomes President Obama
Raw: 1 Dead in Shooting at Mo. Apartment Complex
Failed Cuba-to-Florida Swimmer Won't Try Again
Tiger on Sergio: 'It's Time to Move On'
Raw: Obama Arrives in Berlin
Raw: Marines Land Osprey on Japanese Ship
Suicide Bombs Target Baghdad Mosque, Killing 29
Obama Welcomes WNBA Champions to White House
Today in History June 19
Obama Seeks G-8 Support on Syria
Rihanna Hits Fan With Microphone During UK Concert
Obama Renews Call for Nuclear Reductions
Miami Heat Wins in Overtime
Fists, chairs fly in restaurant brawl
Journalist Michael Hastings Dies in Fiery Hollywood Crash
Hairy Leg Stockings Aim to Deflect Male Attention
Inside Kim Kardashian's Premature Labor
Three Charged for Enslaving Mother and Daughter
Spurs' Popovich has no problem with Spurs' intensity
RAW: NSA Director Says 50 Plots Foiled
Paige Butcher Scorches on Hawaii Beach
Video: worst way to load cargo onto a plane
Never-before-seen footage of '08 Times Square bomber
Obama: NSA Secret Data Gathering 'Transparent'
WATCH IT: Lil Wayne tramples American flag
Mariah Carey Looks Beautiful in a Tiny Cut-Out Swimsuit
Out of Control Boat Throws Passengers Overboard
See Lindsay Lohan in Rehab
