Published: November 27, 2007 10:40 pm            

WRESTLING WEDNESDAY: Red Devils keep Thanksgiving traditions alive

The Jeffersonville wrestling team continued two Thanksgiving traditions last weekend.

The first was the Red Devils sitting down to have Thanksgiving dinner with their respective families last Thursday. Then on Friday and Saturday, they worked off all that turkey and dressing at Mt. Vernon (Posey) High School and captured their fourth straight Turkey Classic championship.

Jeff head coach Danny Struck credited his seniors for continuing their streak at the Southwestern Indiana school.

“This was exciting for our senior class, who made a goal as freshmen when they won it to do it all four years,” Struck said.

The Red Devils won all eight of their dual meets at Mt. Vernon, giving the seniors 83 dual victories in their careers. The seniors are 17 wins away from the 100-victory milestone, which no Jeff class has ever accomplished.

Last Friday, Jeff downed the host Wildcats (33-31), Forest Park (56-19), Gibson Southern (45-27) and Pike Central (51-16). The following day, the Devils defeated Wood Memorial (75-3), Evansville North (40-22), Evansville Central (42-27) and Owen Valley (78-6).

Two Jeff grapplers went 8-0 in the tournament in senior Dominique Smith at 135 pounds and junior Alex Bailey at 145.

“It was really exciting for both of them,” Struck said. “Dominique even bumped up (a weight class) a few times to help us in close duals, and Alex wrestled with a confidence I had not seen in him before.”

Red Devil sophomores Curtis Smith (112) and Coty Hendricks (152) each went 7-1, while senior Austin Copeland (160) posted a 5-1 record. Struck also lauded sophomore Caleb Brawner, who won both of his 160-pound matches.

Struck thinks the experience his wrestlers gained at the Turkey Classic and the season-opening Capitol City Classic in Indianapolis on Nov. 17 will help them in this weekend’s Hoosier Hills Conference Duals and future meets. The Red Devils finished fourth at the Capitol City as Tyler Tatgenhorst claimed the 189-pound title.

“Eight-and-zero is fun for the kids. But we have conference duals (this weekend) and our conference is tougher than it has ever been since I have been coaching at Jeff,” Struck said. “It is our hope that going to Capitol City to see the Indy schools and to Mt. Vernon to see the Evansville schools will prepare us for (this) weekend and the season.”



DOGS START SEASON ON RIGHT FOOT

New Albany began its season on a high note last Saturday, winning all five of its dual meets at the Bloomington North six-way meet.

The Bulldogs claimed their five dual meets by an average margin of 45.2 points. They blanked Mitchell (77-0) in their first match, followed by triumphs over Brown County (54-30), Evansville Harrison (58-12), Paoli (69-5) and Bloomington North (42-27).

Three New Albany grapplers went undefeated in Kirk Moore, Ivan Rodriguez and Brent Kaelin. Bulldog head coach Eric Burres also lauded the strong performances of the following wrestlers: Brandon Snyder, Tim Martin, Nick Oxley, Jonathan Gary, Matt Forbis, Matt O’Connell, J.T. Jenkins, Evan Garmon, Kevin Burrell and Taylor Hoke.

“It was a great team effort, but we still need to work on some things,” Burres said.



C-TOWN TO HOST ALUMNI DAY

Along with hosting the Mid-Southern Conference Duals on Saturday, Dec. 8, the Charlestown wrestling team will also have an Alumni Day during the meet to honor former Pirate grapplers.

All former Charlestown wrestling lettermen are invited to the meet and will be admitted free. The meet will start at 10 a.m. at Bill Dunn Sports Arena.

In addition, Charlestown is forming the Pirate Alumni Booster Club. Anyone who joins the club will receive an alumni-themed T-shirt and a Charlestown wrestling yard sign.

For more information on these items, call Pirate head coach Tom Kendrick at 502-544-0110.



UPCOMING WRESTLING SCHEDULE

• TONIGHT: Pekin Eastern at New Washington, 6 p.m.

• FRIDAY: Floyd Central, Jeffersonville, New Albany in Hoosier Hills Conference Duals at Floyd Central, 5 p.m.

• SATURDAY: Floyd Central, Jeffersonville, New Albany in Hoosier Hills Conference Duals at Jeff, 9 a.m.; Charlestown, New Washington at Scottsburg Invitational, 8 a.m.; Providence six-way meet (Providence, Edgewood, Fern Creek, New Haven, Trinity, Triton Central), 8 a.m.

• TUESDAY: Floyd Central at Paoli, TBA.

• NEXT WEDNESDAY: Charlestown at Southwestern, 6 p.m.

        

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