Clark County Sports
Red Devils wrestlers send 10 to semistate
Jeff's record performance includes six wins
JEFFERSONVILLE — The Jeffersonville wrestling team emerged from the individual wrestling regional Saturday at Johnson Arena with a school-record six wins and 10 athletes heading to next weekend’s semistate in Evansville.
In the high-impact, high-commitment sport of wrestling, that success is something his kids should be proud of, Jeffersonville coach Danny Struck said.
“Much of getting to state will be a decision on their part,” Struck said. “Our regional is competitive, but some of the kids we’ll see next week that come from the Evansville Regional or the Bloomington Regional will be kids that will probably be ranked higher than our kids.
“But having these six kids be champions, it sets up their chances to get to state and it’ll be a tough weekend for everyone involved.”
The six regional champions for Jeffersonville were Alonzo Shepherd (103 pounds), Curtis Smith (112), Devon Miller (119), Renaldo Weekley (135), Caleb Browner (171) and Jimmy Pratt (215).
Pratt (37-9) outpointed Pike Central’s Hunter Manning, 7-2 in the 215 championship match, which he said was his toughest contest of the day.
“He was a tough kid and it was a tough match,” Pratt said. “He got those two points on me and I had to come back and get a few because I knew I didn’t want to get too far down on him.”
Also advancing for the Red Devils were second-place finisher Nelson Bowen (189), third-place finisher Elijah Curtley (285) and Sean Simpson (130) and Brandon Martin (160), who both finished in fourth place.
The top four finishers in each weight class qualified for semistate.
The Floyd Central Highlanders are sending eight wrestlers to next Saturday’s regional, including Ben Moberly, who handed New Washington’s Josh Sampson his first defeat of the season in the 145-pound championship matchup. Moberly (35-2) outpointed Sampson (41-1), 7-5.
“I hit him with a headlock when he rushed in, but it was a tight match the whole way through,” Moberly said. “It was maybe a higher-scoring matchup than we expected. It was a good match.”
Moberly will be joined in Evansville by Caleb Happel (third, 103), Zach Thomas (third, 112), Aaron Witt, (third, 130), Tom Denny (fourth, 135), Drew Denny (fourth, 140) and Jacob Faulkenburg (third, 171).
New Albany’s Tim Martin (130) and Larry Rickman (140) won their respective championship matches and will head to Evansville with teammates Taylor Hoke (second, 285), Austin Jamison (fourth, 112) and Tim Martin (fourth, 125).
Traveling with Sampson to the semistate will be teammates Brady Meenach (third, 119) and Lane Massingham (third, 135). Charlestown will send Justin Wolf (fourth, 119), Taylor Newcomb (second, 140), Cory Suddeth (third, 145), Mark Daughtery (second, 152), Jacob Hall (third, 160) and John Slaten (fourth, 285).
Providence’s lone representative in Evansville will be Jacob Golembeski, who squeaked by Daughtery in a 1-0 decision.
“It feels great,” Golembeski said. “But I want to go to state, and if I had any dream of going I had to get through today. Now it’s on to next week.”
- Clark County Sports
-
- ON THE SPOT: Evan Maschmeyer has become a leader for Jeff
-
COLLEGE NOTEBOOK: March 19, 2010
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
• Kendra DeArk (Transylvania softball, Jeffersonville graduate, Jr.) — weekly stats: 5-1 record, 26 1/3 innings pitched, 19 runs (16 earned), 30 hits, 19 strikeouts, 10 walks; 1-for-7; top performance: winning pitcher in the Pioneers’ 2-1 victory over Wisconsin-River Falls in the Rebel Spring Games on Wednesday in Kissimmee, Fla., seven innings pitched, one run (earned), seven hits, seven strikeouts, no walks; team record: 10-4 overall; DeArk’s record: 7-2.
-
JEFF BASKETBALL: LaGrange, Coleman have had successful three years as part of Jeffersonville family
Tim LaGrange has had a successful three-year run as the head coach of the Jeffersonville boys’ basketball team.
-
KICK IT: SIU has a spring in its step
The preparations are over and Southern Indiana United’s select teams have sprung into action.
This year, the club once again has two teams playing in the prestigious Indiana Soccer League — U16 Mavericks and U17 Rampage. Both of these teams, coached by Michael Dennis and Bruce Rigsby, will finish their spring campaigns at the Indiana State Cup, which will start on Friday, May 14. -
BOYS' BASKETBALL: Jeffersonville stuns No. 1 Bloomington South to capture regional title
After Class 4A No. 1 Bloomington South’s 86-55 shellacking of Jeffersonville in December, Red Devil head coach Tim LaGrange said he hoped his players learned a lesson in facing the best team in Indiana.
They learned their lesson well. -
IN THE FAST LANE: Don’t just blame Edwards
All week, the finger has been primarily pointed at Carl Edwards for him causing the late accident last Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway that sent Brad Keselowski into the fence — roof-first.
But I do not solely blame Edwards for the wreck that cost him only a love tap on the wrist, which was a measly three weeks of double-secret NASCAR probation. -
COLLEGE HOOPS: Bellarmine earns win in first round of NCAA Division II tournament
Luke Sprague’s pair of three pointers with under two minutes left gave the No. 19 Bellarmine University men’s basketball team a finishing spark in a 70-66 victory over Central State (Ohio) University in the first round of the 2010 NCAA Division II Regional Tournament on Saturday evening at the Owensboro Sportscenter.
-
COLLEGE HOOPS: Grenadiers fall in quarterfinals
The historic season of Indiana University Southeast came to an end on Saturday as the Grenadiers suffered a 71-65 loss to fourth-seeded Bellevue University at the NAIA Division II National Tournament in Point Lookout, Mo.
-
COLLEGE HOOPS: No satisfaction
The 2008-09 season was a historic one for the Bellarmine men’s basketball program.
-
COLLEGE HOOPS: Grenadiers make history with 58-54 victory
The Indiana University Southeast men’s basketball team closed Friday’s NAIA Division II National Tournament contest on an 18-6 run to beat Spring Arbor (Mich.) and advance to the Elite Eight for the first time in school history, 58-54.
- More Clark County Sports Headlines


