JEFFERSONVILLE — More than a week ago, the Jeffersonville wrestling team received all the accolades for winning its fourth consecutive Jeff Sectional championship.

But on Saturday at Johnson Arena, it was archrival Floyd Central’s turn in the spotlight.

The Highlanders had a meet-high eight wrestlers advance to semistate among the 20 teams in the Jeffersonville Individual Regional. The top four grapplers in each weight class qualified for next Saturday’s Evansville Reitz Semistate at the new Ford Center in downtown Evansville.

The host Red Devils and Jasper each had seven semistate qualifiers, while Washington had six.

Floyd Central and Jeff each had three regional champions, as they tied for the most division winners in the meet.

“We could’ve done a little bit better, but I’m pleased with what we did today,” Highlanders’ head coach Brandon Sisson said. “Overall, I wish we had a couple more champions, but it was a pretty good day.”

Floyd Central’s three champions were juniors Terrence Kennedy (106 pounds), Tre Marler (132) and Jackson Randall (182).

Kennedy won his second consecutive regional title by pinning Paoli’s Nate Burton at the 2:31 mark of the 106-pound final. Kennedy improved his record to 35-1 and moved a step closer to returning to the IHSAA State Finals.

In the 132-pound title bout, Marler rolled to a major decision victory over Jasper’s Edgar Chevez, 11-2. Marler is now 29-1 on the season.

In a rematch of last week’s 182-pound sectional final, Randall pinned Charlestown junior Seth McCutchen in the regional title bout at the 5:15 mark. Last week at sectional, Randall won by a 3-1 decision over McCutchen.

Finishing in second place for the Highlanders were Chris Whitley (113), Kolton Popp (120) and George Emily (145). Whitley suffered an 8-1 loss to Corydon freshman Bailey LaHue in the 113-pound final after beating LaHue in the sectional final by a 3-2 decision.

The two other Floyd Central wrestlers to earn semistate trips were Cory Troutman (138) and Nick Ottersbach (220), as both placed third.

It was another record-setting day for Jeff’s Alonzo Shepherd.

The senior, who is the Red Devils’ all-time wins leader, became the first Jeff wrestler to capture four sectional championships and four regional titles in his career. Shepherd pinned Popp in the 120-pound final at the 1:05 mark in accomplishing the unprecedented feat and improving his record to 44-3.

It was the second week in a row that Shepherd has won by a fall over Popp for a championship. In last week’s sectional-title bout, the Red Devil standout pinned Popp 49 seconds into the match.

Jeff head coach Danny Struck said Shepherd has a great opportunity to win his first state championship this year.

“He has as good of a chance as anybody,” Struck said. “He believes in himself and I believe in him. He’s been doing a fantastic job.”

Red Devil senior Brandon Marlin defeated a familiar foe in the 170-pound title bout to claim his second regional championship.

Marlin needed four overtimes to defeat Jacob Hall by an 8-7 decision. The two squared off in the 170-pound final at sectional, as Marlin won by major decision, 14-4. They also met in last year’s 160-pound regional title bout with Marlin prevailing by a 3-1 decision.

Senior Elijah Curtley collected Jeff’s third regional title by winning a 13-5 decision over Jasper’s Moises Valenciano at 195 pounds. It was Curtley’s second regional title.

The Red Devils’ Brent Browner (152) and Brandon Brown (220) each earned runner-up spots, while teammates Jordan Schremp (126) and David Fridley (145) both advanced to semistate by placing third.

Brown supplied probably the most surprising performance by a Jeff wrestler on Saturday. The senior pinned Ottersbach, who won the 220-pound sectional title, at the 1:54 mark in the semifinal. Brown, who is now 28-15, then lost by a 7-0 decision to Paoli’s C.J. Andrey in the 220 final.

“I didn’t know if he would win his first-round match,” Struck said about Brown.

The Red Devils fell short of their goal of getting 10 semistate qualifiers. But Struck was still happy for the seven Jeff wrestlers who will go to Evansville next weekend.

“Some kids pulled out some amazing matches,” Struck said. “I’m happy for David Fridley. It will be his first trip to semistate.”

Five New Albany grapplers earned semistate berths, led by Austin Jamison. The junior won his first regional title by pinning New Washington’s Brady Meenach in the 126-pound final at the 1:36 mark.

The Bulldogs’ four other semistate qualifiers each placed fourth. They were Tre Lynch (106), Bryce Peavler (120), Landon Scott (152) and Cody Leasor (220).

Charlestown will have four grapplers visit Evansville for semistate. Joining Hall and McCutchen will be freshman Bryant Haynes and junior Cameron Stuart. Haynes placed third at 120 pounds, while Stuart was fourth at 138.

Meenach is one of three New Washington wrestlers to qualify for semistate. Sophomore Jacob Franklin finished third at 152 pounds, and senior Aaron Dean placed third at 160.

All seven Providence wrestlers lost their first-round match at regional. Those Pioneer grapplers were Jared Griffith (132), Brennan Gregory (138), Brett Kempf (145), Jordan Kaelin (160), Daniel Fernandez (170), Matthew Hayes (195) and Thomas Crawley (285).

In the 113-pound division, Christian Academy of Indiana sophomore Daniel Doty got pinned by Jasper’s Nathan Schitter at the 3:28 mark.

Sisson expects each of his wrestlers to face tough challenges at semistate.

“The Evansville Semistate is annually one of the toughest in the state,” Sisson said. “I think last year this semistate had more state champions than the other ones. It is definitely an honor when you come out of this semistate. You’ve got to expect some good matches.”

Struck also expects his semistate qualifiers to face some formidable competition in Evansville.

“Semistate is a huge challenge,” Struck said. “We don’t get that lucky draw that most kids do. But we are going to semistate.”



JEFFERSONVILLE REGIONAL

(Top four wrestlers in each weight class advance to next Saturday’s Evansville Reitz Semistate.)

CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHES

106 — Kennedy (Floyd Central) pin Burton (Paoli), 2:31

113 — LaHue (Corydon) dec. Whitley (FC), 8-1

120 — Shepherd (Jeff) pin Popp (FC), 1:05

126 — Jamison (NA) pin Meenach (NW), 1:36

132 — Marler (FC) maj. dec. Chevez (Jasper), 11-2

138 — Meza (Washington) dec. Brescher (Ja), 4-1

145 — Mundy (Southridge) dec. Emily (FC), 1-0

152 — Burnette (Mitchell) dec. Browner (Jeff), 15-9

160 — Abell (Forest Park) dec. Kreilein (Ja), 9-6

170 — Marlin (Jeff) dec. Hall (Charlestown), 8-7, 4OT

182 — Randall (FC) pin McCutcheon (Ch), 5:15

195 — Curtley (Jeff) dec. Valenciano (Ja), 13-5

220 — Andrey (Pa) dec. Brown (Jeff), 7-0

285 — Phillips (Mi) dec. Honaker (W), 3-2



AREA INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

Floyd Central — 106: Kennedy, first; 113: Whitley, second; 120: Popp, second; 132: Marler, first; 138: Troutman, third; 145: Emily, second; 182: Randall, first; 220: Ottersbach, third.

Jeff — 120: Shepherd, first; 126: Schremp, third; 145: Fridley, third; 152: Browner, second; 170: Marlin, first; 195: Curtley, first; 220: Brown, second.

New Albany — 106: T. Lynch, fourth; 120: Peavler, fourth; 126: Jamison, first; 152: Scott, fourth; 220: Leasor, fourth.

Charlestown — 120: Haynes, third; 138: Stuart, fourth; 170: Hall, second; 182: McCutchen, second.

New Washington — 126: Meenach, second; 152: Franklin, third; 160: Dean, third.