Stroud Headed To State Finals
Manchester Senior Dylan Stroud set the All time Wabash County Wins record as he moved to 145-12 with a 10-6 decision victory to claim his 2nd Semi-State title in 3 trips to the Finals.
Stroud passes the impressive 144-16 mark set by Casey Stouffer, who placed 3rd in State for Southwood High School. After pinning his first 2 opponents to claim his 3rd straight State appearance, Stroud wrestled a great match to knock off 10th ranked Landon Bertsch. Stroud faced some adversity in the Finals where he gave up his first takedowns of the year, but he handled it well and finished in control on top for the victory.
Dylan Stroud (36-0) placed 1st and scored 24.0 team points.
Round 1 – Dylan Stroud (Manchester) 36-0 won by fall over Colton Bollenbacher (South Adams) 24-13 (Fall 2:42)
Quarterfinal – Dylan Stroud (Manchester) 36-0 won by fall over Briar Munsey (Eastside) 21-11 (Fall 1:26)
Semifinal – Dylan Stroud (Manchester) 36-0 won by decision over Landon Bertsch (Bluffton) 33-2 (Dec 7-1)
1st Place Match – Dylan Stroud (Manchester) 36-0 won by decision over Logan Uhlman (Adams Central) 18-6 (Dec 10-6)
Junior Jordan Ayres wrestled well and was poised to punch his ticket before a controversial illegal slam call led his opponent to injury default his way to State. In his first match, Ayres came back to pin a Regional champion from Prairie Heights, and he was charging back in his ticket round match before he returned his opponent to the mat attempting to get a takedown for the lead. His opponent landed awkwardly leading to a one point penalty which gave him the victory when he could no longer compete.
Jordan Ayres (15-8) scored 4.0 team points.
Round 1 – Jordan Ayres (Manchester) 15-8 won by fall over Kaleb Lounsbury (Prairie Heights) 25-11 (Fall 5:28)
Quarterfinal – Austin Brickey (Carroll (Fort Wayne)) 33-10 won by disqualification over Jordan Ayres (Manchester) 15-8 (DQ)
Other Results:
Round 1 – Braxton Russell (Delta) 21-5 won by major decision over Junior Zach France (Manchester) 33-5 (MD 13-5)
Round 1 – Isaac Benjamin (NorthWood) 31-2 won by decision over Sophomore Preston Duffy (Manchester) 13-9 (Dec 7-0)