Coloma Wrestling outduels Hartford and Watervliet

 Watervliet High School gymnasium was the site of a wrestling meet Wednesday, December 21. It was one of the few events hosted during the week, which saw Coloma, Hartford, and Watervliet all begin their Christmas break.

Bangor, Coloma, Hartford, and host Watervliet all participated in the Southwestern Athletic Conference meet.

Watervliet wrestled Bangor, as Coloma took on Hartford during the evening’s first event. Results below are for contested matches only.

The Vikings topped the host Panthers 52-24. Watervliet’s Brad Yazel was the team’s lone wrestler to win a contested match against Bangor. He pinned Austin Buescher in their first period in the 152 lb. weight class. Yazel scored two points early in the first period on a takedown before the pin.

BRAD BEATS BANGOR’S BUESCHER… Watervliet’s Brad Yazel beat Bangor’s Austin Buescher in the 152 lb. weight class during last Wednesday’s quad action. Yazel pinned Buescher in 26 seconds. (TCR photo by Kristy Noack)

Watervliet’s Alex Isbrecht wrestled Dan Villalobos in the 112 lb. weight class. Isbrecht lost his match 21-6.

In the third contested match of the night, Watervliet’s Coby Henslee, wrestling in the 140 lb. weight class, was pinned by Bangor’s Mario Garcia with 25 seconds left in the second period.

Hartford, facing a shortage with just four wrestlers taking the mat, lost to both Bangor and Coloma. Bangor beat Hartford 42-6, while Coloma bested Hartford 48-10.

Coloma’s Ian Ishmael and Hartford’s Sam Shank put on quite a show for the crowd in the 130 lb. weight class.

Shank held a 4-2 lead after the first period, as Ishmael settled into the match. At the close of the second period, Ishmael had drawn to within one point, 5-4.

In the evening’s closest dual, Coloma defeated Watervliet 48-21.

Coloma’s Dylan LeClear pinned Watervliet’s Alex Isbrecht in the second period (3:07) in the 112 lb. weight class. Watervliet’s Klayton Marshall scored a 9-7 victory in the 125 lb. weight class over Coloma’s Cody Reese.

Mike Case of Coloma pinned Watervliet’s Coby Henslee at 3:44 in the 140 lb. weight class.

Watervliet’s Brad Yazel won his second match and remained undefeated during the meet after pinning Coloma’s Dalton Turner at 1:57, in the 160 lb. weight class.

Watervliet’s Matt Melcher notched a victory over Coloma’s Calvin Hutchinson by a pin for the win in the 189 lb. weight class.

In the 215 lb. weight class, Coloma’s Billy Boyd pinned Watervliet’s Logan Swigart at 1:54.

Ishmael turned up the heat in the third period, notching two points on a takedown with one minute remaining on the clock. With 1.5 seconds left in the match, Ishmael locked down Shank for the pin.

Hartford’s Tristin Hanners defeated Coloma’s Mike Case 13-6 in the 140 lb. weight class. Austin Spires of Hartford wrestled Coloma’s Alec DeLaTorre for the 10-5 win in the 145 lb. weight class. Spires also defeated Dalton Turner in the 160 lb. weight class 14-4.

Watervliet’s wrestling team is coached by Joe Isbrecht and features 10 athletes. Freshmen Alex Isbrecht and Jesse Hite join sophomores Coby Henslee and Trevor Pelton, juniors Chad Cowsert, Klayton Marshall, Matthew Melcher, Logan Swigart, and Brad Yazel, and senior Hannah Yerington on the squad.

Hartford’s team is under the new leadership of Ryan Reeves, who replaced Ross Thiele. Reeves is no stranger to wrestling; he was the assistant varsity coach at Paw Paw for two years. He also brings a wealth of wrestling knowledge to the program. Originally from Decatur, Reeves has been wrestling since he was eight years old. He was a state runner-up and champion on the freestyle circuit and also achieved third and sixth place finishes in national tournaments.

Reeves will be assisted by Quintin Smith, a decorated high school wrestler from Niles. “(Smith) has a passion for wrestling, and with a young, tough, hungry guy like him by my side, I know we can make this program successful,” said Reeves.

Seniors Sam Shank and Tristan Hanners will be called upon to lead the Indians this season. Coupled with the two seniors will be freshman Austin Spires.

“We have three freshmen and three seniors, so (we) are a fairly young team,” Reeves shared. “I’m looking for all of them to step up and take the lead as we go into competition. As a team, we will struggle due to the numbers but individual(ly) we should get a few to the state finals.”

Reeves is undaunted by the uphill battle his wrestlers will climb. “The thing I’m most impressed with is their heart! Every single kid comes out to work for me and they don’t say a word or complain one bit.”

Look to Reeves and Smith to help out Hartford’s Myway program as well.

Coloma varsity wrestling coach Ken Ashley has a team deep with experience and a roster to match. His squad features 22 wrestlers whom he can draw upon at meets.

The team is made up of freshmen Cole Alsup, Mike Case, TJ Craft, Alec DeLaTorre, Ian Ishmael, Dalton Turner, and Stephen Zarny; sophomores Cole Allmon, Teo Bravo, Trenton Harrell, Steven Pounders, Cody Reese, TaeQuan Shurn, and Nathan Wilder; juniors Billy Boyd, Justin Clark, Calvin Hutchinson, Rickie McClain, and Jamane Smith; and seniors Tony Collins, Dylan LeClear, and Harrison Spaulding.

Hartford swishes past Lakeside 79-62

The Hartford Indians varsity basketball team picked up a win against Lakeside Tuesday, December 20 at home.

Starting for Hartford was sophomore guard Trey Ackerman, senior forward Hunter Ackerman, junior guard/forward William Martinez, senior guard Austin Nelson, and junior forward Garrod Johnson.

Lakeside won the tipoff and struck a three-point shot for the first points of the game. Hartford’s Nelson responded with a three-pointer of his own to tie the game in fast fashion.

From there, Hartford’s Johnson hit a two-point bucket on an assist from Nelson. That shot was followed up by Martinez’s first score of the evening – a nice layup giving Hartford a 7-3 lead.

Three consecutive 3-pointers followed for Hartford. Lakeside scored five unanswered points before Martinez dropped another 3-pointer. At the end of the first period, the Indians enjoyed a 28-16 lead.

Lakeside covered Hartford a bit better in the second period and at one point had cut the Indian lead to just seven points. Hartford was able to snag some necessary rebounds and opened up a huge lead. At the close of the first half, Hartford led 41-26.

Hartford opened the second half of the game with a steal which resulted in a two point basket by Garrod. And, Nelson continued his hot streak of sinking 3-point shots. The Indians opened up a 19 point lead to end the third period 61-42.

The long balls continued to fall in Hartford’s favor in the fourth period. Austin and Hunter Ackerman landed some key shots. Hartford’s Mike Boyd saw some action at the free throw line after being fouled. He landed one of two. Hartford’s Logan Goble also scored a 3-point shot in the waning minutes of the game. Although Lakeside drew to within 16 points during the period, Hartford won the game 79-62.

With only four players on the squad who have experience playing at the varsity level Hartford coach John Johnson admitted he is depending on his shooters from beyond the arc. “Just with the experience these kids have right now these kids are still trying to get comfortable. Right now, we’re really going to depend on our threes.” Those threes are coming from the hands of Austin Nelson and William Martinez, who Coach Johnson fully expects to double team as the season progresses.

“I’m really trying to get (the ball) into the post a little more. These guys are super nervous right now, super tight. I think the guys are starting to come along. I think Buddy Earls played decent tonight. I think Garrod Johnson did a nice job inside tonight, too.”

Nelson led Hartford with 21 points and seven assists. Martinez chipped in 19 points, and Garrod Johnson scored 14. Complete game stats were unavailable at press time.

Girls’ basketball tournament at Watervliet

Head on over to Watervliet High School Thursday and Friday, December 29 and 30 for girls’ basketball action; varsity games are slated for 5:30 and 7:15 both days. Watervliet, Black River, and Hartford will all hit the hardwood.

Run, Frosty, Run signup open

There is still time to work off that Christmas fruitcake and help support the Watervliet Athletic Boosters. Signups are now underway for the 2017 Run, Frosty, Run 5/10k runs and 5k walk. The “predict a time” races will be held Saturday, January 7 at Watervliet North Elementary. The school is located at 287 West Baldwin, just north of the city.

Participants will predict their finish time and are not able to use watches or timekeeping devices during the event. The male and female finishers closest to their predicted time in the 5k run, 10k run, and 5k walk will win!

Chili, cookies, coffee, and hot chocolate are provided to participants after the race.

Registration fees are $25 through January 6 for those 18 and older. The fee increases to $30 the day of the race. Participants 17 years and younger have a $15 registration fee through race day.

All proceeds from the event are donated to the Watervliet Athletic Boosters. Get out your maroon and white and help support the Panther sports programs; register for the 2017 Run, Frosty, Run event today!

AQB WRAP-UP

Rodney-Isbrecht and Lynch Predict Perfect Week in Armchair Quarterback play

By Kristy Noack

Two college and six professional bowl games were no trouble for RoxAnn Rodney-Isbrecht and Rodney Lynch. The two Tri-City Record Armchair Quarterbacks predicted their way to perfect 8-0 records last week.

Our six sensational contestants are tasked with foretelling the future in the form of eight football games. At the end of the season, the AQB with the best overall record will win a dapper TCR AQB ball cap.

In the event that two or more AQBs’ weekly picks are the same, one contest is specially selected as the tie-breaker game. Each player must prognosticate the total number of points that will be scored in that matchup; the AQB closest to the actual, wins the higher spot in the rankings.

The college football season is beginning to wind down as bowl games ramp up. Last week, the Bahamas Bowl featured Eastern Michigan taking on Old Dominion. EMU lost by four although they did have a fine effort in the second half, which is where they scored their 20 points.

Also on tap in the college realm was Mississippi State versus Miami of Ohio. State got the nod in that game, winning 17-16.

Rodney-Isbrecht and Lynch posted 8-0 records, the best of the week. Their place in the standings came down to the tie-breaker game of Detroit at Dallas. Dallas pulled out a crushing 42-21 win over the Lions. Rodney-Isbrecht predicted 66 points would be scored. She wins first place since the actual was 63. Lynch envisioned 44 points would be scored and that landed him in second place.

Tim Hildebrand went 7-1 for the week to take third place. There was a tie for fourth and fifth place as Greg Krell and Chris Leach both tallied 5-3 records.

With the tie-breaker in play, Leach took fourth place with her 54 point guess. That left Krell in fifth place with his 43 point prediction.

Rounding out the board was Tom Gear in sixth place. Gear ponied up a 4-4 record for the week.

Overall Rodney-Isbrecht continues to enjoy sole possession of first place. She widened her lead over second-place Krell by three games. Rodney-Isbrecht holds a 107-37 record; Krell is 100-44 after dropping three games this week.

Hildebrand gained a bit of a jump towards second place. Last week he was four games behind Krell, in third place. After his nearly perfect predictions he closed in two games and is now 98-46 overall.

Fourth place belongs to Lynch, but he is making his move up the leaderboard as well. With his perfect picks, he is closing the gap on Hildebrand and is now just one game from third place.

Gear is in fifth place overall with an 85-59 record. He lost one game to Leach, who, in sixth place, is now just two games from Gear. Leach currently has an 83-61 record.

There are bowl games galore on this week’s schedule. Our AQBs will have to determine the winner of the Peach, Cotton, Fiesta, Outback, and Orange bowls along with two pro games.

Wisconsin vs. Western Michigan

Florida State vs. Michigan

Iowa vs. Florida

Clemson vs. Ohio State

Oklahoma vs. Auburn

Alabama vs. Washington

Chicago @ Minnesota

Green Bay @ Detroit

The tie-breaker game this week is the Cotton Bowl featuring Wisconsin and Western Michigan. Good luck, Broncos!!