By JACOB MOORE, for The Democrat
As Jan. 11 dawned, Brown County senior David Tucker could claim 98 high school wrestling victories.
By the afternoon, Tucker had wrestled five matches, won all five, and crossed the impressive 100-win threshold.
Freshman heavyweight Sam Allen joined Tucker in going undefeated, pinning every opponent he faced at the Brown County Wrestling Invitational.
The invitational consists of six teams and is organized into five rounds. Joining the Eagles on the mat this year were the Jasper Wildcats, Seymour Owls, Western Boone Stars, Whiteland Warriors and Victory College Prep Bulldogs.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]In team points, Brown County was hampered by forfeits. The Eagles could fill only nine of 14 weight classes, which contributed to their 2-3 team record at the invitational.
The Eagles performed well as individuals though, with six of nine Brown County wrestlers posting winning records on the day. In addition to the 5-0 records put up by Tucker and Allen, senior Evan Bradshaw went 4-1 at 195 lbs, while junior Hunter Funkhouser (182) and sophomores Aiden Vaught (138) and Lane Mullins (220) each went 3-2.
In the first round, the Eagles faced off against Victory College Prep. Victory College Prep is a charter school in Indianapolis was the lone opponent at the meet with fewer wrestlers than Brown County. The Bulldogs brought five wrestlers, but two were in weight classes Brown County could not fill. All three Eagles with actual matches — including Tucker — won by pin over this school as the Eagles claimed a 54-12 victory.
In the second round, Brown County faced Jasper. Traditionally, Jasper’s wrestling program is very strong, and the Wildcats lived up to that reputation against Brown County, ultimately prevailing 72-9. The lone Eagle winners against Jasper were Tucker and Allen.
Allen managed to take Quade Popp down with a throw and then pinned Popp late in the first period. Tucker, meanwhile, claimed an 8-4 decision against Ian Giesler. This was the day’s only match Tucker did not win by pin. In fact, it was the only match to reach the third and final period.
“Jasper was the toughest match by far,” Tucker said after the meet. “He was strong; he was good at defense.”
The win improved Tucker’s season record to 19-1. Still more noteworthy, the win against Jasper marked Tucker’s 100th career victory.
The third round saw Brown County take on Whiteland. The Warriors were second only to Jasper in terms of numbers and overall team strength. The Eagles kept the team score close early. After Tucker’s pin of Alex Garcia, the Eagles trailed just 12-18 going into the 152 lbs match.
The Eagles were also competitive in other matches, with both Aiden Vaught at 138 lbs and Lane Mullins at 220 lbs leading their opponents in the second period before getting caught out of position and pinned. Ultimately, Whiteland pulled away for a 51-24 team victory.
In terms of suspense, the Eagles saved the best two dual meets for last. The fourth-round opponent was Seymour. The last weight class to wrestle in this round was 220 lbs. According to the scoreboard, Brown County trailed the Owls 36-32. Mullins dominated his Seymour opponent and won an 11-3 major decision.
Major decisions are worth four team points instead of the regular three. A major decision is awarded when a match is won by eight or more points. The team score was apparently tied at 36. But upon reviewing the scorebook, the referee saw that Seymour had not been given credit for a forfeit earlier in the meet. With that correction, the Owls escaped with a 42-36 win.
The final opponent of the night was Western Boone. Entering the last match, the Eagles trailed 36-30. Fortunately for the Eagles, heavyweight was the last weight class to wrestle this round, and Allen had won all his earlier matches by forfeit or pin.
Late in the first period, after positioning his opponent, Perrin Emberton, Allen suddenly executed a lateral drop, a dramatic throwing takedown. The move put Emberton flat on his back and Allen pinned him to tie the team score at 36.
By rule, dual meets cannot end in a tie. When it occurs, the referee and scorekeeper apply a list of tiebreakers to determine a winner. To avoid confusion, once a winner is determined in this way, one point is added to the winning team’s score. Ultimately, Brown County won based on having won one more individual match than Western Boone had. With the final point added, the Eagles prevailed 37-36.
After the match, Allen was excited his pin had won the meet for the team. “It feels great! It’s like a game winning touchdown,” he said.
The Eagles will next take the mat on Saturday, Jan. 18 for the Western Indiana Conference tournament at Edgewood High School.
