By JACOB MOORE, for The Democrat
In wrestling, final team scores can be misleading.
Brown County hosted Jennings County on Jan. 7. The schools won the same number of actual matches, but the Panthers prevailed 64-13.
With the Eagles able to fill just six of 14 weight classes and Jennings County sporting a full lineup, he Panthers picked up 48 team points via eight forfeits. Had the team score included only those matches actually wrestled, Jennings County would have won, but by a much tighter score of 16-13.
It’s been a challenging season for Eagle wrestling, with the team’s limited numbers being the most obvious sign. In addition to challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Brown County’s roster since last year has been hit hard by graduation, wrestlers moving out of the district, and wrestlers simply not coming out for the team.
The Eagles currently have just nine wrestlers, some of whom are out with injury.
Head Coach Josh Sparks gave an example of COVID-19 directly affecting the team, citing two young men who intended to wrestle but ultimately did not because each had a grandparent in their home at high-risk due to age.
Another way the virus hurt the team was that for roughly one week early in the season — before competition began — every coach had to quarantine due to COVID-19 contact tracing. During that period, student-athletes essentially ran practices with an athletic trainer on-hand to provide adult supervision. “We take this seriously and had to do that, but we lost about six kids from the team during that period,” Sparks said.
The short-handed Eagles actually got off to a strong start against Jennings County last week. In the first match, junior heavyweight Lane Mullins dominated against Gage Gasper and claimed a 13-0 win. A win by eight to 14 points is a major decision and worth four team points, putting the Eagles up 4-0.
The next contested match came at 138 pounds between Eagle junior Chris Luckey and R.J. Barberis and would be hard-fought. After two scoreless periods Luckey seized control in the third, escaping with a minute and 40 seconds left to take a 1-0 lead.
With both wrestlers now standing, Barberis attempted a shot — a lunging effort to grasp an opponent’s legs — but Luckey defended the shot and spun around Barberis to secure a takedown with 1:23 left in the period. Luckey would go on to score two near-fall points to secure a 5-0 win, notching three team points for Brown County.
Unfortunately, between Mullins’ and Luckey’s wins, Brown County forfeited five weight classes, putting the Panthers up 30-7 after Luckey’s match.
The next contested match was at 152 pounds with Eagle sophomore Andy Weddle facing Gavin Bateman. In the second period, Bateman managed to get Weddle in a cradle and pin him, giving Jennings County its first win of the night in an actual match.
At 160 pounds, Jennings County’s Teagan Trotter pinned Brown County freshman Jesse Fouts. Between Bateman and Trotter’s wins and six forfeits to that point, the Panthers’ lead in team points had grown to 48-7.
The next contested match came at 182 pounds with Eagle senior Hunter Funkhauser squaring off against Trea Short. Short would score first with an escape in the second period, but Funkhauser captured a 2-1 lead with a takedown before the end of the period. Funkhauser began the third period in the down position but would score a reversal and ultimately pin Short with 1:04 left in the match.
The final contested match of the night was at 195 pounds between Brown County senior Reid Davis and Jennings County’s Zane Ortlieb. In matches actually wrestled, Brown County led 13-12 at this point, though with forfeits the Panthers actually were up 54-13. Ortlieb would ultimately claim an 8-0 major decision victory.
One last forfeit in the 220-pound weight class brought the final team score to 64-13.
After the meet, the Eagles spoke about how different the season has been.
“You normally see maybe two to five people quit from the beginning of the season, but it’s been more this year,” Davis said.
Weddle noted how different practices have been. “Last year you had a lot more people and a lot more styles.”
According to Funkhauser, wrestlers have had to adjust their outlook based on the team’s reduced size. “We have to get out there and win as many as possible,” he said. “We’re short on numbers, so you have to look at it as an individual sport.”
Even scheduling has been a challenge this year, with Thursday’s meet not confirmed until Wednesday.
“We’re just trying to get matches the best we can,” said Athletics Director Mark Bruner. “We’re emailing people saying, ‘Hey, is anyone looking for a meet?’”
For his part, while acknowledging team success will be hard to come by this year, Sparks says he’s proud of the wrestlers who have remained on the team despite the struggles.
“As far as practice intensity, it’s the same as last year. It’s been very enjoyable to work with these guys,” he said.
The Eagles hope to add a dual meet for this week, but as of press time, the team’s next solid date is the Western Indiana Conference tournament at Edgewood High School this Saturday, Jan. 16 at 9 a.m.
