For the sixth time in seven years the North Montgomery wrestling team will compete in the Indiana High School Wrestling Coaches Association Class 2A Team State Duals at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne on Saturday.
The Chargers have placed in the top-four each of their five trips, including a fourth-place finish last season.
North Montgomery enters the tournament Saturday unseeded and paired in a pool with No. 3 Bellmont and No. 6 Edgewood. The Chargers, who were the No. 2 seed in 2019, defeated Bellmont 34-32 to advance to the final four last season.
After a strong start to the season, the Chargers have dropped seven-straight dual matches and bring an 8-11 record into Saturday.
“This will be a great experience for the lower-classmen on our team as they will be able to wrestle on a big stage early in their careers and will give them something to work toward going forward,” second-year North Montgomery coach Bryce McCoy said. “Just like last week, we will see semi-state and state level competition so some of our upper-classmen will benefit from that.”
The Chargers posted an 0-5 record at their annual Holiday Duals last weekend, and can expect to see some of the same level of competition on Saturday.
There are six ranked wrestlers in North Montgomery’s pool, including Drew Webster, who is ranked No. 1 at 220 for the Chargers.
Belmont’s Isaac Ruble is ranked No. 5 at 106, while Kyle Lawson is ranked No. 11 at 138, and Caden Friedt is ranked No. 12 at 182. Edgewood’s Jay Orman is also ranked No. 14 at 138. North Montgomery’s Dawson McCloud is ranked No. 16 at 182.
“We know we’ll be wrestling tough competition just like last week, so we can’t be intimidated and we have to just go out there and compete the best we can,” McCoy added.
Other competing teams in Class 2A include No. 1 ranked and defending champion Western, who will compete in a pool with No. 8 West Vigo and Norwell. Pool No. 2 of No. 2 Oak Hill, No. 7 Columbia City, and pool No. 4 of No. 4 Wawasee, Garrett, and Leo.
Norwell has the No. 2 ranked wrestler in the state at 220 in Cale Gray.
Wrestling starts at 9 a.m. on Saturday.
