LINDEN — North Montgomery’s wrestling team suffered its first loss of the season to No. 20 ranked Harrison 56-18 on Tuesday night.
Dawson McCloud (182), Jacob Braun (195), Drew Webster (220), and Baydin Hall (120) picked up the lone wins for the Chargers.
McCloud won by fall over Comilo Morales, while Braun pinned Travis Gregory in the third period. The junior has stepped into a more prominent role for North Montgomery after breaking into the varsity lineup as a sophomore last season.
“He’s worked really hard so far this year,” North Montgomery coach Bryce McCoy said. “I think he has a lot more confidence now. He’s had some good matches, and beat some good kids.”
Webster, ranked No. 1 in the state, held on for a 4-1 win over Seth Chrisman, who is ranked No. 5 in the East Chicago semi-state. Hall beat Trigtian Vaughn 14-7 at 120 pounds.
Outside of the four wins, North Montgomery’s lineup was full of youth. Marissa Moffit lost by tech fall to Alex Kellogg at 113 pounds, while James McClerkin fell 13-2 at 126 to Sam Hein.
Wil Campbell lost by fall to Nova Tuttle at 132, while Catie Campbell was pinned by Matthew Boyley at 138, and Gage Galloway lost by fall to No. 9 AJ Poindexter at 145. Todd Laffoon also suffered a loss by fall to Levi Buck at 170, while Nick Rice fell to No. 3 ranked William Crider by fall at heavyweight.
“I think the younger guys responded pretty well,” McCoy said. “We knew going in it was going to be a tough match. I think they gained some valuable experience wrestling some tough kids from the 20th ranked team in the state.”
The loss puts things in perspective for the Chargers, who are in a rebuilding mode after a fourth-place finish at the IHSWCA State Duals last January, and losing three state qualifiers to graduation.
“I think this kind of match is good earlier in the year, because we are going to be facing teams just as tough, if not tougher as we go through the season,” McCoy added. “I think they are going to realize they need to work even harder in practice, and step up to the challenge.”
North Montgomery will wrestle Danville, Frankfort, Lebanon, Tri-West, and Western Boone at Western Boone on Saturday.
