Lakota West, East combine to send 10 to state
Thunderhawks’ Baker matures into 130-pound champ
By John Boyle
JournalNews
FAIRFIELD ” Hard work on the mat and in the classroom made Lakota East High senior Billy Baker’s first appearance in the Division I district wrestling tournament a memorable one.
After securing his first trip to state with a win in the afternoon semifinals, Baker capped the tournament in style Saturday night with a 3-1 victory over Glen Este’s Jake Porter in the championship bout at 130 pounds at Fairfield Arena.
The top four placers in each weight class advanced to the state tourney, which is slated for Thursday through Saturday at Ohio State University’s Schottenstein Center in Columbus.
“I really didn’t think about it,” said Baker, who beat a pair of sectional champs en route to the title. “I just went out and did what I usually do.”
Wrestling at districts isn’t something Baker usually does. In fact, he had never competed at the district level before this weekend. Academic problems always derailed his seasons before the district tourney. But a change in attitude before his senior campaign paid big dividends, he said.
“In past years, I’ve had academic issues and couldn’t really keep my stuff straight to get through a season and get to this point,” Baker said. “The people I surrounded myself with before this year kind of got me untracked and got my head right.”
“He came back this year with a whole new attitude and was like a whole new person,” East coach Bob Latessa said. “He decided he wanted to do things the right way, and he’s been awesome.”
East teammate Kent Pierson and Lakota’s West Tony Bradberry were the other Butler County grapplers to earn district championships. Pierson was first at 125, while Bradberry was tops at 135.
Bradberry was one of a school-record six state qualifiers for the Firebirds, who totaled 122 points to finish as the runners-up to a dominant Moeller squad that amassed 258.5 points and qualified 11 to state and placed top five in all 14 weight classes. By virtue of its underclassmen scoring in the tourney, West likely qualified for next year’s state duals.
Lakota East (88.5) placed sixth and is sending four to state, while Hamilton (11th, 55.0) and Talawanda (16th, 31.0) will each send a pair of wrestlers to Columbus.
“We got six (qualifiers), and five will be coming back next year,” Bradberry said. “You can’t ask for anything more than that.”
Bradberry, who is headed to state for the second straight season, won his first district crown with a 3-1 decision over Anderson’s Jay Dima. In the process, he capped off quite a three-week run.
“This kind of tops off the triple crown with titles at the (Greater Miami Conference), sectionals and districts,” he said. “It really sets me up well for state.”
As a district champ, Bradberry will meet a fourth-place finisher from another district in the first round at state.
Pierson, who scored a 9-0 major decision over Josh Newbanks in the finals to won his first district championship, will get the same type of draw in his return to Columbus. Pierson failed to qualify last year after making it as a sophomore.
“That was the worse thing ever not making it out last year,” said Pierson, who improved to 4-0 against Newbanks this season. “There’s no way I wasn’t going to make it this year.”
West’s Ryan Fields and Hamilton’s Josh Steele fell in their bids to garner district crowns. Fields dropped a 4-3 decision to Moeller’s Alex Weaver in the title bout at 103, while Steele lost 11-4 to LaSalle’s Joe Kaake at 119.
Bradberry and Fields will be joined in Columbus by teammates Derek Dooley (third, 125), Alex Flake (fourth, 130), Nick Bohl (fourth, 140) and Brian Almer (third, 171).
Pierson’s twin brother, Kody, and fellow East senior Dan Crone also will make the trip to state. Kody was third at 119 and Crone placed fourth at 145.
Hamilton’s Tony Santos (third, 189) and Talawanda’s Erik Brunckhorst (fourth, 125) and Patrick Truster (third, 215) also are headed to Columbus. Talawanda coach Eric McGuire said it’s the first time in school history the Braves have more than one qualifier.
Championship
103 ” Alex Weaver (Moeller) dec. Ryan Fields (Lakota West), 4-3; 112 ” Tyler Adams (Harrison) dec. DeRichieen Dukes (Princeton), 7-0; 119 ” Joe Kaake (LaSalle) dec. Josh Steele (Hamilton), 11-4; 125 ” Kent Pierson (Lakota East) maj. dec. Josh Newbanks (Moeller), 9-0; 130 ” Billy Baker (Lakota East) dec. Jake Porter (Glen Este), 4-1; 135 ” Tony Bradberry (Lakota West) dec. Jay Dima (Anderson), 3-1; 140 ” Victer Crenshaw (Sycamore) maj. dec. Cris Adams (Harrison), 22-10; 145 ” Dean Gaier (Moeller) tech. fall Dan Mizener (Mason), 17-0; 152 ” Josh Dowdy (Princeton) dec. Mike Mahon (Moeller), 2-1; 160 ” Jake Denman (St. Xavier) dec. Rob Nusekabel (Elder), 6-3; 171 ” Eric Cameron (Moeller) dec. Louis Miller (St. Xavier), 5-4; 189 “Brian Porter (Mason) dec. Steve Anevski (Elder), 8-5; 215 ” Charles Quehl (Moeller) pin Adam Prichard (Northmont), 5:20; 275 ” Lance Wagner (Wayne) dec. Frank Becker (Moeller), 6-4.
Consolation
103 ” Justin McCoy (Elder) tech. fall Rollan Mead (Harrison), 18-3; 112 ” Eric Gobin (Moeller) dec. Pat Hirth (Elder), 1-0 OT; 119 ” Kody Pierson (Lakota East) dec. Jared Glaser (Moeller), 4-0; 125 ” Derek Dooley (Lakota West) dec. Erik Brunckhorst (Talawanda), 4-3; 130 ” Eric Meyer (Oak Hills) dec. Alex Flake (Lakota West), 3-2; 135 ” Tommy Weinkam (Moeller) dec. Don Carraher (St. Xavier), 5-2; 140 ” Cebastian Hilton (Moeller) dec. Nick Bohl (Lakota West), 5-3; 145 ” Matt Flanigan (LaSalle) dec. Dan Crone (Lakota East), 3-0; 152 ” Alex Boerger (St. Xavier) dec. Angelo Mauro (Centerville), 4-2; 160 ” Justin Gibbs (Oak Hills) dec. Kevyn Wilder (Princeton), 11-5; 171 ” Brian Almer (Lakota West) pin Vincent Dattillo (Centerville), 1:58; 189 ” Tony Santos (Hamilton) dec. Drew Michel (Northmont), 13-6; 215 ” Patrick Truster (Talawanda) dec. Sean Jameson (Elder), 7-5; 275 ” Zach Marshall (Mason) pin Caleb Lipsey (Sycamore), :23.
Contact John Boyle at (513) 755-5114 or by e-mail at [email protected].
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