By Fred Kroner
The state-ranked Oakwood/Salt Fork boys’ wrestling team qualified 12 of its grapplers for the sectional on Saturday (Feb. 3) at the Robinson Class 1A IHSA Regional Tournament.
The Comets’ individual champions were junior Brayden Edwards (2-0 at 113 pounds), senior Grant Brewer (3-0 at 150 pounds), senior Bryson Capansky (3-0 at 157 pounds), senior Dalton Brown (3-0 at 175 pounds) and freshman Jamison Chambliss (3-0 at 190 pounds).
Edwards (31-12) posted two pins, both in less than one minute. Brewer (36-2) recorded two pins. Both pins by Capansky (37-5) required less than 80 seconds. Brown (39-4) had two pins in less than a minute. Chambliss (21-4) registered one pin.
Four Oakwood/Salt Fork wrestlers placed second: freshman Steven Uden (2-1 at 106 pounds), sophomore Tyler Huchel (2-1 at 120 pounds), junior Pedro Rangel (2-1 at 132 pounds) and sophomore Jack Ajster (2-1 at 138 pounds).
Uden (28-14) posted two pins, Huchel (25-6) ended with one pin and one technical fall, Rangel (39-4) registered two falls and Ajster (34-10) posted one of his wins by technical fall.
Winning third-place bouts, and also securing a berth in the Vandalia Sectional (which starts on Friday, Feb. 9), were junior Thomas Wells (3-1 at 126 pounds), junior Carter Chambliss (3-1 at 144 pounds) and junior Kade Fleming (3-1 at 285 pounds).
Wells (32-15) outscored his opponents in his three wins by a combined 39-12 margin. Carter Chambliss (31-15) collected two first-period falls. Fleming (24-16) won twice by pin and won his third-place match in overtime, 1-0.
In the Jan. 27 state rankings, Oakwood/Salt Fork was ranked third in Class 1A.
Individually, both Brewer and Capansky were ranked fifth, Rangel was ranked seventh and Brown was ranked ninth. Receiving honorable mention status were Comets Edwards, Huchel, Ajster and Carter Chambliss.
Overall, the 14 Oakwood/Salt Fork wrestlers in the regional lineup had a cumulative mark of 33-11 with 20 pins and two technical falls.
The Comets amassed 255 ½ points to far outdistance runner-up Lawrenceville (156 points) in the nine-team field. Olney (138 points) captured third place.
Oakwood/Salt Fork (28-2) will also participate in the team-dual postseason series on Tuesday (Feb. 20).
