NEW PALESTINE — The New Palestine wrestling team won the battle Saturday, but it suffered a major blow in the process.
The state-ranked Dragons dominated the field at the New Palestine Invitational to finish 5-0 with several convincing dual wins behind perfect days from six individual wrestlers.
Senior Cameron Diep, however, suffered a substantial arm injury, which will sideline the 120-pounder for an extended period of time.
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“He double dislocated his elbow. It was a freak match,” New Palestine head coach Chad Red said. “It was his last match of the day. He was wrestling a Mt. Vernon (Fortville) kid. The kid hit a double, and he was getting ready to take Cameron down. Cameron posted his arm and the elbow was on the other side of the body. It’s not suppose to be like that.”
Ranked seventh in the state by IndianaMat, Diep placed eighth at the IHSAA state finals in 2014-15. Diep compiled a 42-6 record at 106 pounds as a junior to place second at sectional, first at regional and fourth at semistate.
Diep moved up two weight classes this season and opened the year with an individual championship at the Tech Invitational last month.
He went undefeated at 120 pounds during the Mooresville Six-Way two weeks ago and won his weight class at the Northview Invitational on Dec. 12.
“It’s one of those things that’s unfortunate,” Red said.
Prior to the unexpected injury, the Dragons, who are ranked No. 7 in the IndianaMat Power Poll, won their third dual-meet invitational this season in impressive fashion.
New Palestine blanked Triton Central 82-0, manhandled Union County 60-21, beat Clinton Central 69-6, and cruised past Mt. Vernon 60-18. The Greenfield-Central Cougars challenged the Dragons momentarily before they lost 40-25.
Greenfield-Central was second in the final team standings, going 4-1. Mt. Vernon was third, followed by Union County in fourth, Triton Central in fifth and Clinton Central in sixth.
“We didn’t do too bad. Obviously, we went 5-0, but we didn’t come out with the fire I would have liked against Greenfield,” said Red whose team upped their dual-meet record to 10-1. “Greenfield came out excited to wrestle us, and I don’t think we quite matched their intensity in the first round. We did get it going after that round and picked it up.”
Jayln Wallace, Alec White, Jared Timberman, Eugene Starks, Landan Burton and C.J. Red all went 5-0 for the Dragons.
White is ranked second in the state at 113 pounds. Top-ranked Red, a senior, is now 18-0 this year at 138. The three-time state champion is now 157-0 in his career.
The Cougars won four straight matches after falling to the Dragons, not allowing more than 21 points surrendered.
Greenfield-Central defeated Union County 57-21, Mt. Vernon 54-21, Triton Central 63-9 and Clinton Central 72-9. Coach Ed Hamant’s squad improved its record to 12-9.
Six wrestlers went undefeated on the day for the Cougars: Gavin Rose (106 pounds), Carter Noehre (126), Christian Henderson (160), Brad Lowe (170), and Lee Dullaghan (195).
Noehre’s five wins increased his season record to 18-3 with 14 falls. His four pins during the invitational all occurred in the first period. On the year, 11 of his fall have been recorded in two minutes or less.
Dullaghan and Cameron Welti (220) each matched Noehre with four falls. Welti and Tommy Brock (132) all were 4-1 while Elliott Parsons (138) was 4-0.
Lowe stands at 20-1 this season with 11 falls. Brock is 16-4 and Parsons is 14-6.
The Cougars will compete at the Connersville Invitational on Dec. 29 and 30. The New Palestine Dragons travel for the 16-team Evansville Mater Dei Invitational, which begins on Dec. 29 and concludes the next day.
Royals take 2nd at Wapahani
The Eastern Hancock wrestling team took second at the Wapahani Raider Rumble on Saturday.Jared Waterman, who entered the invitational with a 12-0 record, claimed the Royals’ lone weight-class title with a perfect day at 152 pounds.Jordyn Wills (132), Brandon Francis (160), Dakota Myers (170), Mitch Guinn (220), and Josh Robinson (285) were all runner-ups in their respective weight classes.
Jack Smith (113), Caleb Giddings (120), Gabe Blake (138), Jayson Bowers (145), and Wesley Myers (195) were all third.
Austin Henderson was fourth at 126 pounds, and Clayton Cochard was sixth at 182.
