Greenfield-Central’s Clay Guenin has a wing on Roncalli’s Andrew Stuck as he tries to get him on his back during their 160-pound match at Greenfield-Central High School on Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022. (Rob Baker/Daily Reporter)
GREENFIELD — The state-ranked Roncalli Royals came out and did what they were supposed to do Wednesday at Greenfield-Central High School.
With eight ranked wrestlers — seven competing — on its roster, Roncalli’s top-state contenders won five matches by pinfall and another by technical fall, but the host Cougars’ flexed their muscle to tally nine points to end their 55-15 dual meet loss.
Greenfield-Central sophomore Clay Guenin won by major decision, 15-2, over Roncalli’s Andrew Stuck at 160 pounds, followed by a 17-1 tech fall by Cougars’ senior Chase Gardner over James Dozier at 170.
Guenin is ranked eighth in the state by Indianamat in his weight class, while Gardner is 17th, but so far this season, they’ve worked in unison.
Much like they did against the Royals, who are ranked seventh in Indianamat’s dual poll and 13th in the most recent Power Poll.
“I told Clay before the meet started that ‘this is way more fun than wrestling people that you know you’re going to beat,’” Greenfield-Central head coach Josh Holden said. “We were at a tournament several years ago and we beat everybody by 50 or 60 and my kids asked me not to go there again next year. They wanted to wrestle somebody good. From that moment on, the attitude changed here. We want to go wrestle good people.”
Stuck entered the dual ranked 18th at 160 and is projected in the top-four among the best in the program’s shared New Castle Semistate this postseason.
Guenin was already motivated after losing in a practice match to Gardner the day prior, so he went to work against Stuck, turning a 2-0 early deficit into a near tech fall and four team points.
“He beat me yesterday, and that definitely made me mad going into this match,” Guenin said. “I was mad yesterday. It helps.”
The match’s final results were telling of his 19-4 record to date. Guenin led 7-2 after the first period against Stuck and ran through the remaining four minutes with determination.
“This is the first time I’ve ever been highly ranked. Since then, I haven’t been sure if this is the place I really deserve or if I just got lucky, so this match was pretty important to me,” Guenin said. “Beating him like that really made me believe this is where I’m meant to be. I deserve this and can keep working harder.”
Guenin pinned Tyler Jones of Warren Central earlier this year during the Cathedral Invite last month, a big win with Jones ranked sixth at the time. Before Wednesday, Guenin placed second at 4-1 during the Mac Taylor Spartan Classic in Connersville as the Cougars took third out of 32 teams.
Gardner, who sports the same season record as Guenin, went 5-1 at Connersville this weekend for third place in his weight class.
Against Roncalli’s Dozier, the only point allowed by Gardner was an escape in the first period.
“I got one more extra point than (Clay), so I guess that makes a difference,” Gardner joked. “I just look at it as practice. I wanted to go out and set a high intensity and a high pace. I just got a lot of people I want to prove wrong, so going out here is like another day.
“I just want to show people what I’m doing and get in preparation for state and conference. I won (conference) last year, and I’m planning on doing it again this year.”
Last year, Gardner finished the season 15-8 and third at sectional as a junior. Guenin was 20-14 as a freshman. Gardner is ranked third in the semistate projections and Guenin is second.
“Clay and Chase are workout partners, and both of them when we go to match, look at each other and say, ‘I’ll take you.’ I don’t want to wrestle them anymore. They’re just tough and they hurt me,” Holden said. “They’re always finding the best guy in the room and wrestling and competing. They believe in themselves.”
Their drive helped ease the loss with Roncalli leading 56-6 before the duo took the mat.
Roncalli’s ninth-ranked Luke Hansen (182 pounds) won his match by fall in 2 minutes, 32 seconds to open the night. Sam Peeples, ranked 10th, won by fall in 34 seconds at 195. Drew Willis, who is ranked 19th, won by fall in 4:16 at 132, while third-ranked Bryce Lowery won by tech fall, 15-0, at 138. Zach Wilson, who is ranked 12th, scored a pin in 1:49.
The Royals had eight pins overall and lost one team point due to a coach’s unsportsmanlike penalty.
“The scoreboard doesn’t matter to them. What they care about coming out is, ‘Did I wrestle well? Did I compete?’ Tonight, some of them did and some of them didn’t. Some of them are young and haven’t learned yet and were looking at the rankings,” Holden said. “But, they want to be here and not wrestling somebody we know we’re going to beat easily.”
Guenin lived up to that mentality by adding to freshman Lincoln Parsons’ overtime decision, 6-4, at 113, and to senior Dakota Herald’s 6-4 decision at 126.
Of course, sparring with Gardner doesn’t allow Guenin any time to coast.
“I think Chase wins a little bit more often, but I don’t make it easy on him,” Guenin said. “It’s never easy.”
The Cougars head to North Central this weekend for the Paul Loggan Memorial Invitational before hosting Decatur Central on Jan. 12 and then to defend their Hoosier Heritage Conference team title on Jan. 15.
Due to COVID-19 protocols, the Cougars weren’t able to compete beyond the sectional tournament last season, so they are eager to make up for the lost opportunity.
“They know it can be taken away at any time, so they’re ready for it. It’s fun defending a conference title. I think conference this year is going to be one heck of a tournament. New Pal is so much improved. Mt. Vernon is good. Delta has a new coach and he’s moving them in the right direction,” Holden said. “It’s going to be fun.”
Roncalli 55, Greenfield-Central 15
182: Luke Hansen, RHS def. Silas Frye, G-C by fall 2:32
195: Sam Peeples, RHS def. Adam Garard, G-C by fall 0:34
220: Justin Lewis, RHS def. James Owen, G-C by fall 1:12
285: Luke Swartz, RHS def. Brayden Flener, G-C by dec. 12-5
106: Matthew Rossman, RHS def. Braeden Ayres, G-C by fall 0:57
113: Lincoln Parsons, G-C def. William May, RHS by dec. 6-4 OT
120: Alex Plahitko, RHS def. Nathan Miller, G-C by fall 4:30
126: Dakota Herald, G-C def. Patrick McGinley, RHS by dec. 6-4
132: Drew Willis, RHS def. Jarred Harlow, G-C by fall 4:16
138: Bryce Lowery, RHS def. Matt Wickham, G-C by tech fall 15-0
145: Zach Wilson, RHS def. Zeke Holden, G-C by fall 1:49
152: Kody Glithero, RHS def. Josh VanOsdol, G-C by fall 3:47
160: Clay Guenin, G-C def. Andrew Stuck, RHS by maj. dec. 15-2
170: Chase Gardner, G-C def. James Dozier, RHS by tech fall 17-1
