Wawasee’s Garrett Stuckman sizes up his opponent during the Al Smith Invitational this past December. The Warriors moved to 5-1 in the NLC with a win at Memorial Thursday. (File photo by James Costello)

WAWASEE 39, ELKHART MEMORIAL 26
Wawasee collected another Northern Lakes Conference win on the road at Elkhart Memorial Thursday, and the Warriors got it done with a modified lineup.

Wawasee won eight of the 14 matches on the way to the team win. Most of the matches went the distance, and only two Warriors earned pinfalls, however.

Alex Castro pinned Ben Thomas early in the third period at 182, and Hagaen Slusher pinned Andrew Shultz late in the first period of their heavyweight bout. Damien Rodriguez also scored extra points for Wawasee with a 20-4 technical fall of James Goldsborogh at 195. Alec Wortinger’s 10-6 decision over Kayden Shepherd at 120 pounds effectively clinched the Warriors the meet with two matches to go.

Other winners for Wawasee were Dylan Tom, Brenden Dilley, Garrett Stuckman and Isaiah Tipping.

The Warriors move to 21-4 overall and 5-1 in the NLC. They’ll have a little over a week off before heading to Plymouth for the Northern Lakes Conference Tournament Saturday, Jan. 19.

GOSHEN 50, WARSAW 22
Warsaw battled on the road at Goshen, and most of its matches were tightly contested even though that fact wasn’t reflected in the final margin of the NLC meet.

Winning for the Tigers were Brock Hueber, Jose Martinez, Isaiah Owens, Jacob Bass and Jose Grimmett.

Hueber picked up a tough win at 195 pounds in the first match of the night. A second period escape and takedown built a 3-0 lead going into the third, and a late takedown in the match secured a 5-1 victory.

Warsaw’s next win came from Martinez at 113. Martinez racked up four total takedowns and controlled the match as he cruised to an 8-3 win.

Owens was aggressive early in his 126-pound victory. Owens scored an early takedown and nearfall before having to find his way out of trouble. A second period reversal was turned into a pin just before the period expired.

Bass grabbed six takedowns and multiple back points to win 21-7 at 145. While Bass was dominant in the match, he couldn’t quite get a last turn or pin and settled for a major decision.

Warsaw’s final win came from Grimmett at 152 pounds. Grimmett wore away at his opponent, picking up just a couple takedowns and nearfalls before putting the match away late in the second period.

In JV action prior to the varsity dual, Warsaw picked up wins from Chris McAfoose, Josh Pelfrey, and Wyatt Klinger.

Warsaw’s record is now 12-8 and 3-3 in the NLC.

Warsaw will be represented by Haylee Brown at the IHSGW Girls’ State Finals on Friday. The varsity will compete in the Garrett Invitational on Saturday, while the JV will be at Woodlan.