Warsaw’s sideline reacts to Brock Hogenson’s deciding win at 138 pounds during a dual at Plymouth Thursday. (Photos by James Costello)

PLYMOUTH — Warsaw wrestling coach Kris Hueber still remembers when 138-pound senior Brock Hogenson was struggling to make .500 on the mat. But “Hogie”, as his teammates affectionately call him, has come a long way.

Trailing 5-3 coming into the final minute of his match with Plymouth’s Jordan Howard Thursday — a match that could have left the door open for the host Rockies — Hogenson worked hard for a fireman’s carry but dumped Howard just outside the circle. A flurry of action ensued after the two reset in the center of the mat, and Hogenson survived a mad scramble over the final seconds, emerging on top for a takedown just ahead of the buzzer that sent the bout into overtime. Once there, he scored his second straight takedown with 27.4 seconds on the clock for a 7-5 decision that put his team out of reach and brought the entire Warsaw sideline to its feet. Ultimately, the Tigers remained unbeaten in the Northern Lakes Conference with a 31-24 victory at The Rock.

“It was huge because it puts the dual out of reach and that was awesome, but it’s also huge because you’re seeing a kid who is intentionally invested finally starting to see that pay out, and he’s leading by example,” explained Huber of the thrilling 38-pound match. “Brock is a kid that, a couple years ago struggled to even be a .500 guy in terms of record. And that kid has put in so much time outside of the season training his body, training for this craft specifically. When he was able to finally loosen that guy up — he finally got back into some motion offense, finally got the guy reacting a little bit and turned it on — that was huge. Our guys are so young, and seeing that, you could feel the excitement. They’re genuinely invested in each other, and that’s something I’m really, really proud of.”

Jacob Linky advances position at 160 pounds in Plymouth.

The Tigers won seven of the 12 matches in Plymouth — there were double forfeits at both 106 and 113 pounds — and got off to a fast start on the road. Chris McAfoose, who only this week earned a spot in Warsaw’s varsity lineup, set the tone with a nip-tuck, 4-0 decision over Dawson Stutler at 152 pounds. Jacob Linky followed with a second-period pinfall of Zach Truitt at 160 to push the visitors out to a 9-0 lead, but Indianamat.com second-ranked Plymouth senior Graham Calhoun, who signed with Wisconsin earlier in the day, collected his own second-period pinfall of Brandon Estepp to cut the team margin to three points.

“He’s worked hard,” said said Plymouth coach Bob Read of Calhoun. “He’s got some lofty goals. He wants to be a state champion. He wants to be a national champion wrestling in the best conference in the nation; the Big Ten conference is great. I think Wisconsin is a great fit for him. Their style fits right where he is, and I think he’s going to be a good addition for him.”

First-year Warsaw wrestlers Mario Cortes survived a high-scoring, back-and-forth bout at 182 pounds before securing a pinfall of Cage Long with 12.3 seconds left, and Brock Hueber pushed the Tiger lead out to 21-6 by pinning Reggie Vazquez late in the second period. The Rockies closed the gap to a slim 21-18 margin before action rolled back around to 120 pounds, where Jose Martinez picked up a 7-3 decision over Max Howard. Plymouth’s Dominic Smith kept his team in it with an 8-2 decision over Andrew Ross, but Isaiah Owens’ 13-2 major decision victory over Plymouth’s Nate Derifield gave the Tigers breathing room at 28-21 going into the final two matches.

Isaiah Owens controls his opponent at 132 pounds.

Hogenson won his thriller to put the outcome out of reach. Tyler Richie gutted out a number of blood stoppages to edge Warsaw’s Liam Nolin 4-3 in the final match at 145 pounds, but it was too little, too late for the Rockies.

“We have some guys that, the physical development of our team — both football and wrestling — is starting to pay off. The long term investment, it’s really awesome to see people reaping their rewards,” said Kris Hueber.

“In a lot of ways what we’re trying to aim for — not just with wins and losses but with culture of program — we’re seeing it happen, and I think that’s what I’m most excited about.”

Plymouth dips to 7-3 and an 0-2 start in the NLC. As Read points out, the conference road is likely to get even steeper in the coming weeks.

“We go over to Merrillville this weekend and wrestle some good teams over there. Next week we come back and we wrestle at NorthWood, and then we go over to Wawasee for the weekend and we have Wawasee and Northridge, which are two of the top schools in the conference. So, yeah, it doesn’t get any easier from here,” he said.

Warsaw improves to 10-1 overall — its only loss coming by a 35-34 margin to Anderson at the Wawasee November Duals two weeks ago — and 3-0 in the NLC, with wins over Elkhart Memorial, Wawasee and now Plymouth. The Tigers will face two more NLC programs on Saturday at the Raider Duals at defending conference champion Northridge.

“This weekend is going to be huge because Northridge, until someone can actually bump them off, they’re the champs. They’ve got a lot coming back. Their lineup is going to be loaded. They always are.
And that’s looking ahead still because we’ve got a tough NorthWood team to start the morning on Saturday. They’ve got a couple of hammers in that lineup,” said Hueber. “Saturday is going to be tough. We’re going to have our hands full, and we’re going to find out a lot about ourselves. I’m excited for it.”