Warsaw’s Kyle Hatch controls Tyler Dicks of Elkhart Memorial Tuesday night during NLC action at Memorial. Hatch, a two-time state qualifier, won by pin to remain undefeated on the season.

ELKHART – Kyle Hatch expanded his athletic horizons this fall.

That being said, the Warsaw junior is still in his element on the wrestling mat.

Hatch, who played football this season for the first time at WCHS, continued his early-season success for the Tigers Tuesday night.

Hatch, a state qualifier each of the past two seasons, was one of the bright spots for a young, inexperienced and short-handed Warsaw squad in a Northern Lakes Conference match at Elkhart Memorial.

The host Chargers flexed their team muscles with a 56-18 win, while Hatch flexed his individual talent to remain undefeated on the young season.

Javier Iraheta was a winner for the Tigers Tuesday night at Elkhart Memorial.

Memorial improves to 5-1 on the season, while the Tigers are now 3-3.

Hatch, now wrestling at 145, pinned sophomore Tyler Dicks in 1:27. He is now 6-0 on the season after starting the year 5-0 in the Warsaw Invitational on Nov. 21, where he earned MVP honors with four pins and a technical fall.

“I think playing football this year helped Kyle,”  said Warsaw coach Justin Smith. “He took his work ethic and applied it to football and had a good season. I think that doing that helped keep things fresh for him as far as wrestling.

“Kyle is wrestling well early on and we are just taking it match-to-match right now and making sure that he gets better every match and works on the things that he needs to in the practice room. We are not looking at the postseason  and I think that helps keep him focused.

“We nit pick his performances and that’s vital for him. He’s off to a good start, but there are things that he needs to work on and improve on. We’re looking at all the little things he can do to get an edge on his opponents when he steps on the mat.”

Hatch, who played mainly as a safety on the Warsaw JV team on the gridiron, placed seventh at 120 at the State Finals as a sophomore after earning an eighth-place finish as a freshman in 2014.

“I feel great right now and happy with how I’m wrestling,” said Hatch Tuesday night. “I know that I can do better, but the No. 1 thing right now is I’m having fun.  I had a lot of fun playing football this year. The coaches were awesome. I just did it to have some fun and I wanted to do more sports.”

Hatch, who went 44-4 last year, has his eyes set on the Mishawaka Invitational on Dec. 29-30. He was a champion last year at the two-day event, one of the premier tournaments each and every year in the state.

“It’s going to be really fun because it’s going to be very challenging,”  noted Hatch. “I’m looking forward to it.”

Smith knows it’s about taking small steps with many of the inexperienced wrestlers he has on his roster this season.

“We have a lot of freshmen this year and it’s all about bringing them along slowly,” Smith said. “We just have to make sure that they are learning the basics and are ready to compete when we put them out there in varsity situations against older and more experienced wrestlers.”

Smith found a couple of obvious bright spots Tuesday night versus coach Brian Weaver’s strong Memorial team. The Crimson Chargers were 14-4 overall and 7-0 in the NLC last season. Memorial won NLC, sectional and regional team championships during the 2014-15 campaign and returns nine letter winners.

“Javier Iraheta is a kid who just practices like a maniac for us,” remarked Smith. “And it shows when he comes out to compete. He is a first-year wrestler as a senior this year and is 3-0 now. He just comes in the practice room and works like a dog.

“Alec Haines (at heavyweight) is also wrestling well for us. He did not wrestle the last two years and he only has one loss this season.”

The trio of seniors Javier Iraheta, Alec Haines and Luis Juarez also won for the Tigers. Iraheta posted a 9-5 decision at 152, while Haines won by fall in 2:34 at 285 and Juarez won a 4-0 decision at 182.

Also competing for the Tigers, who forfeited matches at three weight classes, were junior Brady Stout (160), sophomores Christian Taylor (138) and Carlos Hermosillo (170) and freshmen Shawn Hale (106), Gustavo Cartagena (113) and Jose Grimmett (132).

Winners for Memorial were Austyn Cole (106), Christian Meijia (113), Kendall Jenkins (120), Marcus Meijia (126), Darrell Johnson (132), Blade Corpe (138), Ronnie Longbrake (160), Nick Ritchie (170), David Eli (195) and Nate Williams (220). Cole, Christian Meijia, Johnson, Longbrake and Ritchie all won by pins.

Warsaw will compete in the Valparaiso Invitational on Saturday. Memorial returns to action with another NLC match at Concord on Thursday night.

Christian Taylor eyes his opponent in the 138-pound class.