Bryson Brown earned a win among Warsaw’s dual run of North Judson Thursday night. InkFreeNews file photo by Mike Deak

Warsaw 51, North Judson 18

Warsaw pulled one final dual win from the 2020-21 regular season Thursday night, knocking off North Judson at the Tiger Den.

The dual started at 113, where Elias Garza battled in a back-and-forth matchup before getting a third-period reversal and notching a pinfall victory.

Isaiah Martinez and Aaron Ross took forfeits at 120 and 126 to move the Tigers into an 18-0 lead early.

North Judson elected to bump their veteran 132-pounder up to 138 to challenge Andrew Ross, as both teams then forfeited the 132-pound weight class.

Ross kept with his grinding workman-like style and built a 4-0 lead before wearing his opponent down and putting the match away with a pin to close the second period.

A forfeit from Warsaw at 145 put North Judson on the board at 24-6.

In a string of exciting matches from 152 to 170, Warsaw and North Judson each added six team points.

Warsaw’s Bryson Brown was quick to find his pace and footing as he built off of last weekend’s momentum.  Brown racked up four takedowns and a reversal to win a 10-3 decision for the Tigers.

CJ Mendez filled in at 160 for Warsaw and picked up his first varsity win on the season.  In a match that changed leads five times, Mendez earned a late third-period takedown and nearfall to win a 10-5 decision.

Aiden Lozier stepped in for his first varsity action of the season at 170 pounds.  Lozier kept the match close and was in deep on several shots but couldn’t finish and North Judson eventually earned a pinfall victory.

Senior standout, Jacob Linky bumped up to fill in at 182 for the evening.  Linky made quick work of his opponent with an early takedown and good action on top before pinning his way to victory at the end of the first period.

Chase Carl continued his ascent in his freshman season at 195.  Carl earned the first takedown of the match, then got another big takedown in the second period that put his opponent in danger.  Carl didn’t allow the opportunity to slip away and worked to an mid-period pin and six more team points.

In a night filled with great action, Gideon Castro at 220 pounds made a case for match of the night.  Castro fought out of an early takedown to close the first period at 3-3.  The second period saw good action on top, but eventually surrendered an escape point going into the final two minutes.  After a stalling warning against North Judson brought a reset to the center, Castro got a late reversal with backpoints to win a 7-4 decision and extending the Tiger lead to 45-12.

Freshman Isaac Beam filled in at 285 pounds with a valiant effort.  Beam wrestled most of the season as a light 220-pounder but battled with the large Blue Jay for two periods.  Beam scored the first takedown of the match before a reversal tied it heading into the second.  In period two, the size difference played a factor as he struggled to fight off a pair of nearfalls.  North Judson eventually earned their final six points of the night at 285 and closed the gap to 45-18.

The final match of the evening was at 106 pounds, where Bryce McNees went on the attack early.  McNees took the first takedown of the match and immediately worked to a nearfall.  With the first period nearing a close, McNees made the final adjustments and picked up the win by pinfall and put the Tigers on top by a score of 51-18.

Warsaw closes the dual season with a 7-14 record, and will turn their attention to the IHSAA Sectionals at Plymouth next Saturday.