Vikes send 8 to regional, Culver sends Kuykendoll
BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS
Sports Editor, RTC
Galvin Shambaugh (120), Drake Montelongo (132), Brandon Hammer (182) and Bazle Owens (195) each won individual sectional titles and helped lead the Tippecanoe Valley wrestling team to a fourth-place finish in a field of nine teams at the Plymouth
sectional Saturday.
Four other Valley wrestlers earned regional berths by finishing in the top four in their weight class: Joseph Lybarger, who was third at 113; Barrett Heller, who was fourth at 126; Dalton Alber, who was third at 220; and Zack Burke, who was third at heavyweight.
Valley, who has never won a team wrestling sectional, scored 169 team points.
Meanwhile, Landon Kuykendoll will be Culver’s lone regional representative after he placed fourth at 145. The Cavaliers finished eighth in the nine-team field with 33 points.
Tippecanoe Valley
Shambaugh defeated Culver Academy’s Cree Dugan and Plymouth’s Landon Beaumont by first-period fall to reach the final before shutting out Warsaw sophomore Elias Garza 9-0 in the final.
Montelongo, ranked No. 15 in the IndianaMat rankings but the No. 2 sectional seed, beat top-seeded Logan Stuckman of Wawasee 11-3 in the final. Montelongo reached the final with a fall over Triton’s Connor Stetzel and an 11-3 win over Plymouth’s Nate Derifield.
Hammer, a senior and a Wabash College commit who is ranked 18th in the state, received a bye all the way to the semifinals. He then pinned Triton freshman Esaias Lemler in 40 seconds and defeated Plymouth’s Matt McCrum to earn the top spot on the podium. Hammer also won the 182-pound title at the Three Rivers Conference tournament on Jan. 22.
Owens won the title at 195 by pinning Bremen’s Caiden Newman in 1:21 in the semifinals and then beating Wawasee’s Donovan Blair 11-7 in the final. Blair had upset LaVille’s Paul DeWitt, the Hoosier North champ, 8-4 in his semifinal.
Lybarger won three of his four matches by fall, including two pins over Culver Academy’s Linus Ho, the last coming in the third-place match.
Heller, a sophomore, lost by fall in his first match to Plymouth’s Chris Firebaugh but earned his regional ticket through the wrestlebacks by pinning LaVille’s Jonah Skiles and Bremen’s Kaden Martin before losing a rematch to Firebaugh in the third-place match.
Heller’s regional ticket match is against Penn’s Matteo Vargo, ranked No. 2 in the state.
Alber pinned Plymouth’s Pedro Miranda before losing by fall to top-seeded Jonathan Neese from LaVille in the semifinals. He then bounced back to pin Wawasee’s Colt Dolson and Bremen’s Lane Moser to take third.
Burke also lost his first match by fall to Culver Academy’s Henry Martello but recovered to pin Triton’s Tucker Worsham, Bremen’s Zack Schmucker and Martello in a rematch to take third.
Culver
Kuykendoll advanced to his second career regional. He placed fourth at 120 as a freshman back in 2020. Kuykendoll’s first match resulted in a loss by fall to Plymouth’s Seth Wright, but he recovered to pin Valley’s Colton Crabb and defeat LaVille’s Xzavian LaFave by injury default o earn a regional ticket. Wright pinned him again in the third-place match.
His regional ticket match will be against Penn’s Zymarion Hollyfield, who is ranked No. 24.
Plymouth edged Wawasee 250.5-249.5 to win the team title. Wawasee had won the sectional the previous four years.
Plymouth sectional results: Plymouth 250.5, Wawasee 249.5, Warsaw 216.5, Tippecanoe Valley 169, LaVille 118, Bremen 107, Triton 64, Culver 33, Culver Academy 31
Plymouth sectional individual champions
106, Kaleb Salazar (Wawasee), 113 – Braxton White (Plymouth), 120 – Galvin Shambaugh (Valley), 126 – Dylan Tom (Wawasee), 132 – Drake Montelongo (Valley), 138 – Wesley Smith (Plymouth), 145 – Ethan Rodriguez (Wawasee), 152 – Andrew Riss (Warsaw), 160 – Bradye Pittman (Plymouth), 170 – Cameron Zimmerman (Wawasee), 182 – Brandon Hammer (Valley), 195 – Bazle Owens (Valley), 220 – Jonathan Neese (LaVille), HWT – Anthony Popi (Plymouth)
Tippecanoe Valley individual results
106 – forfeit, 113 – Joseph Lybarger – third, 120 – Galvin Shambaugh – champion, 126 – Barrett Heller – fourth, 132 – Drake Montelongo – champion, 138 – Remington Rickel – did not place, 145 – Colton Crabb – did not place, 152 – Denver Wilson – sixth, 160 – Jacob Kats – did not place, 170 – Eric Burke – did not place, 182 – Brandon Hammer – champion, 195 – Bazle Owens – champion, 220 – Dalton Alber – third, HWT – Zack Burke – third
Culver individual results
106 – forfeit, 113 – forfeit, 120 – forfeit, 126 – Owen Falk – fifth, 132 – Joe Callender – did not place, 138 – Ivan Callender – sixth, 145 – Landon Kuykendoll – fourth, 152 – forfeit, 160 – Robert Evans – sixth, 170 – forfeit, 182 – forfeit, 195 – forfeit, 220 – forfeit, HWT – forfeit
Tippecanoe Valley regional qualifiers and ticket matches
(Regional at Penn at 8 a.m. Saturday)
113 – Joseph Lybarger vs. Robert Poe (South Bend Adams)
120 – Galvin Shambaugh vs. Rajiya Weaver (South Bend Adams)
126 – Barrett Heller vs. Matteo Vargo (Penn)
132 – Drake Montelongo vs. Harryson Givens (Mishawaka Marian)
182 – Brandon Hammer vs. Lucas Primrose (Mishawaka Marian)
195 – Bazle Owens vs. Jeirmi Scales (South Bend Riley)
220 – Dalton Alber vs. Zack Kennedy (South Bend St. Joe)
HWT – Zack Burke vs. Zander Paden (Mishawaka)
Culver regional qualifier and ticket match
145 – Landon Kuykendoll vs. Zymarion Hollyfield (Penn)
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