the BEACON Newspaper, Indiana 3-18web | Page 11

[email protected] March 2018 S THE BEACON Page 1B BEACON PORTS SCENE By By Jack Chris Zoller Nobbe beaconsports @live.com [email protected] EIAC, Sectional Wrestling Roundup Franklin County hosted the EIAC championships on Jan- uary 20. The host Wildcats, the South Dearborn Knights seemed to be the two teams poised to claim the title; however, Lawrenceburg, East Central were By also looking to be factors Maxine for the team title. The first round saw South Klump Dearborn jump out front early only Community to be countered Correspondent by a strong second round by Franklin County to leave it a close title race after the first [email protected] two rounds. South Dearborn then stretched the lead in the third round before pulling out a solid 238-220.5 victory to claim its 11th EIAC champi- onship. Winning individual titles for the Knights were senior 138-pounder Garrett Walton 1582 Harrison Brookville Rd. The South Dearborn Knights Wrestling team captured its 11th IHSAA Sectional title in school history at Franklin County. Coach George Gardner and team celebrate with the trophy after the tournament. The front row features individual weight class champions Bryer Hall, Eli Otto, Garrett Walton, Austin Boggs. with his second career title. He was joined by Eli Otto (106), Bryer Hall (126). The runner-up Wildcats were led by four wrestlers who each earned their second career conference titles: Jacob Lee (113), Dyllion Humbert (145), Stevie Browning (152), Michael Bohman (195). Lawrenceburg finished third in the conference with 174.5 points to East Central’s 172.5 points in placing fourth. The Tigers were led by four-time EIAC champion, conference MVP Mason Parris at 220. He was joined by Jonah Rolfes (182) earning a third confer- ence crown, Grant Stapleton (120) with his second. East Central had one West Harrison, IN 47060 Office: 812-637-3222 Cell: 513-600-0260 [email protected] champion on the day in junior Adam Negangard (132) who earned his second conference title for the Trojans. Sectional The IHSAA Sectional adds Milan, Union County, Oldenburg Academy to the eight of the EIAC which can change the dynamic of matchups, and, indeed it did, but it would come down to the Knights, Wildcats once again. The rivalry between these two programs has been taking place for over 25 years with each team having a host of conference, sectional titles be- tween them during that span. The 2018 IHSAA Sectional would be no different. Coach Doug Deters’ Wild- cats enjoyed an impressive second round which saw them advance seven wrestlers into the finals with five falls, two other upsets, carrying a 15-point lead. The Knights, led by Coach George Gardner, followed with a third round of consolation matches that quietly cut that deficit nearly in half at 181- 173. This type of excitement has been commonplace with these two teams over the past five years. Excluding last year’s dominant performance by The Aurora sixth-grade basketball team completed a 9-1 season by capturing the tournament title with a win over the Manchester Shiners. They were able to hold off a second-half run by the Shiners to pull away in the final minute of the game. Pictured:  Front row Macon Sickmei- er (manager), Blake Lagaly, Trey Harlow, Hunter Gates, Sean Head, Peyton Hill. Second row Sam Cassini, Ben Rains, Evan Powell, Gaige Campbell, Walker Whitaker, Hudson Grammer, Nolan McLane. Back row are coaches Chris Slayback, Scott Sickmeier. (Photo by Christi Shack- elford) The Dillsboro fifth-grade boys’ basketball team recently completed their season with a fine record of 10-1. The team defeated the St. Mary’s Bulldogs in the tournament final by a score of 27-7. Pictured are: Front row: Kayden Phelps, Chris McDaniel, Emrick Engel, Kaylob Toon. Second row : Brayden Cunningham, James Hughes, Cole Senseman, Jordan Benjamin, Wyatt Adams, Back row: Coaches Brad Adams, Jim Hughes, Tim Hughes. (Photo by Joanna Hughes) Franklin County, South Dear- born won the three previous titles from 2014-2016 by narrow margins. The Knights won by differences of 4 points (2014), one-half point (2015), 7.5 points (201