Jimtown’s Nick Crume. (Truth Photo by Steve Krah)
Penn’s Al Smith Classic wrestling champions. (Truth Photo by Steve Krah)
Lawrence North coach Brian Seltzer, formerly of Elkhart Memorial, advises one of his wrestlers. (Truth Photo by Steve Krah)
The T-shirt. (Truth Photo by Steve Krah)
View from the top of The Cave at Mishawaka High School. (Truth Photo by Steve Krah)
A tweaked shoulder in the first period led to an ice pack after the match.
But before the ice, Crume was on fire.
The Jimtown High School senior earned a 17-4 major decision in the 126-pound finals of Mishawaka’s Al Smith Classic and moved to 21-0 on the 2012-13 season.
A year after finishing second at the Al Smith then going on to place third at the IHSAA State Finals, Crume dominated his way to a 5-0 mark (two pins, two technical falls, one major decision) in the latest edition of two-day 32-team mat showcase.
“I still went to my single(-leg takedown), but I was mixing things up,” said Crume, who is ranked No. 1 at 126 by IndianaMat.com. “I just fought through the injury and came back stronger than I was before. It made me want to go after it more after I was put on my back. I came out with a little more attitude.”
Penn edged Merrillville 215-214 for the team title. The Kingsmen had nine wrestlers in the winners’ bracket after Thursday’s matches, but only got one – Jeff Wiseman (170) – to the championship match.
But it was good enough that when South Bend Clay’s Shakir Carr pinned Merrillville’s Shawn Streck for the heavyweight championship, it gave the team trophy to coach Brad Harper’s Kingsmen.
Penn’s 10 other placers were Trevor Manspeaker (third at 152), Drew Hildebrandt (fourth at 106), Zach Davis (fourth at 120), Josh Curcio (fourth at 132), Alex Rinehart (fourth at 138), Joey Stasiak (fourth at 195), Dakota Cochran (fifth at 113), Joey Mammolenti (fifth at 145), Chase Osborn (fifth at 160), Mike Chaffee (sixth at 182).
Elkhart Memorial, which came in fifth in the team race, were led by Tony Vaughn (second at 113, Tieshawn Johnson (second at 195), Jermel Moody-Neukom (fourth at 126), Kain Jenkins (fourth at 182), Tommy Kendall (fifth at 170), Codey Flickinger (seventh at 120) and Nick Vaughn (seventh at 160).
Goshen and Jimtown tied for 13th.
Redskin placers were Travis Pickard (fourth at 152), Scotty Huff (fifth at 106) and Hayden Schmucker (sixth at heavyweight).
Besides Crume, the Jimmies were paced by Tanner Adams (second at 182), Konner Chafin (sixth at 120) and Cody Spurgeon (eighth at 220). Adams was forced to drop out of the final match because of a severe migraine headache. He appeared for the introductions then left the site. He was hoping to get a second straight Al Smith title.
NorthWood came in 26th. The Panthers’ placer was Zach Telschow (fifth at 182).
Brian Seltzer, who was Elkhart Memorial’s head coach the past 13 seasons, was at Mishawaka – his alma mater – for the first time as head coach at Lawrence North.
Seltzer said he continues to work to get the Indianapolis-based Wildcats to have a tough attitude and works them hard on a daily basis. His top finishers Friday were Alex Sparks (third at 120) and Juwan Bartlett (third at 138).
If the 220-pound champion from Lake Central looked familiar, perhaps it is because Gelen Robinson is the son of former Gary Roosevelt, Purdue and NBA star Glen “Big Dog” Robinson. The younger Robinson is far less than the 6-foot-7 of his famous father.
