For The Tribune

JEFFERSONVILLE

Seymour senior wrestler Garrett Johnson had pulled off a mild upset in the sectional round, knocking off top-seeded Brooks Wathen of Jennings County to win the 138-pound championship.

Wathen was able to exact some revenge Saturday, edging Johnson by a 3-1 score in the 138-pound title match at the Jeffersonville Regional.

Johnson still punched his ticket to this Saturday’s Evansville Semistate, one of two Owls moving on to the next round.

“It was a pretty even match, but I rushed a takedown only to be taken down myself,” Johnson said of his setback against Wathen. “I shouldn’t have done that, but it is what it is. We’ll see how the (semistate) draw comes out and hopefully I can get to state.”

Johnson will be joined in Evansville by freshman teammate Brandon Penegar, who finished third at 120 pounds. Penegar was pinned by eventual champion Graham Rooks of Columbus East in the semifinals but recovered to beat Robbie Stein of Eastern (Pekin) for third place.

Jennings County claimed the regional title with 170 points, 15 more than Columbus East. Seymour finished eighth in the team standings with 29 points.

Eight other members of the Seymour team also competed on the day but fell in the first round.

Johnson and Penegar are now the last wrestlers standing for a Seymour program that enjoyed the best season in its history.