For The Tribune
NORTH VERNON
Seymour will be taking a large contingent of wrestlers to the regional after coming away with a runner-up finish in Saturday’s Jennings County Sectional.
The Owls scored 183 points. Columbus East, which won 10 of the 14 weight classes, captured the team title with 324 points.
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Seymour had three individual champions. Junior Jake Rotert was the first, beating East’s Sam Morrill 2-1 in the 160-pound final.
“We knew that we were coming in here knowing that the team could place really well,” Rotert said. “Coach (Todd Weaver) told us to wrestle hard, and I thought everybody did that well.”
Senior Alejandro Sachinas, who won the 182-pound sectional title last season, captured the crown at 195 this time. He pinned Jennings County’s Logan Askew in 3 minutes, 53 seconds in the final.
“As I won it last year, I’ve always had that responsibility to be the best I can be at this tournament for my team and put up as many points as I can for my team,” Sachinas said. “Today, that’s what I did.”
Senior Gabe Ramirez came through with the Owls’ third championship, beating East’s Shawn Tyler 8-4 in the 285-pound final.
“It was amazing,” Ramirez said. “It just shows all the hard work that I put into the sport. It has finally paid off.”
Colt Hensley finished second at 138 after being pinned by East’s Cayden Rooks in the final. Ben Kriete (126) and Nate Banister (132) each took third, and Brody Shipley (220) was fourth.
The top four in each weight class advanced to the regional, which will be Saturday at Jeffersonville. Jake Kriete (145) narrowly missed after falling in overtime in a consolation-round match and ending up finishing fifth.
“I thought there were few matches that we let down, and actually, there were a couple of kids who wrestled outstanding and just didn’t get that win in the end,” Weaver said. “Jake Kriete wrestled his butt off and just let down in a couple instances, and it ended up costing him. Then there were kids who came out flat, and then they wrestled back, Ben Kriete being an example of that. When it got later in the day, we started wrestling better and better, so that was a good thing.
“Can you ask for more? Yep,” Weaver added. “But we came out of here healthy, and we’re going to get ready for next week and hopefully do some more good things.”