COLUMBUS – Ethan Stancombe finished second in his weight class as Bedford North Lawrence settled for seventh during the Hoosier Hills Conference meet on Saturday at Columbus East.
The Stars totaled 70 points. East won the team title with 261.5.
Stancombe (25-5 overall) started the 152-pound bracket with a victory over Jennings County’s R.J. Barberis (a 10-3 decision). He followed that with a 7-5 win over Seymour’s Sam Chandler in the semifinal before falling to Jeffersonville’s Hayden Bartle (a 9-6 final) in the championship match.
“Ethan wrestled incredible today,’ BNL coach Chris Branam said. “He is getting sharper as the season progresses. Today he was a man on a mission. He came in as the sixth seed, which means he started his day with the three seed. After decidedly beating him, Ethan had to square off against the two seed, a senior from Seymour who had beaten Ethan at our dual. In the finals, he went toe-to -oe with a Jeff senior who only narrowly pulled off the win over Ethan.
“Ethan is wrestling with a maturity beyond his years. He doesn’t back down from a challenge and he likes to defy the odds.”
The rest of the Stars struggled. The best finishes came from Wyatt Philpott (fifth at 106), Patrell Childs (fifth at 113) and Jayden Johnson (fifth at 120).
BNL will travel to Columbus North on Thursday.
HOOSIER HILLS CONFERENCE
