

BLOOMINGTON – Bedford North Lawrence’s Ethan Stancombe and Wyatt Philpott advanced to the IHSAA regional during high school wrestling sectional action at Bloomington North on Saturday.
Stancombe finished as the runner-up at 157 pounds, while Philpott was fourth at 120. The top four in each weight class qualified for the second stage of the state tournament series.
Philpott (18-7) opened with a tough 3-2 win over Owen Valley’s Isaiah White in the first round. He lost to Bloomington South’s Cam Meier by pin at 1:01 in the quarterfinal, then won his first consolation match by topping Terre Haute North’s Koleten Stanley by a 12-9 decision. White earned revenge with a 6-0 victory in the third-place match.
Stancombe (21-3) started with a pin of Terre Haute North’s Timmy Donna at 1:36. He won a thriller in the semifinal, edging Terre Haute South’s Sammy May by an 11-10 final. Bloomington South’s Hunter Fender conquered Stancombe 15-8 in the championship match.
“Wyatt and Ethan wrestled well,” BNL coach Mike Branam said. “We were nursing a few injuries and a couple were out with the flu earlier this week, and that affected us a bit. But everyone came out and fought, and left all they had on the mat. Today was good experience for all the guys, but was especially sweet for Wyatt and Ethan.”
BNL finished 10th in the team standings with 28 points. Bloomington South won the team title.
The Stars will compete in the regional at Bloomington South, which will include qualifiers from the sectional at Southridge, on Feb. 8. The top four in each class will advance to the semistate.

