New Palestine High School

When he stepped on the mat for the final match of the day, William Glesing needed to not only win to give himself an individual regional title. There also was a team title at play. Going into the match, Dragons trailed Roncalli by 5.5 points, and only a pin would give the Dragons the six points necessary to clinch the regional championship. He did just that, needing 1:21 to take down and pin Warren Central's Jacari Markley, touching off a celebration as the Dragons won the Perry Meridian regional by the slimmest of margins. They out-pointed Roncalli 161-160.5 to win the regional. The Dragons brought their entire team to regional, and 11 of the 14 wrestlers earned tickets to semistate. Four - Glesing, Colin Whetsel (215), Gabe Flick (175) and Gunner Butt (152) all won regional titles and will be top seeds at next week's New Castle semistate. Two more Dragons advanced to the finals. With four weight classes left, the Dragons trailed Roncalli by 18.5 points. They needed to win all four matches, and win at least two by fall. Flick started the run in the championship match at 175. He trailed Roncalli's Michael Morton 1-0 midway through the third. A victory by Morton would eliminate the Dragons from title contention. With 31 seconds left, Flick took Morton down and pinned him moments later. The 5:33 fall drew the Dragons within striking distance. Roncalli had no more wrestlers, so it was in the Dragons' hands. In the third-place match at 190, Jones trailed 4-1 in the third period, but tied the match with a takedown midway through. He conceded an escape and trailed, but recorded a takedown with one second left to win 7-5 and record three valuable placement points for the Dragons. Whetsel then took care of things at 215, winning 6-2 over Perry Meridian's Seer Goodwise, drawing the Dragons within striking distance of Roncalli, if Glesing could earn a fall, which he did. Butt, a returning state placer who is 29-1 on the season, was the Dragons' first regional champion of the day. At 152, he recorded two tech falls to get to the finals - 20-2 over Perry Meridian's Boi Thang and 17-2 over Franklin Central's Landon Rodman. In the final round, he pinned Warren Central's Julius West in 3:08. At 175, Flick (23-6) started the day with a fall in the ticket round in 3:53 over Warren Central's Thomas Minor, then won a 13-2 major decision over Franklin Central's Amonte Jordan in the semis to earn a spot in the final and a regional title. Whetsel (23-1) had another strong day at 215, pinning Southport's Jayce Hancock in 1:34 in the first round to earn his semistate spot. He then won a 10-1 major decision over Franklin Central's Andrew Harmon to earn his finals spot. At 285, Glesing improved to 28-0. He had a 20-5 tech fall over Perry Meridian's Eli Addington to earn his semistate spot. Then he pinned Lutheran's Logan Kennerk in 2:53 before his regional-clinching first-period pin in the final round. The Dragons had two other finalists who finished as runners-up. At 106, Sebastian Stilts (17-9) won a 10-4 decision over Southoprt's Jensen Sosbe to earn his semistate spot. He pinned North Central's Treveon Elmore in 52 seconds in the semis, but lost by fall in 1:00 to Roncalli's Carter Sanford in the finals. At 113, Blake Doss (21-8) advanced to the final round with a 1:31 pin of Franklin Central's Jacob Shoemaker and a 17-2 tech fall over Lawrence Central's Fort Zaiere. He lost a 4-1 decision to Roncalli's Caleb Morrow in the final round. In addition to Jones' dramatic third-place finish at 190, Emmit Abernathy also finished third at 144. Abernathy (18-14) needed a 1-0 decision over Roncalli's John Andrews to earn his semistate spot. He then lost a tech fall to Lawrence North's Steven Hunter in the semis, before beating Lawrence Central's Gregory Smith 4-1 in the third-place match. Jones (26-8) contested three close matches on the day. He won a 2-1 decision over Southport's Braylon Maynard, with a penalty point for stalling with 25 seconds left the difference. In the semis, a third-period takedown by Warren Central's Byron Baltzell led to a 7-5 loss, but Jones rallied with a last-second takedown in the third-place match. The Dragons had three fourth-place finishers who will also move on to semistate. At 120, Wes Harbert (19-11) won a 14-9 decision over Southport's Fabian Rodriguez to earn his semistate spot. Zion Tavorn (14-4) won in overtime 8-5 over Triton Central's Landon Ball to advance. At 165, Carson Clements (17-11) won a 16-1 tech fall over Franklin Central's Jason Rogers to punch his semistate ticket. Three other Dragons competed but fell in the opening round - Kaeden Nelson (126), King Tavorn (132) and Braeden Lintner (138). The 11 advancing Dragons will compete at the semistate Feb. 14 at the New Castle Fieldhouse, with the top four in each 16-wrestler bracket advancing to the State Finals.