Ark Valley News - Hornet wrestlers on a roll

Sophomore Chris Bluml prepares to pin his Andover Central opponent Dec. 13.

Hornet wrestlers on a roll
By Matt Heilman
Last Updated: December 20, 2012

By Matt Heilman

December was an historic month for Valley Center High School wrestling. Capped by a 5-0 dual record at the Dec. 15 Ottawa Tournament and a Dec. 13 league dual win at Andover Central, Hornet wrestlers finished December with a 19-0 dual record. It's the first time Valley has gone undefeated in the season's first month.

It's the first time in head coach Brian Shelton's 16-year career at VCHS that Hornet wrestlers have won their first 19 duals.

Shelton pointed out the hot start has come in the face of a challenging schedule. Not much has come easily for the Hornets, although at times, they've made it seem that way.

Shelton sees the mistakes his team needs to correct and can point out the areas where each wrestler has to improve before the regional and state tournaments roll around in February. But so far, he's pleased with his team's work ethic and overall progress.

"If we continue to improve at the pace we're improving for the rest of the year, it could be a good year," Shelton said.

At the Ottawa Tournament, the Hornets captured their third title of the season with the five-dual sweep against primarily smaller schools from eastern Kansas. Valley beat Anderson County, 63-15, Baldwin, 46-20, Topeka Highland Park 81-0, Osawatomie 67-9 and Prairie View 48-24. Against Highland Park, the Hornets picked up six team points each with a pin or open weight in 12 of the 14 weight classes.

As the final scores indicated, Shelton said Baldwin and Prairie View presented the toughest competition from a team standpoint. Five Hornets finished the tournament undefeated, led by 113-pound freshman Nick Romig who won all five matches by pin.

Also going 5-0 were 106-pound freshman Ryan Delforge, 152-pound senior Josh Ortiz, 170-pound junior Miles Balthazor, 182-pound senior Chad Blair and 220-pound senior Lukas Weldon.

Delforge, Blair and Weldon remained undefeated on the season. Shelton said Delforge is "on a tear," starting his high school career with a 19-0 record.

Blair moved to 18-0, but was challenged in a 3-2 decision over Prairie View's Jake Bradley, currently ranked in Class 4A at 182 pounds. Blair won three matches at 182 pounds and two in the 195-pound weight class. Weldon also improved to 19-0.

Junior Braden Holle (120 pounds), 160-pound senior Tony Bluml and 285-pound senior Zac Sander finished 4-1 at Ottawa. Holle lost a 2-0 decision to his opponent from Osawatomie. Bluml lost a 10-9 decision to his opponent from Baldwin. Sander lost his first match of the season by third-period pin to Prairie View's Matt Kellerman.

Shelton said Sander got caught late with a mistake that cost him the match, but could serve as a valuable teaching lesson.

"How do you learn if you never make a mistake? It was the best thing that could happen to him," Shelton said. "If he wins the last four matches of the season, he'll never remember that."

Freshman 126-pounder Seth Dillman, 132-pound junior David Ortiz and 145-pound senior Cameron VanDusen finished 3-2 at Ottawa.

Sophomore Jace Boone at 138 pounds finished 2-3.

Sophomore Chris Bluml finished 1-1 in the tournament with a loss against Baldwin at 182 pounds and an open weight win at 195 against Highland Park. Also at 195, sophomore Corey Sibley picked up an open weight win against Osawatomie.

While Shelton was pleased with his team's ability to finish the first leg of the season strong at Ottawa, he especially liked what he saw in the gritty dual win at Andover Central that moved the Hornets' league dual record to 2-0.

"I couldn't have been more proud of the kids at Andover Central," Shelton said.

The Hornets won the dual 47-16, but the win wasn't as easy as the final score would indicate.

"To an outsider, you look and you see a score that's lopsided," Shelton said. "But we won a lot of close matches, and even against their studs, we didn't give up extra team points. It was a complete and total team effort and in my opinion, that's about as good as I've seen our team wrestle all year."

To illustrate the team concept, Shelton pointed out two matches, one that ended in a loss and one that ended with an improbable win. Despite the 12-5 loss to state-ranked Andover Central senior Ben Lightfoot at 126 pounds, Shelton praised the late-match efforts of Dillman for saving a team point.

Late in the match, Dillman trailed 12-2, a tally that would have given Andover Central four team points with a major decision. In the last 30 seconds, Dillman scored an escape and a takedown to only yield three team points instead of four by keeping the final deficit under eight points.

"Even though he lost the match, he only gave up three team points," Shelton said. "He didn't quit, he didn't do anything crazy at the end. He saved us a team point because he didn't quit in the match."

Dillman said he knew Andover Central was one of the better teams in Class 5A and every team point was valuable.

"Wrestling is a lot of mental strength and a lot of heart and I think I showed that a little bit there," he said. "I just had to make sure I didn't give up the extra team point because I would have felt awful if we lost by that one point."

At 170 pounds, Balthazor was nearly pinned in the first period before reversing the advantage and pinning Andover Central's Corbin Niemtschk. Off the whistle, Balthazor was tossed on his back. He fought off the pin for at least a minute and a half, bridging and keeping one shoulder off the mat while he was getting choked out.

"Fighting off your back for a minute and a half is not something that people do," Shelton said. "(Balthazor) had every reason in the world to quit. He came up, his eyes were watery, his face was red and he couldn't catch his breath. He chipped away and chipped away and ended up pinning that kid."

Balthazor said he was more aggressive in the second period and stuck to the moves he's learned in practice. While on his back in the first period, he said he looked up at the clock at one point and noticed there were 18 seconds left.

"It would have been easy to give up, but I know if I give up, I'd let the team down also," Balthazor said.

Balthazor was one of six Hornets to win by pin against Andover Central. Also pinning their opponents were Delforge, Romig, Tony Bluml, Weldon and Sander.

Chris Bluml won by tech fall at 182 pounds. Josh Ortiz and Blair, at 195 pounds, won by decision. Holle, David Ortiz, Boone and VanDusen lost by decision.

The Hornets trailed 16-12 through the 145-pound match before reeling off seven wins to make the final score lopsided.

Through the first month of the season, the Hornets have been able to find their place toward the top of the Class 5A rankings thanks in part to the ability of three freshmen to make an immediate impact at the varsity level. Through the first 19 duals, Delforge, Romig and Dillman are a combined 42-7, which is a testament to the strength of the Valley Center kids' club and middle school programs, Shelton said.

The freshmen's contribution and overall team improvement have the Hornets off to a better start than most people outside the program expected. Valley Center started the season unranked in Class 5A and currently sits at No. 3 behind league rival Ark City and St. James Academy.

"I think the only people that we've surprised by our performance are people that don't come to practice every day," Shelton said.

The Hornets will next be in action in a Jan. 3 league dual at home against Andover, followed by the Jan. 4 and 5 Derby Tournament.

Ottawa Tournament

Dec. 15

Valley Center 63, Anderson County 15

106 — Delforge, VC, def. Belshe, fall; 113 — Romig, VC, def. Marmon, fall; 120 — Drimmel def. Dillman, VC, fall; 126 — Holle, VC, open; 132 — D. Ortiz, VC, open; 138 — Pracht def. Boone, VC, 5-4; 145 — Van Dusen, VC, def. Kaufman, fall; 152 — J. Ortiz, VC, def. Alley, fall; 160 — T. Bluml, VC, def. Trumbly, fall; 170 —Balthazor, VC, def. Cox, 7-2; 182 — Koch def. C. Bluml, VC, inj.; 195 — Blair, VC, def. Comfort, fall; 220 — Weldon, VC, open; 285 — Sander, VC, def. Young, fall.

Valley Center 46, Baldwin 20

106 — Delforge, VC, def. Morgenstern, fall; 113 — Romig, VC, def. Huntington, fall; 120 — Holle, VC, def. Pratt, 7-0; 126 — Christian def. Dillman, VC, 14-9; 132 — Clark def. D. Ortiz, VC, 1-0; 138 — Shoemaker def. Boone, VC, 19-3; 145 — VanDusen, VC, def. Lanham, fall; 152 — J. Ortiz, VC, def. Horne, 10-0; 160 — VanBargen def. T. Bluml, 10-9; 170 —Balthazor, VC, def. Harmon, 2-0; 182 — M. Garcia def. C. Bluml, fall; 195 — Blair def. T. Garcia, fall; 220 — Weldon, VC, def. Halford, fall; 285 — Sander, VC, def. Chapman, fall.

Valley Center 81, Highland Park, 0

106 — Delforge, VC, open; 113 — Romig, VC, def. Jasper, fall; 120 — Holle, VC, def. Nena, fall; 126 — Dillman, VC, def. Pen, fall; 132 — D. Ortiz, VC, def. Knoll, 8-0; 138 — Boone, VC, def. Boykins, fall; 145 — VanDusen, VC, def. Cott, fall; 152 — J. Ortiz, def. Vance, fall; 160 — T. Bluml, VC, open; 170 —Balthazor, VC, open; 182 — Blair, VC, def. Guesby, 18-2; 195 — C. Bluml, VC, open; 220 — Weldon, VC, def. Dean, fall; 285 — Sander, VC, def. Ortega, fall.

Valley Center 67, Osawatomie 9

106 — Delforge, VC, def. E. Hampton, fall; 113 — Romig, VC, def. S. Hampton, fall; 120 — Chrisjohn def. Holle, 2-0; 126 — Dillman, VC, def. Newcomb, fall; 132 — D. Ortiz, VC, def. Lewis, fall; 138 — Boone, VC, def. Rayburn, fall; 145 — Cannon def. VanDusen, VC, inj.; 152 — J. Ortiz, VC, def. Blanton, 7-2; 160 — Bluml, VC, open; 170 —Bathazor, VC, def. Wallace, fall; 182 — Blair, VC, def. Lofing, 11-0; 195 — Sibley, VC, open; 220 — Weldon, VC, def. Gorsic, fall; 285 — Sander, VC, def. Foulk, fall.

Valley Center 48, Prairie View 24

106 — Delforge, VC, def. Pemberton, fall; 113 — Romig, VC, def. Dominguez, fall; 120 — Holle, VC, open 126 — Dillman, VC, def. Benedick, fall; 132 — Konitzer def. D. Ortiz, 6-1; 138 — Brake def. Boone, VC, fall; 145 — Holland def. VanDusen, 4-0; 152 — J. Ortiz, VC, def. Dunlop, 4-1; 160 — Bluml, VC, def Pen, fall; 170 —Bathazor, VC, def. Rice, fall; 182 — Blair, VC, def. Bradley, 3-2; 195 — Huck, PV, open; 220 — Weldon, VC, open; 285 — Kellerman def. Sander, VC, fall.

League dual at Andover Central

Dec. 13

Valley Center 47, Andover Central 16

106 — Delforge, VC, def. Rodd, fall; 113 — Romig, VC, def. Keplar, fall; 120 — Gentzler, def. Holle, VC, 15-4; 126 — Lightfoot def. Dillman, VC, 12-5; 132 — Umscheid, def. D. Ortiz, VC, 1-0; 138 — Coleman, def. Boone, VC, 5-0; 145 — Suhr def. Van Dusen, VC 6-1; 152 — J. Ortiz, VC, def. Page, 9-3; 160 — T.Bluml, VC, def. Schoonover, fall; 170 — Balthazor, VC, def. Niemtschk, fall; 182 — C. Bluml, VC, def. Hoffman, 18-3; 195 — Blair, VC, def. Honeywell, 7-1; 220 — Weldon, VC, def. Brown, fall; 285 — Sander, VC, def. Hanna, fall.

JV vs. Andover Central

Dec. 13

106 — Robert Simmons, VC, def. Law, fall, def. Lebeda, 3-0; 113 — Lw def. Haydn Thompson, VC, fall; 120 — Danny Turkali, VC, def. Cam Niemtschk, 6-2; 132 — Graham def. Garrett Ripath, VC, 2-1; Graham def. Trevor Schull, VC, 1-0; 138 — Phillips def. Isaiah Hopper, VC, 6-0; Jake Huebert, VC, def. Phillips, fall; 145 — Coby Carter, VC, def. Arbuckle, 2-0; Nichols def. Sam Dillman, VC, fall; Nichols def. Nathan Feather, VC, fall; Guerrie def. Hunter Hackney, VC, fall; Brigthon Howard, VC, def. Guerrie, 8-2, def. Arbuckle, fall; 152— Cameron Key, VC, def. Fugarino, fall; Ray Strunk, VC, def. Fugarino, 1-0; 160 —Justin Howard, VC, def. Schulte, 1-0; Schulte def. Josh Lay, VC, 4-1; 182 — Peterson def. Caleb Karlowski, VC, 2-0; Peterson def. Levi Maxon, VC, fall; 220 —Hoffman def. Dalton Oxley, VC, fall; Dalton Oxley, VC, def. Law, fall; 285 — Adam Hess, VC, def. Martin, fall.

Individual results for the JV Tournament at Rose Hill weren't available at press time. However, eight Hornets brought home medals including Robert Simmons at 106 pounds, Brendan Flores at 113, Danny Turkali at 126, Jake Huebert at 138, Justin Howard at 160, Cory Lapierre at 170, Caleb Karlowski at 182 and Adam Hess at 285.

State champ now coaching

Three-time state champion and Valley Center High School class of 2010 graduate Cade Blair has returned to the VCHS wrestling program as an assistant coach. After high school, Blair spent two years wrestling at the NCAA Division I level at Old Dominion in Norfolk, Va. Shelton said Blair will begin working with the wrestlers after the holiday break. Blair is the older brother of VCHS 182-pound senior Chad Blair.